There is only one Quran out there. Many enemies of Islam will make outrageous claims of there being many different Qurans, however, all of these accusations are completely baseless. There are over two dozen confirmed 7th century CE manuscripts of the Quran found that can be carbon dated exactly to the time of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, and amazingly, none of them are different than the Quran that Muslims read today! Some of these manuscripts include the Codex Parisino-Petropolitanus, Codex 331, Codex Mashhad, San’aa Palimpsest, Topkapi Ms., and many more. This is why even the different sects of Islam all have one thing that they share in common: they all follow the exact same Quran.
But what about the different Ahruf and Qiraat of the Quran? Are these not different versions of the Quran? The Ahruf are just the different methods or styles of recitation of the Quran. The Qiraat can be thought of as a way of reciting that incorporates more than one Ahruf in it. Therefore, the Ahruf and Qiraat are not different versions of the Quran, they are just different methods of reciting it. The biggest proof that these different styles of recitation are all from Allah and are not man-made is because they are specifically talked about in many Ahadiths. It is not like these Ahruf were made up hundreds of years after the Prophet Muhammad PBUH died, rather, He is literally the one who taught each of the seven Ahruf. It was narrated that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH said, “Gabriel taught me to recite in one style. I replied to him and kept asking him to give more (styles), till he reached seven modes (of recitation)” (Sahih Muslim 819a). In another narration (Sunan an-Nasa’i 939), it tells us the reason why these Ahruf were sent down, and that is to make it easier for the people to recite the Quran. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, and even today, there were many different Arab people who spoke in different Arabic dialects. Therefore, the Prophet Muhammad PBUH asked for more Ahruf so it can be easier for his nation to recite it. To give a simple example, if I speak American english, the sentence “the team is playing” is grammatically correct. However, if I speak British english, I would say “the team are playing.” This is the same with “tomayto” and “tomahto,” or “potayto” and “patahto.” Both variations are correct, however, due to the different English dialects, they are pronounced differently. Similarly, this is why Allah sent down the Quran in seven Ahruf, and that is to make it easier for the people to recite. That is why when Uthmaan RA made copies of the Quran, he did so according to one Harf, but he omitted dots and vowel points so that other ahruf could be accommodated. However, if one tries to add a new method of reciting the Quran that does not come from the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings, it is immediately rejected since these Ahruf can only come from Allah. That is why wherever you travel across the world, you will never find a Quran that has a missing verse nor an extra verse. Rather, millions of Muslims have the Quran memorized from cover to cover, and if anyone recited or made copies of the Quran that does not date back to the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings, it will easily be found and rejected.
And Allah knows best.