Is it permissible for a Quran reciter to recite using the famous canonical recitations in prayer and outside of it, and the Shaykh's advice to consider the conditions of people and be gentle with them

The questioner : If you would be so kind, please explain to us in detail whether it is permissible for a Quran reciter to recite with a different narration, whether he is an imam inside the prayer or outside the prayer, and the evidence for this, may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : If the narration he recites with has been received from scholars specialized in the recitations established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then it is permissible for him to recite with it; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: Many scholars have explained that the letters are the modes of recitation with which the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to recite during his lifetime. Many hadiths have come that clarify that when some of the Companions would hear from another a recitation they had not heard from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they would rush to deny it, but they would verify and go with their companion who differed from them in recitation to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They would present to him the recitation they had heard from their companion, which they did not know before. The Messenger (peace be upon him) would say: So if the recitation that this or that imam recites is from the correct recitations received from the specialists in recitations, then it is a permissible and prescribed matter.
However, I have a personal observation that if this correct recitation is not famous among some people, the imam should not surprise them with it; because whoever is ignorant of something opposes it. But if he is in a private gathering, or if he is leading people who know him and he knows them, and they know that he recites with another correct recitation, even if it was not known to them, but by virtue of their companionship with this imam or this reciter, they have learned from him that he recites with a correct recitation, even if it was not previously famous among them, in this case he may recite it. But if he leads people and among them are various types and colors, he should not surprise them with a recitation they do not know. This is part of the proper conduct we received from some of the Companions who used to say: "Address people according to the capacity of their minds," or similar in meaning. Do you want Allah and His Messenger to be lied about?! So it is not befitting for a scholar or an imam to surprise people with something they object to. It is necessary to present to them an introduction. This introduction may be facilitated in some cases, and may not be facilitated in others.
And I mention to you on this occasion that I often used to travel for Hajj or 'Umrah, and I would stay in some countries or villages where we know some of our brothers. They would present me as an imam, so I would say to the one who presented me: "My brother, you know that I am a traveler, and it is obligatory for a traveler to shorten the prayer. I will pray and shorten it. The people are not accustomed to this; these are residents. They need to pray, for example, the 'Asr prayer behind me. They need to pray four rak'ahs, but I want to pray two rak'ahs." He would say to me, and he had some knowledge: "No problem, my brother, let them learn." And this is correct speech: let them learn. And indeed, what I feared happened. Although I did not say the takbir until after I gave a lecture while standing, and I clarified to them the Sunnah and that I am the imam. Now he suggests to me that I lead you, and I am following the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him); therefore, I will pray two rak'ahs. And I will not say the taslim to my right in a way that you hear; I will say the taslim secretly so that you do not say it with me. I will say the taslim secretly and address you in a clear Arabic tongue, saying to you: "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling people." Then I would turn to the left and say "Peace be upon you." Despite the long and detailed lecture, after I said the taslim, some people made a mistake and said the taslim with me, and some were correct and stood up. But what did they do? They said to the one who presented me: "My brother, why did you present this man to us? He caused confusion for us," and so on. So people, truly, like the prayer, must have their ears struck repeatedly, ball after ball, until it is firmly established in their minds that the traveling imam prays two rak'ahs. Then when he says the taslim, they know that they must complete their prayer. So it is not befitting for the wise scholar to surprise people and strike them thus with matters, even if they are true. Rather, he must prepare the ground for them. This is from the manners of the Messenger (peace be upon him) that appeared in many authentic hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
And this, in reality, opens for us a door of knowledge that we must mention, which is: The scholar must truly advise people, guide them, and remind them, as Allah the Exalted said: But he must prepare the ground for it.
It has come in the two Sahihs, al-Bukhari and Muslim, from the hadith of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Mecca as a conqueror, he entered the interior of the Ka'bah and prayed two rak'ahs in it. Then he came out. Lady 'A'ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), wanted to follow her husband and her Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and pray in the interior of the Ka'bah. You know that the Ka'bah now, as it was in that time, cannot be entered into its interior except by a ladder. And thus, the Muslims inherited the Ka'bah with this high door. So if a woman, or even a man, wanted to enter the Ka'bah, he would have to exert himself and tire himself until he could climb up. So he said to Lady 'A'ishah: Meaning, take the Black Stone out of the Ka'bah. And they were not able to build the Ka'bah with the Black Stone inside it. The point is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said in the completion of his hadith: Meaning, I would have put the Black Stone into the Ka'bah How beautiful this is Why did the Messenger (peace be upon him) not do this? He feared that the demolition of the Ka'bah would cause disturbance in the hearts of some people who needed their faith to be strengthened. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) postponed this matter to a time that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) would will. And unfortunately, the story has a continuation, where Allah provided for this Sacred House, and for this Noble Ka'bah, one who fulfilled the desire of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in his time, and that was 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr. But the oppressive politics returned the House to what it was, on the pretext that this one who did this and brought about this matter had contradicted the House as the Messenger (peace be upon him) left it. The hadith of 'A'ishah had not reached him, and the one who implemented the hadith of 'A'ishah was her cousin, 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, whose mother was Asma' bint Abi Bakr, the sister of Lady 'A'ishah. So when 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr was able to carry out this reform, he actually did so. But that was during a fitnah that arose between him and the Umayyads, and specifically 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. And unfortunately, the end of the fitnah was that he was killed and crucified by al-Hajjaj, and so on.
When the matter was settled for 'Abd al-Malik, he ordered the Ka'bah to be returned to what it was in the time of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. In a quiet session in his council, he addressed this issue, and one of the attendees, conveying the trust of scholarly integrity, said to him: "O Commander of the Faithful, what 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr did is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated to 'A'ishah," and he mentioned this story. So 'Abd al-Malik said: "If I had known that, I would have left it as he did it," with great regret.
The point is: That from the policy of the Shari'ah is that a person should be gentle in guiding people and directing them with whatever methods he can. And we do not mean by this at all following people by concealing knowledge, and concealing the truth, and this is another matter. The reality is that all people are between excess and negligence, and negligence is more common, which is wasting knowledge and wasting advice. And the extremists who do not adopt wise methods in teaching people and conveying to them; therefore, the truth, as Allah the Exalted said: Meaning, knowledge is not concealed in the name of the policy of the Shari'ah, nor is knowledge enforced by force in the name of No .
If the imam recites a reading that is established and transmitted from the specialized scholars, the original ruling is that there is nothing wrong with it. However, he must not startle the people with what they do not know, and he must prepare them for what he intends to teach them.