Is the tawatur (mass transmission) in Qur’anic recitations the same as in hadith, and does it apply to a single Qur’anic word within a narration, or does it apply to the narration in its entirety?

Before answering the question, we should understand what Tawātur (recurrence) means linguistically and technically. Linguistically, Tawātur means the succession of one after another with an interval between them. Technically, it means a narration by a group of people, who it is inconceivable that they could have colluded to lie, passed down generation after generation until it reaches the narrator, thereby providing certain knowledge, like the transmission of the Glorious Qur'an.

From this definition, we understand that the Holy Qur'an was transmitted to us through Tawātur, generation after generation, and it is inconceivable that they could have colluded to lie from the time of the Companions to this very day.

Al-Saffaqsi said: "The doctrine of the Usūlīyyīn (jurists of Islamic legal theory), the jurists of the various schools of thought, the Muḥaddithīn (scholars of Hadith), and the Qurrāʾ (reciters) is that Tawātur is a condition for the validity of a qira'ah (recitation), and it cannot be established by a sound but non-mutawātir sanad (chain of narration), even if it conforms to the script of the Uthmanic and Arabic Muṣḥafs."

The author of Manāhil al-ʿIrfān said: "The proven truth supported by evidence is that all ten qira'at are mutawātir, and this is the opinion of the leading Usūlīyyīn and Qurrāʾ."

The esteemed scholar Ibn al-Jazari said: "Chapter Two... concerning the fact that the ten qira'at are mutawātir in both farsh (individual word variations) and uṣūl (principles), whether taken collectively or individually."

After extensively researching this topic and refuting the arguments of those who deny the Tawātur of some principles, Imam al-Ja'bari said: "And every variant of the recitation is mutawātir because they are parts of it (i.e., the Holy Qur'an), as it is the sum of them."

From the foregoing, it becomes clear to us that the Holy Qur'an is mutawātir in its principles and individual variations, which is what is necessitated by Allah Almighty's saying: "Indeed, it is We who sent down the Dhikr (Qur'an), and indeed, We will be its guardian" (15:9). Allah's preservation of it necessitates that subsequent generations transmit it from previous ones.

The Tawātur of the Holy Qur'an is distinguished by being Tawātur in wording, manner of performance, and pronunciation of each word and letter according to the narrated form. As for Tawātur in Hadith, it is in wording and meaning, but not in the manner of performance or the articulation point and characteristics of the letter.

As for the word "أخذتم" (akhadhtum), its dhāl (ذ) is assimilated into the tāʾ (ت) due to their proximity in articulation. This is mutawātir among most of the ten reciters. Only Ibn Kathir, Hafs from Asim, and a narration from Ruways from Ya'qub al-Basri retained the explicit pronunciation of the dhāl.

The Tawātur we mentioned pertains to the recitation in its entirety and its individual components, as Ibn al-Jazari said: "The ten qira'at are mutawātir in farsh and uṣūl, whether taken collectively or individually." Farsh refers to individual words that do not fall under a general rule, such as "يخادعون" (yukhādi'ūn) and "يكذبون" (yakdhibūn).