Bukhari 7527

Bukhari reported through Ishaq, from Abu Asim, from Ibn Jurayj, from Zuhri, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, "He is not one of us who does not chant the Quran melodiously." It is said that Abu Asim erred in this. The correct version is what Zuhri, Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Yahya bin Abu Kathir, Muhammad bin Amr and others reported from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurairah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, "Allah has not given permission for anything the way He has given permission for a prophet with a beautiful voice to chant the Quran, reciting it aloud." Abu Asim's statement is an error, for Aqeel, Yunus, Amr bin Harith, Amr bin Dinar, Amr bin Atiya, Ishaq bin Rashid, Maamar and others reported from Zuhri something different from what Abu Asim reported from Ibn Jurayj with the wording we mentioned above.Ibn Jurayj only reported this wording that Abu Asim attributed to him through a different chain, which he reported from Ibn Abu Mulayka, from Abu Nahik, from Saeed, as Ibn Uyayna stated regarding him.

I did not find any discussion of this hadith in the introduction, having read through all the criticized hadiths. As for Fath al-Bari, the Hafiz said that it is a single hadith, except that some transmitted it with the wording "Allah has not permitted," while others transmitted it with the wording "He is not one of us." End of quote.

I say, what appears to me is that the two are not identical, neither in chain nor in text. As for the text, the hadith "Allah has not given permission to anything the way He has given permission" conveys encouragement to beautify the voice, while his saying "he is not one of us" conveys a warning against one who does not chant the Quran melodiously.As for the chain, a group of narrators reported it from Zuhri differently from what Abu Asim reported from Ibn Jurayj from Zuhri, and a group followed Zuhri in narrating the hadith with the wording "Allah has not given permission." However, attributing the error to Abu Asim alone, to the exclusion of others, is not sound, for it is possible that he is the one who erred, or that Ibn Jurayj is the one who erred, unless it is narrated from Ibn Jurayj, just as the narrators reported it from Zuhri, with the wording "has not given permission." In that case, the error would then be attributed to Abu Asim. And Allah knows best.