such as the judge Abū Bakr al-Bāqillānī and others, on the grounds that the Muslim community cannot neglect to transmit any of the seven modes. Yet they agreed to transmit this master ‘Uthmānic manuscript and abandon all others. ‘Uthmān ordered the Quran to be copied from the sheets on which Abū Bakr and ‘Umar had had it written. Then, after consulting the Companions, he sent a manuscript to each of the Muslim provincial centres and ordered that all other copies be abandoned.

These scholars said:
“It is not permissible for him to prohibit recitation in any of the seven modes.”

Those who defend the first position sometimes respond with the explanation given by Muhammad ibn Jarīr and others: reciting in the seven modes was not obligatory upon the Muslim community; rather, it was permitted as a concession, and they were free to choose whichever mode they wished. Similarly, no particular arrangement of the surahs was explicitly prescribed as obligatory upon them; rather, it was left to their independent judgment. Hence, the surahs in ‘Abd Allāh’s manuscript were arranged differently from those in Zayd’s manuscript, as were those in other manuscripts.

The order of the verses within the surahs, however, was revealed and explicitly prescribed. They therefore had no right to place one verse before another in the written text, as they had placed one surah before another. The order of the verses was explicitly commanded, whereas the order of the surahs was left to their independent judgment.

They said:
“The same applies to the seven modes. When the Companions saw that the Muslim community would become divided, disagree and fight one another unless they united upon a single mode, they agreed upon this