Hadith 3.2
The Excellent Qualities of the Qur'an
Ubayy b. Ka‘b told of God’s messenger meeting Gabriel and saying, “I have been sent, Gabriel, to a people who are unlettered, among whom are old women and old men, boys and girls, and men who have never read a book.” He replied, “The Qur’ān, Muhammad, has been sent down in seven modes." In a version by Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd he said, “They include only what is sufficiently health-giving.” In a version by Nasā’i the Prophet (ﷺ) is quoted as saying that Gabriel and Michael came to him, and when Gabriel had sat down at his right and Michael at his left, Gabriel told him to recite the Qur’ān in one mode, and Michael told him to ask more, till he reached seven modes, each mode being sufficiently health-giving. Tirmidhī transmitted it.
عَنْ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: لَقِيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ جِبْرِيلَ فَقَالَ: " يَا جِبْرِيلُ إِنِّي بُعِثْتُ إِلَى أُمَّةٍ أُمِّيِّينَ مِنْهُمُ الْعَجُوزُ وَالشَّيْخُ الْكَبِيرُ وَالْغُلَامُ وَالْجَارِيَةُ وَالرَّجُلُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَقْرَأْ كِتَابًا قَطُّ قَالَ: يَا مُحَمَّد إِن الْقُرْآن أونزل عَلَى سَبْعَةِ أَحْرُفٍ ". رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ لِأَحْمَدَ وَأَبِي دَاوُدَ: قَالَ: «لَيْسَ مِنْهَا إِلَّا شَافٍ كَافٍ» . وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ لِلنَّسَائِيِّ قَالَ: " إِنَّ جِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَائِيلَ أَتَيَانِي فَقَعَدَ جِبْرِيلُ عَنْ يَمِينِي وَمِيكَائِيلُ عَنْ يَسَارِي فَقَالَ جِبْرِيلُ: اقْرَأِ الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى حَرْفٍ قَالَ مِيكَائِيلُ: اسْتَزِدْهُ حَتَّى بَلَغَ سَبْعَة أحرف فَكل حرف شاف كَاف "
Hadith gradings, numbering and translations can differ between editions. For legal rulings or detailed interpretation, consult qualified scholarship and the referenced edition.