١٠. Among those who have admitted the lack of uninterrupted transmission in even the seven readings is the jurist-doctor Mui}ammad b. SaId al-lryan, in his annota‌ tions to [al-RafiIs ljaz al-Quran], where he says:

None of the readings is free of incongruity; even the seven famous [ones] have much incongruity in them. ١٥ ...According to [some authorities], the soundest readings from the point of view of well-documented chains of transmission are those of Nafi and
A im;
Amr and al-KisaI. ١ ٦

In the preceding, we have cited the minimal number of views necessary. We shall have the opportunity to cite more views later.
At this juncture let us ponder for a moment. After the testimony of all these promi‌ nent scholars about its absence, is there any value left to the claim regarding the uninterrupted transmission of the readings? In addition, is it possible to prove the uninterrupted transmission by following the opinion of an authority, that is, through taqlid (unquestioning adoption of ideas), and by accepting the lead of those who have merely conceded to somebody elses investigation without seeing evidence to that effect, more particularly in cases where the conscience refutes the claim to uninter‌ rupted transmission? And even more astonishing than all of this is the ruling of the mufti of Andalusia, Abu SaId, that anyone who denied its uninterrupted transmis‌ sion had committed an act of disbelief (kufr)!
Assuming that, according to all concerned, the readings were transmitted without
interruption, would someone who denies this be committing an act of disbelief, if [maintaining such a belief] is not one of the necessities of religion? Furthermore, assuming that, as a result of this presumed uninterruption in transmission, such a belief becomes a necessity of religion, then, would anyone denying it be committing an act of disbelief, even the one for whom this is not proven? ٠, my God, indeed, such a claim is nothing but insolence against You, and a transgression against Your bound‌ aries, and a cause of division among the followers of Your religion!

The Evidence That Supports the Uninterrupted
Transmission of the Readings

Those who maintain that the seven readings have been transmitted without interrup‌
tion base their views on the following considerations.
First, [consider] the claim that there is a consensus of scholars from early times till the present on this opinion. The error of this claim has already been made clear to the reader. Add to this that a view accepted by one school of thought and rejected by others does not constitute a consensus. We shall elaborate on this [later], God willing.
Second, the importance paid to the Quran by the Companions of the Prophet and
their Followers must have entailed the uninterrupted transmission of its reading. And this is evident to any fair-minded and just person.
The response to this is as follows. This argument actually establishes only the unin‌
terrupted transmission of the Quran itself, not the manner of reading it, especially since