He was asked:

“Someone attributes the following statement to Imam Mālik: ‘Whoever writes out a copy of the Quran without following the written form of the ʿUthmānic codex has sinned’—or he said, ‘has disbelieved.’ Is this authentic? Most copies of the Quran today do not conform to the ʿUthmānic codex. Is it permissible to write a copy that differs from the ʿUthmānic codex, provided that one neither alters any wording nor changes any meaning?”

He replied:

This report attributing to Mālik the declaration that whoever does this is a disbeliever is falsely ascribed to him, whether it refers to the script or the wording. Mālik used to say that each member of the consultative council had a codex whose written form differed from that of ʿUthmān’s codex. Their standing is far too exalted for such a statement to be made about them. They were ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, al-Zubayr, Talhah, Saʿd and ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn ʿAwf, along with ʿUthmān.

Furthermore, concerning someone who recites according to one of their readings that falls outside the ʿUthmānic codex, two views are reported from Mālik and Ahmad. Most scholars accept as evidence those readings authentically transmitted from them. How, then, could someone who does this be deemed a disbeliever?