In Islam, Qira'at, which means literally the readings, terminologically means the method of recitation. Traditionally, there are 10 recognised schools of qira'at, and each one derives its name from a famous reader of Qur'an recitation.
According to hadith literature, the Qur'an is revealed in seven ahruf (singular harf). The most famous of those hadiths is reported in the Muwatta compiled by Malik ibn Anas.
Malik Ibn Anas has reported:[1]
Suyuti, a famous 15th century Islamic theologian concludes his discussion of this hadith:[2]
And to me the best opinion in this regard is that of the people who say that this Hadith is from among matters of mutashabihat, the meaning of which cannot be understood.
Many reports contradict presence of variant readings:[3]
The meaning of this hadîth is explained as:[6] (pp. 31)
As for the Prophet's(sws) 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 ......
Bilal Philips writes that 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 begun 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 writing conventions 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. Uthman burned the unofficial copies of the Quran. 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 throughout the world today is written and recited only according to the harf of Quraysh.[7]
On Qirâ'ât, Philips writes that it 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.[7] (pp. 29–30)
On transmission of Qur'an, Philips writes that among the next generation of Muslims referred to as Tabi'in, 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 referred to as shaadhdh. Some of the scholars of the following period began the practice of designating a set number of individual scholars from the previous 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.[7] (pp. 30)
Ghamidi on the other hand while commenting on hadith in Muwatta[1] writes that if Ahruf are taken in the context of pronunciation (for which actual words are lughat and lahjat), then the content of the hadith rejects this meaning itself as it is known that Umar and Hisham belonged to the same tribe - Quraysh, and people from same tribe cannot have different pronunciation. Hence, he question those hadith which purport "variant readings". He also insists on the basis of Quranic verses ([Quran 87:6], [Quran 75:16]) that Qur'an was compiled in the life of Muhammad, hence he questions those hadith which report compilation of Qur'an in Uthman's period.[3] As most of these narrations are reported by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Imam Layth Ibn Sa‘d in his letter to Imam Malik has written:[3][8]
And when we would meet Ibn Shihab, there would arise a difference of opinion in many issues. When any one of us would ask him in writing about some issue, he, in spite of being so learned, would give three very different answers, and he would not even be aware of what he had already said. It is because of this that I have left him – something which you did not like.
It is said that Abu ‘Ubayd Qasim Ibn Sallam (d. 224 AH) selected twenty five readings in his book. The seven readings which are famous in current times were selected by Abu Bakr Ibn Mujahid (d. 324 AH) at the end of the third century hijrah. Thus it is generally accepted that their number cannot be ascertained but every reading is Qur'an which has been reported through a correct chain of narration, are found in any way in the masahif prepared by ‘Uthman (rta) and are correct from any aspect as far as the Arabic language is concerned. Some of these readings are regarded as mutawatir; however, a look at their chains of narration which are found in books leaves no doubt that they are ahad (isolate), most narrators of which are suspect in the eyes of the rijal authorities.[3]
To ensure correct reading of the written texts of the Qurʾān, 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: Abu'l Aswad ad-Du'alî (d. 69 / 688), Naṣr Ibn ʿĀṣim (d. 89 / 707) and Yaḥya Ibn Yaʿmur (d.129 /746). Understandably there was some opposition at first to adding anything to the way the Qurʾān was written. Ibn ʿUmar (73/692) disliked the dotting; others welcomed it, clearly because it was, in fact, doing no more than ensuring proper reading of the Qurʾān as received from the Prophet, and this view was accepted by the majority of Muslims throughout the different parts of the Muslims world, from the time of the tābiʿūn. The people of Madinah were reported to have used red dots for vowels - tanwīn, tashdīd, takhfīf, sukīn, waṣl and madd and yellow dots for the hamzas in particular. Naqt (placing dots on the rasm), became a separate subject of study with many books written on it.
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 has 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 known 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 second 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.
| Qari (Reader) | Rawi (Transmitters) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Born | Died | Full name | Additional info | Name | Born | Died | Full name | Additional info | Present region of use |
| Nafi‘ al-Madani | 70 AH | 169 AH-785 CE | Ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Abi Na‘im, Abu Ruwaym al-Laythi | His origin is from Isfahan | Qalun | 120 AH | 220 AH | Abu Musa, ‘Isa Ibn Mina al-Zarqi | Client of Bani Zuhrah | Libya, Tunisia and parts of Qatar[9] |
| Warsh | 110 AH | 197 AH | ‘Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qutbi | Egyptian; client of Quraysh | Algeria, Morocco, parts of Tunisia , West Africa and Sudan[9] and parts of Libya. | |||||
| Ibn Kathir al-Makki | 45 AH | 120 AH-737 CE | ‘Abdullah, Abu Ma‘bad al-‘Attar al-Dari | Persian | Al-Buzzi | 170 AH | 250 AH | Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdillah, Abu al-Hasan al-Buzzi | Persian | |
| Qunbul | 195 AH | 291 AH | Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman, al-Makhzumi, Abu ‘Amr | Meccan and Makhzumi (by loyalty) | ||||||
| Abu ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Ala' | 68 AH | 154 AH | Zuban Ibn al-‘Ala' at-Tamimi al-Mazini, al-Basri | Hafs al-Duri | ? | 246 AH | Abu ‘Amr, Hafs Ibn ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Baghdadi | Grammarian. Blind. | Parts of Sudan and West Africa[9]. | |
| Al-Susi | ? | 261 AH | Abu Shu‘ayb, Salih Ibn Ziyad Ibn ‘Abdillah Ibn Isma‘il Ibn al-Jarud ar-Riqqi | |||||||
| Ibn ‘Amir ad-Dimashqi | 8 AH | 118 AH | ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amir Ibn Yazid Ibn Tamim Ibn Rabi‘ah al-Yahsibi | Hisham | 153 AH | 245 AH | Abu al-Walid, Hisham ibn ‘Ammar Ibn Nusayr Ibn Maysarah al-Salami al-Dimashqi | Parts of Yemen[9]. | ||
| Ibn Dhakwan | 173 AH | 242 AH | Abu ‘Amr, ‘Abdullah Ibn Ahmad al-Qurayshi al-Dimashqi | |||||||
| ‘Aasim al-Kufi | ? AH | 127 AH-774 CE | Abu Bakr, ‘Aasim Ibn Abi al-Najud al-'Asadi | 'Asadi (by loyalty) | Shu‘bah | 95 AH | 193 AH | Abu Bakr, Shu‘bah Ibn ‘Ayyash Ibn Salim al-Kufi an-Nahshali | Nahshali (by loyalty) | |
| Hafs | 90 AH | 180 AH | Abu ‘Amr, Hafs Ibn Sulayman Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Abi Dawud al-Asadi al-Kufi | Muslim world in general[9]. | ||||||
| Hamzah al-Kufi | 80 AH | 156 AH-772 CE | Abu ‘Imarah, Hamzah Ibn Habib al-Zayyat al-Taymi | Taymi (by loyalty) | Khalaf | 150 AH | 229 AH | Abu Muhammad al-Asadi al-Bazzar al-Baghdadi | ||
| Khallad | ? | 220 AH | Abu ‘Isa, Khallad Ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi | |||||||
| Al-Kisa'i al-Kufi | 119 AH | 189 AH-804 CE | Abu al-Hasan, ‘Ali Ibn Hamzah al-Asadi | Asadi (by loyalty). Persian. | Al-Layth | ? AH | 240 AH | Abu al-Harith, al-Layth Ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi | ||
| Hafs al-Duri | ? | 246 AH | Abu ‘Amr, Hafs Ibn ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Baghdadi | Transmitter of Abu 'Amr (See Above) | ||||||
In Addition to the above there are three more readers whose reading is not as consensual as the Seven. These are:
| Qari (Reader) | Rawi (Transmitters) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Born | Died | Full name | Additional info | Name | Born | Died | Full name | Additional info |
| Abu Ja‘far | ? | 130 AH | Yazid Ibn al-Qa‘qa‘ al-Makhzumi al-Madani | ‘Isa Ibn Wirdan | ? | 160 AH | Abu al-Harith al-Madani | Madani by style | |
| Ibn Jummaz | ? | 170 AH | Abu ar-Rabi‘, Sulayman Ibn Muslim Ibn Jummaz al-Madani | ||||||
| Ya‘qub al-Yamani | 117 AH | 205 AH | Abu Muhammad, Ya‘qub Ibn Ishaq Ibn Zayd Ibn ‘Abdillah Ibn Abi Ishaq al-Hadrami al-Basri | Client of the Hadramis | Ruways | ? | 238 AH | Abu ‘Abdillah, Muhammad Ibn al-Mutawakkil al-Basri | |
| Rawh | ? | 234 AH | Abu al-Hasan, Rawh Ibn ‘Abd al-Mu'min, al-Basri al-Hudhali | Hudhali by loyalty | |||||
| Khalaf | 150 AH | 229 AH | Abu Muhammad al-Asadi al-Bazzar al-Baghdadi | Transmitter of Hamza (see above) | Ishaq | ? | 286 AH | Abu Ya‘qub, Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim Ibn ‘Uthman al-Maruzi al-Baghdadi | |
| Idris | 189 AH | 292 AH | Abu al-Hasan, Idris Ibn ‘Abd al-Karim al-Haddad al-Baghdadi | ||||||
And there are also four readers whose readings are rejected for being aberrant.
| Qari (Reader) | Rawi (Transmitters) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Born | Died | Full name | Additional info | Name | Born | Died | Full name | Additional info |
| Muhammad ibn Muhaisin/ محمد بن مُحَيصن | Albuzzi/ البزي | ||||||||
| Abu al-Hasan ibn Shannabudh | |||||||||
| Yahaya al-yazidi/ يحيى اليزيدي | Sulaiman ibn al-Hakam | ||||||||
| Ahmad ibn Farah/ أحمد بن فرح | |||||||||
| Al-Hasan al-Basri | Shujac al-Balkhi | ||||||||
| Abu Amr Hafs Al-Duri | |||||||||
| Sulaiman ibn Mahraan | Al-Hasan al-MuTawwaci | ||||||||
| Abu al-Faraj al-Shannabudhi al-ShaTawi | |||||||||
In this section, the chain of narration or isnad of each Qirâʾât will be presented. It is worth noting that the chains of narration here are mutawâtir.
Qirâʾa from Madinah: The reading of Madinah known as the reading of Nâfiʿ Ibn Abî Naʿîm (more precisely Abû ʿAbd ar-Raḥmân Nâfiʿ Ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmân). Nâfiʿ died in the year 169 H. He reported from Yazîd Ibn al-Qaʿqâʿ and ʿAbd ar-Raḥmân Ibn Hurmuz al-'Araj and Muslim Ibn Jundub al-Hudhalî and Yazîd Ibn Român and Shaybah Ibn Nisâʾ. All of them reported from Abû Hurayrah and Ibn ʿAbbâs and ʿAbdallâh Ibn 'Ayyâsh Ibn Abî Rabî'ah al-Makhzûmî and the last three reported from Ubayy Ibn Kaʿb from the Prophet(P).[14]
From Nâfiʿ, two major readings came to us: Warsh and Qâlûn.
Qirâʾa from Makkah: The reading of Ibn Kathîr (ʿAbdullâh Ibn Kathîr ad-Dârî): Ibn Kathîr died in the year 120 H. He reported from ʿAbdillâh Ibn Assa'ib al-Makhzûmî who reported from Ubayy Ibn Kaʿb (The companion of the Prophet(P)). Ibn Kathîr has also reported from Mujâhid Ibn Jabr who reported from his teacher Ibn ʿAbbâs who reported from Ubayy Ibn Kaʿb and Zayd Ibn Thâbit and both reported from the Prophet(P).[15]
Qirâʾa from Damascus: From ash-Shâm (Damascus), the reading is called after ʿAbdallâh Ibn ʿAamir. He died in 118 H. He reported from Abû ad-Dardâ' and al-Mughîrah Ibn Abî Shihâb al-Makhzûmî from ʿUthmân.[16]
Qirâʾa from Basrah: The reading of Abû ʿAmr from Basrah: (According to al-Sabcah, the book of Ibn Mujâhid page 79, Abû ʿAmr is called Zayyan Abû ʿAmr Ibn al-ʿAlâʾ. He was born in Makkah in the year 68 and grew up at Kûfah.) He died at 154 H. He reported from Mujâhid and Saʿîd Ibn Jubayr and ʿIkrimah Ibn Khâlid al-Makhzûmî and ʿAtâʾ Ibn Abî Rabâh and Muhammad Ibn ʿAbd ar-Rahmân Ibn al-Muhaysin and Humayd Ibn Qays al-ʿA'raj and all are from Makkah. He also reported from Yazîd Ibn al-Qaʿqâʿ and Yazîd Ibn Rumân and Shaybah Ibn Nisâ' and all are from Madinah. He also reported from al-'Assan and Yahyâ Ibn Yaʿmur 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.
Qirâʾa from Basrah: From Basrah, the reading known as Yaʿqûb Ibn Ishâq al-Hadramî the companion of Shuʿbah (again). He reported from Abû ʿAmr and others.[18]
Qirâ'a from Kûfah:The reading of ʿĀsim Ibn Abî an-Najûd (ʿAasim Ibn Bahdalah Ibn Abî an-Najûd): He died in the year 127 or 128 H. He reported from Abû ʿAbd ar-Raḥmân as-Solammî and Zirr Ibn Hubaysh. Abû ʿAbd ar-Rahmân reported from ʿUthmân and ʿAlî Ibn Abî Tâlib and 'Ubayy (Ibn Kacb) and Zayd (Ibn Thâbit). And Zirr reported from Ibn Masʿud.[19]
Two readings were repoted from cAasim: The famous one is Hafs, the other one is Shucbah.
Qirâʾa 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 ʿAlî Ibn Abî Tâlib, 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]
Qirâʾa 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 ʿAbd ar-Raḥmân as-Sulamî and Zirr ibn Hubaysh and all reported from Ibn Mascud.[21]
Qirâaa 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 ʿAbd ar-Raḥmân Ibn Abî Laylâ and others.[22]
| رواية ورش عن نافع | رواية حفص عن عاصم | Hafs | Warsh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| يَعْمَلُونَ | تَعْمَلُونَ | you do | they do | Al-Baqara 2:85 |
| مَا تَنَزِّلُ | مَا نُنَزِّلُ | we did not send down | you did not send down | Al-Ḥijr 15:8 |
| قُل | قَالَ | he said | say! | Al-Anbiyā' 21:4 |
| كَثِيرًا | كَبِيرًا | mighty | multitudinous | Al-Aḥzāb 33:68 |
| بِمَا | فَبِمَا | then it is what | it is what | Al-Shura 42:30 |
| نُدْخِلْهُ | يُدْخِلْهُ | he makes him enter | we make him enter | Al-Fatḥ 48:17 |