ulum-al-quran

Examples:
To further illustrate, here are a number of examples. They have been taken, as far as possible, from well-known suras.
While perhaps better examples exist to illustrate the points under discussion, they might not be understood as easily by
readers less familiar with the Qur'anic text.
Difference in vowelling:
Ibn 'Abbas [I, p. 65; Ibn Abi Dawud, masahif, p. 208.] is reported to have read in sura 111:4
hamilatun al-hatab, in place of
hammalata-l-hatab
which could not be distinguished on the basis of the early written text, which omitted both haraka and alif.
Difference in spelling:
Ibn 'Abbas [I, p. 65; Ibn Abi Dawud, masahif, p. 195.] reportedly wrote in sura 1:6 as well as all other places the word alsirat
as al-sirat.
Some variants attributed to Ibn Mas'ud: [I, p. 65; Ibn Abi Dawud, masahif, p. 25.]
1. in Sura alfatiha:
1:6 he read arshidna in place of Ihdina
he read man in place of al ladhina
he read ghaira in place of Ghairi
2. in sura albaqara:
2:2 he read tanzilu-l-kitabiin in place of Dhalika-l-kitabu
2:7 he read ghishwatun in place of Ghishawatun
2:9 he read yakhda'dna in place of Yukhadi'una
2:14 he read bi shayatinihim in place of ila shayatinihim etc.
Variants on Sura Al-lkhlas, (112)
Verse Ibn Mas'ud [I, p. 65;
Ibn Abi Dawud,
masahif, p. 113.]
'Ubaid [I, p. 65;
Ibn Abi Dawud,
masahif, p. 180.]
'Umar [I, p. 65; Ibn
Abi Dawud, masahif,
p. 222.]
normal reading by
112:1 qul omitted qul omitted qul omitted Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa,
Hafsa
al wahid, in place of al
ahad
Anas b. Malik, Zaid b. Thabit,
Ibn al Zubair, Ibn Amr,
112:2 omitted
112:3 lam yulad wa lam yulid,
in place of lam yalid wa
lam yulad
Aisha, Salim, Umm Salama,
Ubaid b. Umar
Even today the variants and synonyms are found in such copies of the text as are attributed to the Companions and are
of some value to us in the sense that they may have served as an early rudimentary form of tafsir. For example,
according to some reports the words 'salat al-wusta' (middle prayer) were read and written by Hafsa, [Muwatta' Malik;
Jeffery, p. 214.] Ubay [Jeffery, p. 122.] and Ibn 'Abbas [Jeffery, p. 196.] as 'salat al-'asr' (i.e. afternoon prayer).
As long as the sahaba wrote their own copies for personal use only, there was nothing wrong, if they did not strictly
adhere to the order of suras which was the order of the Qur'an. Later on, when 'Uthman's copy became the standard
version, the Companions adopted the order of this copy including Ibn Mas'ud who perhaps differed most. [Ibn Abi
Dawud, p. 12; Salih, S.: Mabahith fi 'ulum al-qura'n, Beirut, 1964,]
There were also, as indicated, some variant readings in these copies, [See also below, seven readings and qira'at.] when
some words were pronounced and spelt in slightly different ways, etc. However, it should be noted that variant readings
are usually reported by a single person only, and occasionally by perhaps two or three while the version called the
'Uthmanic text is mutawatir, i.e. transmitted by numerous people and is without doubt authentic.