Is the recitation of Imam Hamza, with five modes, when pausing on the word "السماء" (al-Samaa’ - sky/heaven), transmitted as mutawatir from the Prophet (peace be upon him), or is it an ijtihad from the scholars, and why do some scholars weaken some of its modes if it is mutawatir?

The recitation of Imam Hamza ibn Habib al-Zayyat is considered one of the widely transmitted (mutawatir) and authoritative recitations, by scholarly consensus. Hamza followed his teachers in his recitation, and it is reported that he said: "I have not recited a single letter except with an [authoritative] trace." Scholars have unanimously accepted his recitation, despite initial reports indicating that some of the early Muslims (Salaf) disliked it. The easing (takhfif) of the hamza in Hamza's recitation is not an innovation; rather, it is a known method adopted by other reciters. Hamza was distinguished by this because his recitation encompassed intense verification (tahqeeq), clear articulation (tarteel), prolongation (madd), and pausing (sakt), making the easing of the hamza during a pause appropriate. The principle of altering the hamza is widely transmitted (mutawatir) from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the recitation has been reported with it and the narration confirmed it. As for the many different ways of easing the hamza during a pause, these fall under the category of permissible scholarly discretion (ijtihad) in the manner of performance, and not all of them are widely transmitted (mutawatir) from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in every instance. It is important to distinguish between obligatory reported variations (awjuh al-riwayah al-mulzimah) and permissible optional variations (awjuh al-takhyir al-ja'izah). Hamza's ways of pausing on the hamza fall under the second category, where omitting some of them is not considered a defect in the narration. Furthermore, the weakening of some of these ways by certain scholars does not negate their widespread transmission (tawatur) and sound transmission, because recitation is a followed tradition (sunnah muttaba'ah).