Qira'at
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Qira'at, in the context of Islam, means literally the readings, that is the method of recitation. There are 10 recognised schools of qira'at, and each one derives its name from the leader of the school of Qur'an recitation.Qirâ'a is not a 'variant' reading or text. The Muslims in history have never considered different Qirâ'ât as different 'versions' of the Qur'an. Furthermore, neither it is defined as 'variant' text as some Orientalists and Christian missionaries have done so.
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[edit] Revelation Of The Qur'an In Seven Ahrûf
It is a well-known fact that there are seven different ahrûf in which the Qur'an was revealed. In the Islamic tradition, this basis can be traced back to a number of hadîths concerning the revelation of the Qur'an in seven ahrûf (singular harf). Some of the examples of these hadîths are as follows:
From Abû Hurairah:
The Messenger of God(P) said: "The Qur'an was sent down in seven ahruf. Disputation concerning the Qur'an is unbelief" - he said this three times - "and you should put into practice what you know of it, and leave what you do not know of it to someone who does."[1]
From Abû Hurairah:
The Messenger of God(P) said: "An All-knowing, Wise, Forgiving, Merciful sent down the Qur'an in seven ahruf."[2]
From cAbdullâh Ibn Mascud:
The Messenger of God(P) said: "The Qur'an was sent down in seven ahruf. Each of these ahruf has an outward aspect (zahr) and an inward aspect (batn); each of the ahruf has a border, and each border has a lookout."[3]
The meaning of this hadîth is explained as:
As for the Prophet's(P) words concerning the Qur'an, each of the ahruf has a border, it means that each of the seven aspects has a border which God has marked off and which no one may overstep. And as for his words Each of the ahruf has an outward aspect (zahr) and an inward aspect (batn), its outward aspect is the ostensive meaning of the recitation, and its inward aspect is its interpretation, which is concealed. And by his words each border ...... has a lookout he means that for each of the borders which God marked off in the Qur'an - of the lawful and unlawful, and its other legal injunctions - there is a measure of God's reward and punishment which surveys it in the Hereafter, and inspects it ...... at the Resurrection ......[4]
And in another hadîth cAbdullâh Ibn Mascud said:
The Messenger of God(P) said: "The first Book came down from one gate according to one harf, but the Qur'an came down from seven gates according to seven ahruf: prohibiting and commanding, lawful and unlawful, clear and ambiguous, and parables. So, allow what it makes lawful, proscribe what it makes unlawful, do what it commands you to do, forbid what it prohibits, be warned by its parables, act on its clear passages, trust in its ambiguous passages." And they said: "We believe in it; it is all from our Lord."[5]
And Abû Qilaba narrated:
It has reached me that the Prophet(P) said: "The Qur'an was sent down according to seven ahruf: command and prohibition, encouragement of good and discouragement of evil, dialectic, narrative, and parable."[6]
These above hadîths serve as evidence that the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf. The defination of the term ahruf has been the subject of much scholarly discussion and is included in the general works of the Qur'an. The forms matched the dialects of following seven tribes: Quraysh, Hudhayl, Thaqîf, Hawâzin, Kinânah, Tamîm and Yemen. The revelation of the Qur'an in seven different ahruf made its recitation and memorization much easier for the various tribes. At the same time the Qur'an challenged them to produce a surah like it in their own dialect so that they would not complain about the incomprehensibility.
For example, the phrase 'alayhim (on them) was read by some 'alayhumoo and the word siraat (path, bridge) was read as ziraat and mu'min (believer) as moomin.[7]
[edit] Difference Between Ahrûf & Qirâ'ât
It is important to realize the difference between ahruf and Qirâ'ât. Before going into that it is interesting to know why the seven ahruf were brought down to one during cUthmân's(R) time.
The Qur'an continued to be read according to the seven ahruf until midway through Caliph 'Uthman's rule when some confusion arose in the outlying provinces concerning the Qur'an's recitation. Some Arab tribes had began to boast about the superiority of their ahruf and a rivalry began to develop. At the same time, some new Muslims also began mixing the various forms of recitation out of ignorance. Caliph 'Uthman decided to make official copies of the Qur'an according to the dialect of the Quraysh and send them along with the Qur'anic reciters to the major centres of Islam. This decision was approved by Sahaabah and all unofficial copies of the Qur'an were destroyed. Following the distribution of the official copies, all the other ahruf were dropped and the Qur'an began to be read in only one harf. Thus, the Qur'an which is available through out the world today is written and recited only according to the harf of Quraysh.[8]
Now a few words on Qirâ'ât:
A Qirâ'ât is for the most part a method of pronunciation used in the recitations of the Qur'an. These methods are different from the seven forms or modes (ahruf) in which the Qur'an was revealed. The seven modes were reduced to one, that of the Quraysh, during the era of Caliph 'Uthman, and all of the methods of recitation are based on this mode. The various methods have all been traced back to the Prophet(P) through a number of Sahaabah who were most noted for their Qur'anic recitations. That is, these Sahaabah recited the Qur'an to the Prophet(P) or in his presence and received his approval. Among them were the following: Ubayy Ibn K'ab, 'Alee Ibn Abi Taalib, Zayd Ibn Thaabit, 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, Abu ad-Dardaa and Abu Musaa al-Ash'aree. Many of the other Sahaabah learned from these masters. For example, Ibn 'Abbaas, the master commentator of the Qur'an among the Sahaabah, learned from both Ubayy and Zayd.[9]
The transmission of the Qur'an is a mutawâtir transmission, that is, there are a large number of narrators on each level of the chain. Dr. Bilaal Philips gives a brief account of the history of recitation in his book:
Among the next generation of Muslims referred to as Taabe'oon, there arose many scholars who learned the various methods of recitation from the Sahaabah and taught them to others. Centres of Qur'anic recitation developed in al-Madeenah, Makkah, Kufa, Basrah and Syria, leading to the evolution of Qur'anic recitation into an independent science. By mid-eighth century CE, there existed a large number of outstanding scholars all of whom were considered specialists in the field of recitation. Most of their methods of recitations were authenticated by chains of reliable narrators ending with the Prophet(P). Those methods which were supported by a large number of reliable narrators on each level of their chain were called Mutawaatir and were considered to be the most accurate. Those methods in which the number of narrators were few or only one on any level of the chain were refered to as shaadhdh. Some of the scholars of the following period began the practice of designating a set number of individual scholars from the pervious period as being the most noteworthy and accurate. By the middle of the tenth century, the number seven became popular since it coincided with the number of dialects in which the Qur'an was revealed.[10]
The author went on to say:
The first to limit the number of authentic RECITERS to seven was the Iraqi scholar, Abu Bakr Ibn Mujâhid (d. 936CE), and those who wrote the books on Qirâ'ah after him followed suit. This limitation is not an accurate reprensentation of the classical scholars of Qur'anic recitation. There were many others who were as good as the seven and the number who were greater than them.[11]
The seven sets of readings accepted by Ibn-Mujâhid represent the systems prevailing in different districts. There was one each from Medina, Mecca, Damascus and Basra, and three from Kufa.From each of these reciters usually two readings became more popular.
[edit] Quranic Orthography
To ensure correct reading of the written texts of the Qur'an, particularly for those coming after the first generation of Muslims, steps were taken gradually to improve the orthography. This started by introducing dots to indicate different vowels and nûnâtion and these were put in different coloured ink from that of the text. There were also dots to distinguish between consonants of similar shape. This work was carried out chiefly by three men: Abû-l-Aswad al-Du'alî (d. 69 / 688), Nasr Ibn cAsim (d. 89 / 707) and Yahya Ibn Yacmur (d.129 /746). Understandably there was some opposition at first to adding anything to the way the Qur'an was written. Ibn cUmar (73/692) disliked the dotting; others welcomed it, clearly because it was, in fact, doing no more than ensuring proper reading of the Qur'an as received from the Prophet(P), and this view was accepted by the majority of Muslims throughout the different parts of the Muslims world, from the time of the tâbicûn. The people of Madinah were reported to have used red dots for vowels - tanwîn, tashdîd, takhfîf, sukûn, wasl and madd and yellow dots for the hamzas in particular. Naqt (placing dots on words in the mushaf), became a separate subject of study with many books written on it.
[edit] Conditions For The Validity Of a Qirâ'ât(Reading)
For any given recitation to be accepted as authentic (Sahih), it had to fulfill three conditions and if any of the conditions were missing such a recitation was classified as Shâdhdh (unusual).
The first condition was that the recitation have an authentic chain of narration in which the chain of narrators was continuous, the narrators were all known to be righteous and they were all knwon to possess good memories. It was also required that the recitation be conveyed by a large number of narrators on each level of the chain of narration below the level of Sahaabah (the condition of Tawaatur). Narrations which had authentic chains but lacked the condition of Tawaatur were accepted as explanations (Tafseer) of the Sahaabah but were not considered as methods of reciting the Qur'an. As for the narrations which did not even have an authentic chain of narration, they were classified as Baatil (false) and rejected totally.
The seond condition was that the variations in recitations match known Arabic grammatical constructions. Unusual constructions could be verified by their existence in passages of pre-Islamic prose or poetry.
The third condition required the recitation to coincide with the script of one of the copies of the Qur'an distributed during the era of Caliph cUthmân. Hence differences which result from dot placement (i.e., ta'lamoon and ya'lamoon) are considered acceptable provided the other conditions are met. A recitation of a construction for which no evidence could be found would be classified Shaadhdh. This classification did not mean that all aspects of the recitation was considered Shaadhdh. it only meant that the unverified constructions were considered Shaadhdh.
[edit] The Ten Readers & Their Transmitters
1. Nafi‘ al-Madani (of Medinah): Ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Abi Na‘im, Abu Ruwaym al-Laythi, his origin is from Isfahan (70-169 AH).
Qalun: Abu Musa, ‘Isa Ibn Mina al-Zarqi, the slave of Bani Zuhrah (120-220 AH).
Warsh: ‘Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qutbi, the Egyptian the slave of Quraysh (110-197 AH).
2. Ibn Kathir, the Meccan: ‘Abdullah, Abu Ma‘bad al-‘Attar al-Dari, the Persian (45-120AH).
Al-Buzzi: Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdillah, Abu al-Hasan al-Buzzi, the Persian (170-250 AH).
Qunbul: Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman, the Makhzumi (by loyalty), Abu ‘Amr the Meccan, known as Qunbul (195-291 AH).
3. Abu ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Ala': Zuban Ibn al-‘Ala' at-Tamimi al-Mazini, the Basran (68-154 AH).
Hafs al-Duri: Abu ‘Amr, Hafs Ibn ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Baghdadi, the grammarian, the blind. (-246 AH).
Al-Susi: Abu Shu‘ayb, Salih Ibn Ziyad Ibn ‘Abdillah Ibn Isma‘il Ibn al-Jarud ar-Riqqi. (-261 AH).
4. Ibn ‘Amir of Damascus: ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amir Ibn Yazid Ibn Tamim Ibn Rabi‘ah al-Yahsibi (8-118 AH).
Hisham: Abu al-Walid, Hisham ibn ‘Ammar Ibn Nusayr Ibn Maysarah al-Salami al-Dimashqi (153-245 AH).
Ibn Dhakwan: Abu ‘Amr, ‘Abdullah Ibn Ahmad al-Qurayshi al-Dimashqi. (173-242 AH).
5. ‘Aasim, the Kufan: Abu Bakr, ‘Aasim Ibn Abi al-Najud al-'Asadi (by loyalty) (-127 AH).
Shu‘bah: Abu Bakr, Shu‘bah Ibn ‘Ayyash Ibn Salim al-Kufi (i.e., the Kufan) an-Nahshali (by loyalty) (95-193 AH).
Hafs: Abu ‘Amr, Hafs Ibn Sulayman Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Abi Dawud al-Asadi al-Kufi (the Kufan). (90-180 AH).
6. Hamzah, the Kufan: Abu ‘Imarah, Hamzah Ibn Habib al-Zayyat al-Taymi by loyalty (80-156 AH).
Khalaf: Abu Muhammad al-Asadi al-Bazzar al-Baghdadi (150-229 AH).
Khallad: Abu ‘Isa, Khallad Ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi (- 220 AH).
7. Al-Kisa'i, the Kufan: Abu al-Hasan, ‘Ali Ibn Hamzah, the Persian, Asadi by loyalty (119 - 189 AH)
Al-Layth: Abu al-Harith, al-Layth Ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi (- 240 AH).
Al-Duri: Hafs the transmitter of Abu ‘Amr (see above).
8. Abu Ja‘far: Yazid Ibn al-Qa‘qa‘ al-Makhzumi al-Madani (of Medinah) (- 130 AH).
‘Isa Ibn Wirdan: Abu al-Harith al-Madani (of Medinah by style) (- 160 AH)
Ibn Jummaz: Abu ar-Rabi‘, Sulayman Ibn Muslim Ibn Jummaz al-Madani (of Medinah) (- 170 AH)
9. Ya‘qub: Abu Muhammad, Ya‘qub Ibn Ishaq Ibn Zayd Ibn ‘Abdillah Ibn Abi Ishaq al-Hadrami, the Basran, the slave of the Hadramis (117 - 205 AH)
Ruways: Abu ‘Abdillah, Muhammad Ibn al-Mutawakkil, the Basran (- 238 AH).
Rawh: Abu al-Hasan, Rawh Ibn ‘Abd al-Mu'min, the Basran, the Hudhali by loyalty (- 234 AH).
10. Khalaf the 10th: The transmitter of Hamzah (see above)
Ishaq: Abu Ya‘qub, Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim Ibn ‘Uthman al-Maruzi al-Baghdadi (- 286 AH).
Idris: Abu al-Hasan, Idris Ibn ‘Abd al-Karim al-Haddad al-Baghdadi (189 - 292 AH).
[edit] The Chain Of Narration Of Different Qirâ'ât
In this section, the chain of narration or isnad of each Qirâ'ât will be presented. It is worth noting that the chains of narration here are mutawâtir.
Qirâ'a from Madinah: The reading of Madinah known as the reading of Nâfic Ibn Abî Nacîm (more precisely Abû cAbd ar-Rahmân Nâfic Ibn cAbd ar-Rahmân).
Nâfic died in the year 169 H. He reported from Yazîd Ibn al-Qacqâc and cAbd ar-Rahmân Ibn Hurmuz al-'Araj and Muslim Ibn Jundub al-Hudhalî and Yazîd Ibn Român and Shaybah Ibn Nisâ'. All of them reported from Abû Hurayrah and Ibn cAbbâs and cAbdallâh Ibn 'Ayyâsh Ibn Abî Rabî'ah al-Makhzûmî and the last three reported from Ubayy Ibn Kacb from the Prophet(P).[14]
From Nâfic, two major readings came to us : Warsh and Qâlûn.
Qirâ'a from Makkah: The reading of Ibn Kathîr (cAbdullâh Ibn Kathîr ad-Dârî):
Ibn Kathîr died in the year 120 H. He reported from cAbdillâh Ibn Assa'ib al-Makhzûmî who reported from Ubayy Ibn Kacb (The companion of the Prophet(P)).
Ibn Kathîr has also reported from Mujâhid Ibn Jabr who reported from his teacher Ibn cAbbâs who reported from Ubayy Ibn Kacb and Zayd Ibn Thâbit and both reported from the Prophet(P).[15]
Qirâ'a from Damascus: From ash-Shâm (Damascus), the reading is called after cAbdullâh Ibn cAamir.
He died in 118 H. He reported from Abû ad-Dardâ' and al-Mughîrah Ibn Abî Shihâb al-Makhzûmî from cUthmân.[16]
Qirâ'a from Basrah: The reading of Abû cAmr from Basrah:
(According to al-Sabcah, the book of Ibn Mujâhid page 79, Abû cAmr is called Zayyan Abû cAmr Ibn al-cAlâ'. He was born in Makkah in the year 68 and grew up at Kûfah.) He died at 154 H. He reported from Mujâhid and Sacîd Ibn Jubayr and 'Ikrimah Ibn Khâlid al-Makhzûmî and 'Atâ' Ibn Abî Rabâh and Muhammad Ibn cAbd ar-Rahmân Ibn al-Muhaysin and Humayd Ibn Qays al-cA'raj and all are from Makkah.
He also reported from Yazîd Ibn al-Qacqâc and Yazîd Ibn Rumân and Shaybah Ibn Nisâ' and all are from Madinah.
He also reported from al-'Assan and Yahyâ Ibn Yacmur and others from Basrah.
All these people took from the companions of the Prophet(P).[17]
From him came two readings called as-Sûsi and ad-Dûrî.
Qirâ'a from Basrah: From Basrah, the reading known as
Yacqûb Ibn Ishâq al-Hadramî the companion of Shucbah (again). He reported from Abû cAmr and others.[18]
Qirâ'a from Kûfah:The reading of cAasim Ibn Abî an-Najûd (cAasim Ibn Bahdalah Ibn Abî an-Najûd):
He died in the year 127 or 128 H. He reported from Abû cAbd ar-Rahmân as-Solammî and Zirr Ibn Hubaysh.
Abû cAbd ar-Rahmân reported from cUthmân and cAlî Ibn Abî Tâlib and 'Ubayy (Ibn Kacb) and Zayd (Ibn Thâbit).
And Zirr reported from Ibn Mascud.[19]
Two readings were repoted from cAasim: The famous one is Hafs, the other one is Shucbah.
Qirâ'a from Kûfah: The reading of Hamzah Ibn Habîb (from Kûfah as well)
Hamzah was born in the year 80 H and died in the year 156 H. He reported from Muhammad Ibn cAbd ar-Rahmân Ibn Abî Laylâ (who reads the reading of cAlî Ibn Abî Tâlib (RA), according to the book of Ibn Mujâhid called al-Sabcah - The Seven - page 74) and Humrân Ibn A'yan and Abî Ishâq as-Sabî'y and Mansur Ibn al-Mu'tamir and al-Mughîrah Ibn Miqsam and Jacfar Ibn Muhammad Ibn cAlî Ibn Abî Tâlib from the Prophet(P).[20]
Qirâ'a from Kûfah: The reading of al-'Amash from Kûfah as well:
He reported from Yahyâ Ibn Waththâb from 'Alqamah and al-'Aswad and 'Ubayd Ibn Nadlah al-Khuzâ'y and Abû cAbd ar-Rahmân as-Sulamî and Zirr ibn Hubaysh and all reported from Ibn Mascud.[21]
Qirâ'a from Kûfah: The reading of cAli Ibn Hamzah al-Kisâ'i known as al-Kisâ'i from Kûfah.
He died in the year 189 H. He reported from Hamzah (the previous one) and cIesâ Ibn cUmar and Muhammad Ibn cAbd ar-Rahmân Ibn Abî Laylâ and others.[22]
[edit] See also
[edit] Source
[edit] Reference
cAlawi Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Bilfaqih, Al-Qirâ'ât al-cAshr al-Mutawâtir, 1994, Dâr al-Muhâjir
Adrian Brockett, "The Value of Hafs And Warsh Transmissions For The Textual History Of The Qur'an" in Andrew Rippin's (Ed.), Approaches of The History of Interpretation of The Qur'an, 1988, Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 33.
