The Prophet ﷺ said, "Ubayy, I was made to recite the Quran, and I was asked, 'On one letter or two?' The angel who was with me said, 'Say two letters.' So I said, 'Two letters.' Then I was asked, 'On two letters or three?' The angel who was with me said, 'Say three.' So I said, 'Three.' This continued until it reached seven letters. Then he said, 'Each one of them is sufficient and adequate, whether you say Sameeun Aleem or Azeezun Hakeem, so long as you do not end a verse of punishment with mercy, or a verse of mercy with punishment.'"
حدثنا أبو الوليد الطيالسي حدثنا همام بن يحيى عن قتادة عن يحيى بن يعمر عن سليمان بن صرد الخزاعي
قال النبي ﷺ يا أبي إني أقرئت القرآن فقيل لي على حرف أو حرفين فقال الملك الذي معي قل على حرفين قلت على حرفين فقيل لي على حرفين أو ثلاثة فقال الملك الذي معي قل على ثلاثة قلت على ثلاثة حتى بلغ سبعة أحرف ثم قال ليس منها إلا شاف كاف إن قلت سميعا عليما عزيزا حكيما ما لم تختم آية عذاب برحمة أو آية رحمة بعذاب
Citation. Its chain is daif. Ahmad narrated it (5/124) from the hadith of Hammam, with the same wording.Qatada conceals defects in transmission, as noted previously in hadith no. 29, and here he narrated it using the ambiguous "an" formula. Part of the hadith has a sahih corroborating witness, except for his statement, "All-Hearing, All-Knowing, All-Mighty, All-Wise."