The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said in a mutawatir hadith that the Qur’an is revealed in seven ahruf. No reading can be accepted as legitimate today unless it satisfies three conditions (simultaneously): 1) - The reading has to reach us through authentic chains of narrators. 2) - The reading has to coincide with the script of one of the copies of the Qur’an distributed by the third Caliph ‘Uthman. 3) - The reading has to be compatible with accepted grammatical Arabic constructions. Conclusion All of the “variant” readings of the Qur’an came directly from the prophet Muhammad (SAW), and therefore are authentic. How many total words are affected by the ahruf? The answer is, just a fraction! According to Ibn Mujahid it is about 700 words, which equates to about less than 1% of the whole Quran. And according to Van Putten, it is about 2000 words, which equates to about 2%. Either way, it is extremely minimal.. Clearing up a common misconception The 7 Ahruf and the Qira'at are not the same thing. Rather, the Qira'at were drawn from the pool of the 7 Ahruf. https://sunnah.com/muslim:818a https://sunnah.com/muslim:821a The SEVEN Ahrof & the TEN Qira'aat of Quran - EXPLAINED! https://youtu.be/8hj7u0F3yEg