Question

Could you please clarify the way to recite the word  in aayah 4 of surah Al-Ikhlaas?  Sometimes I think I hear people making a sukoon on the .  Is this an acceptable alternate way of reading?

Answer

Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim recites the word  with a dhammah on the , and exchanges a  for the hamzah, meaning Hafs reads it with a  that has a fat-h tanween on it.  The other reciters read this word with a  instead of the  used by Hafs and a dhammah on the  except that the way of recitation of Hamzah ( ), Ya’qoob, and Khalaf, (of the ten ways of recitation) who read this word with a sukoon on the letter . 

The vast majority of the Muslim world recites the Qur’an using the way made famous by Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim.  It is highly unlikely that you heard someone reciting by the way of Hamzah, or Ya’qoob, or Khalaf, unless they are of those that have studied the 10 different qira’aat (ways of recitation) under a qualified sheikh.  As noted those that recite the  with a sukoon also read the next letter as a , not a , when reciting this word in continuum with the next word, the last word of the aayaah.

It is not allowed to mix different ways of recitation together, meaning picking and choosing which word you would like to read which way.  Each way of recitation is itself self contained and cannot be intermixed in normal recitation with the other ways of recitation.  Each way of recitation is authentic and part of the revelation.  Each way is transmitted from the Prophet Mohammed, to the companions and then down through the generations in a confirmed and carefully documented chain of transmission.