Is the Prophet's (PBUH) recitation of the Qur'an the same as Nafi''s recitation? Does this make Nafi''s recitation more correct than Hafs's recitation? And which of them is better to recite with?
A recitation (qira'ah) is attributed to an Imam due to his renown in it, even though he received it from others, tracing back to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Scholars of qira'at have established conditions for authenticating a recitation: if it is mutawatir (transmitted by a large number of narrators at each stage, making error inconceivable), then it is Qur'an; if it is not mutawatir, then it is like a sahih (authentic) hadith. There is no room for preferring some mutawatir recitations over others in terms of authenticity, for all of them were recited by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and one may choose one of them for a specific consideration. All of them are established, and it is best to alternate between them, acting upon his sunnah, peace and blessings be upon him. Malik's statement that the recitation of Nafi' is sunnah means that it is the sunnah and custom of the people of Medina, not that it alone is the sunnah to the exclusion of other mutawatir recitations.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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