THE AHRUF OF THE QURAAN http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/the-ahruf-of-the-quraan/ http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Qiraat/hafs.html http://www.bismikaallahuma.

org/archives/2005/the-qiraaat-of-the-quran/

1. The Meaning of the Word Ahruf The wor! ahruf is the plural of harf. "inguisticall#$ %harf& has a number of meanings$ inclu!ing: '( %) letter or a wor!.& Al-huruf al-abjadiyya$ for example$ means the letters of the alphabet. 2( %The bor!er$ the e!ge of something$ the brink.& *or example$ )llaah sa#s$

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D)n! among mankin! is he who worships )llaah Eas it were( upon a harf Ei.e.$ upon the ver# e!ge$ or in !oubt(F G22:''H I( %To swerve from the truth$ to !istort.& )llaah sa#s concerning the Jews$

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DTthe# have !isplace! Elit.$ #uharifuna( wor!s from their right placesTF GU:UVH Wts exact !efinition in Qur&aanic sciencs is the subXect matter of this chapter$ an! therefore cannot be !efine! at this point. Yowever$ a temporar# !efinition ma#be given as follows: The ahruf are the various wa#s that the verses of the Qur&aan are rea!. Wmaam al-Qurtubee E!. VZ' ).Y.( sai!$ D[ver# variation of a wor! in the Qur&aan is sai! to be a harf. \o$ for example$ when we sa# the harf of Wbn ]as&oo!$ it means the wa# that Wbn ]as&oo! use! to recite that verse or wor!.F I^0 Most English authors translate ahruf as odes or diale!ts. Yowever$ in this book the wor! will be left in )rabic since the meaning is broa!er than these translate! wor!s. "". The Nu #er of Ahruf of the Quraan The Qur&aan was reveale! in seven ahruf. The proof for this is foun! in man# narrations from the _rophet E_`aY($ so much so that it reaches the level of mutawaatir. I^' Jalaal a!-been as-\u#ootee lists twent#-one companions who narrate! that the Qur&aan was reveale! in seven ahruf. I^2 \ome of these narrations are as follows: '( Wbn %)bbaas reporte! that the _rophet E_`aY( sai!$ $%i#reel re!ited the Quraan to e in one harf& and " re!ited it #a!' to hi & #ut " re(uested hi to in!rease )the nu #er of harf* and he !ontinued to in!rease it for e& until +e sto,,ed at se-en ahruf.. Wbn \hihaab ad-euhree E!. '2U ).Y.($ one of the narrators of the ha!eeth$ sai!$ $"t has rea!hed

e that these se-en ahruf are essentiall/ one )in is ,er itted or for#idden.. I^I

eaning*& the/ do not differ a#out +hat

2( %aba# ibn fa&ab reporte! that the _rophet E_`aY( was once on the outskirts of ]a!eenah Enear the tribe of `anoo ghifaar( when Jibreel came to him an! sai!& $Allaah has !o anded that /ou re!ite the Quraan to /our ,eo,le in one harf.. The _rophet E_`aY( replie!$ $" as' Allaahs ,ardon and forgi-eness0 M/ ,eo,le are not !a,a#le of doing this0. Jibreel then came again an! sai!& $Allaah has !o anded /ou to re!ite the Quraan to /our ,eo,le in t+o ahruf.. The _rophet E_`aY( again replie!& $" as' Allaahs ,ardon and forgi-eness0 M/ ,eo,le are not !a,a#le of doing this0. Jibreel then came a thir! time an! sai!$ $Allaah has !o anded /ou to re!ite the Quraan to /our ,eo,le in three ahruf.. The _rophet E_`aY( replie! for a thir! time$ $" as' Allaahs ,ardon and forgi-eness0 M/ ,eo,le are not !a,a#le of doing this0. )t last$ Jibreel came for the fourth time$ an! sai!$ $Allaah has !o anded /ou to re!ite the Quraan to /our ,eo,le in se-en ahruf& and in +hi!he-er harf the/ re!ite& the/ +ould #e right. I^Uh I( %amar ibn al-fhattab narrate!$ DW was sitting in the masXi! when W hear! Yishaam ibn Yakeem recite \oorah al-*urqaan. W was almost about the Xump on him in his pra#er$ but W waite! until he finishe!$ an! then grabbe! him b# his garment an! aske! him$ %iho taught #ou to recite in such a mannerj&F Ye replie!$ %Wt was the _rophet E_`aY( himselfk& W respon!e!$ %lou are mistaken$ for in!ee! W learnt this soorah from the _rophet E_`aY( an! it was !ifferent from #our recitationk& Therefore$ W !ragge! him to the _rophet E_`aY( an! complaine! to him that Yishaam ha! recite! \oorah al-*urqaan in a manner !ifferent from what he E_`aY( ha! taught me. )t this$ the _rophet E_`aY( tol! me to let go of Yishaam$ an! aske! him to recite \oorah al-*urqaan. Yishaam recite! the \oorah in the same wa# W ha! hear! him before. ihen he finishe!$ the _rophet E_`aY( sai!$ %Wt was reveale! this wa#.& Ye then aske! me to recite the same soorah. ihen W ha! finishe!$ he E_`aY( sai!$ %Wt was Ealso( reveale! this wa#. Wn!ee!$ the Qur&aan has been reveale! in seven !ifferent ahruf$ so recite whichever one is eas# for #ou.&F I^5 U( Wn a stor# similar to %amar&s$ %aba# ibn fa&ab also hear! two people reciting the Qur&aan in a manner !ifferent from what he ha! learnt. )fter some !iscussion$ both parties went to the _rophet E_`aY( an! recite! the same portion to him. Ye E_`aY( approve! of both parties& recitations. )t this point$ aba# narrates$ DTthere occurre! in m# min! a sort of !enial an! !oubt that !i! not exist even in the time of Jaahilli#ah Ebefore Wslaam(k ihen the ]essenger E_`aY( saw how W was affecte!$ he struck m# chest$ whereupon W starte! sweating$ an! felt as though W were looking at )llaah in feark Then the _rophet E_`aY( sai!& O U#a/0 A essage +as sent to e to re!ite the Quraan in one harf& #ut " re(uested )Allaah* to a'e things eas/ on / nation. A se!ond essage !a e that " should re!ite the Quraan in t+o ahruf& #ut " again ade the sa e re(uest. " +as then ordered to re!ite the Quraan in se-en ahruf.. I^V 5( aba# ibn fa&ab narrates that once the _rophet E_`aY( met Jibreel$ an! sai!$ Dm Jibreelk W have been sent to an illiterate nation. )mong them are ol! an! #oung men an! women$ an! those who have never rea! an# writingkF Jibreel answere! him$ $O Muha ad& the Quraan has #een re-ealed in se-en ahruf0. I^Z There are man# other ha!eeth that confirm that the Qur&aan was reveale! in seven ahruf$ but these narrations will suffice for the present !iscussion. """. What is Meant #/ the Ahruf of the Quraan1

`efore !iscussing the answer to this question$ it woul! be useful to mention some points that can be inferre! from the above narrations: '( The !ifferent ahruf are all !irectl# from )llaah$ an! not from the companions. Wn all the narrations where the companions !iffere! from each other$ it was clear that each one ha! been taught !irectl# from the _rophet E_`aY($ who was inspire! b# )llaah. This is wh# the _rophet E_`aY( sai! to each one of the ahruf recite! b# %amar an! Yishaam$ DWt was reveale! this wa#.F 2( The reason the _rophet E_`aY( requeste! the number of ahruf to be increase! was to make the memorisation an! recitation of the Qur&aan easier for his ammah. The _rophet E_`aY( pra#e! to increase the ahruf because in his ummah were DTol! an! #oung men an! women$ an! those who have never rea! an# writing.F Therefore$ the limitations of the Qur&aan being in onl# one harf have been remove! b# )llaah as a blessing for this ammah. I( The _rophet E_`aY( use! to teach the !ifferent ahruf to !ifferent companions$ !epen!ing on the con!ition an! situation of that companion. Wt can be assume! that the _rophet E_`aY( chose the particular harf to recite to a companion !epen!ing on which one woul! be the easiest for that particular companion to memorise$ since the purpose of the ahruf was to simplif# recitation an! memorisation. The _rophet E_`aY( !i! not teach all the ahruf to all the companions$ for %amar an! Yishaam !i! not know about the existence of the !ifferent ahruf. )lso$ the cause for aba#&s !oubt was the fact that he was unaware of these ahruf$ an! the _rophet E_`aY( ha! to pra# to )llaah to remove his !oubts. U( The !ifferences between these ahruf were not so great as to prevent recognition of what was being recite!. Wn other wor!s$ even though Yishaam was reciting the Qur&aan in a !ifferent harf than %amar$ %amar coul! still recognise that Yishaam was reciting \oorah al*urqaan$ thus showing that the ahruf were not ra!icall# !ifferent from each other. )lso$ the narration of Wbn \hihaab shows that the basic meaning of all these ahruf was the same. 5( [ach one of these ahruf is complete in an! of itself. The proof for this is the statement of the _rophet E_`aY( DTso whichever one of them the# recite$ the# are correct.F This is not to sa# that the ahruf !o not complement one another in meaning$ but rather that the recitation of the Qur&aan in one harf is sufficient. V( The number of ahruf is exactl# seven - not more$ not less. The _rophet E_`aY( aske! Jibreel to increase the number of ahruf until Jibreel reache! seven ahrufn therefore interpretations to the effect that &seven& in!icates an unspecifie! pluralit# Ethis is the opinion of Qaa!ee %W#aa! E!. 50U ).Y.(( are false. Yowever$ one narration in the ]usna! of Wmaam )hma! states that the Qur&aan was reveale! in three ahruf$ an! #et another narration states that it was reveale! in ten ahruf. \ome scholars have trie! to explain the first narration as meaning that$ in the ]akkan stage$ the Qur&aan was reveale! in three ahruf$ whereas in the ]a!eenan stage$ )llaah increase! this to seven ahruf. mther scholars have given !ifferent interpretations to reconcile these ha!eeth. I^^ Yowever$ there is no nee! to resort to such explanations$ since both of these narrations are weak. I^o Therefore$ the Qur&aan was reveale! in exactl# seven ahruf. Z( The revelation of the Qur&aan in seven ahruf starte! in ]a!eenah$ after the hiXrah. Wn one of the narrations$ the phrase$ DTwhile the _rophet E_`aY( was on the outskirts of ]a!eenah$F in!icates that this occurre! after the hiXrah.

^( ) last benefit that can be inferre! from these ha!eeth Ealthough this is not relevant to the ahruf( is the concern shown b# the companions in the preservation of the correct recitation of the Qur&aan. Wn all the cases quote! above$ the companions were not content with listening to recitations that were !ifferent from theirs - !espite the fact that these recitations were sai! to have been learnt from the _rophet E_`aY( - until the# ha! taken the matter to the _rophet E_`aY( himself. )s for what is meant b# these seven ahruf$ there is a great !eal of !ifference on this issue. Wbn Quta#bah E!. 2ZV ).Y.( recor!e! thirt#-five opinions on this issue$ an! as-\u#ootee liste! over fort#. Wbn \a&a!an E!. 2I' ).Y.($ a famous grammarian an! reciter of the Qur&aan$ even !eclare! that the true meaning of the ahruf was known onl# to )llaah$ an! thus to attempt to investigate into this issue was futilek mn the other han!$ Wmaam ]uhamma! ibn al-Jadaree E!. ^I2 ).Y.($ perhaps the greatest scholar of the qira&aat after the era of the salaf$ sai!$ DW have sought to !iscover the meaning of these ha!eeth Eabout the ahruf($ an! have pon!ere! over them$ an! contemplate! this topic for over thirt# #ears$ until )llaah opene! m# min! to that which is the correct answer in this matter$ Wnshaa )llaahkF Io0 The reason that such a great !ifference of opinion exists concerning the exact meaning of the ahruf is !ue to the fact that there !oes not exist an# explicit narration from the _rophet E_`aY($ or the salaf$ concerning the exact nature of the ahrufn these various opinions are merel# the conclusions of later scholars$ base! upon their examination of the evi!ences an! their personal reasoning EiXtihaa!(. Therefore$ it shoul! be un!erstoo! from the outset that to arrive at one specific conclusion$ an! claim with certaint# that it alone is correct an! all else is wrong$ is pure foll#. ihat is !esire!$ however$ is to narrow !own the various opinions an! eliminate as man# as possible base! upon evi!ences. )ll of these opinions can be !ivi!e! into three broa! categories$ which are !iscusse! in the following sections. Io'

Re-elation Of The Qur2an "n 3e-en Ahr4f

Wt is a well-known fact that there are seven !ifferent ahr4f in which the Qurpan was reveale!. Wn the Wslamic tra!ition$ this basis can be trace! back to a number of ha!qths concerning the revelation of the Qurpan in seven ahr4f Esingular harf(. \ome of the examples of these ha!qths are as follows: *rom )br Yurairah: The Messenger of God said: "The Qur'an was sent down in seven ahruf. Disputation concerning the Qur'an is unbelief" - he said this three times - "and ou should put into practice what ou !now of it" and leave what ou do not !now of it to someone who does."
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*rom )br Yurairah:

The Messenger of God said: "#n #ll-!nowing" $ise" %orgiving" Merciful sent down the Qur'an in seven ahruf."
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*rom )b!ullsh Wbn ]as u!:

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The Messenger of God said: "The Qur'an was sent down in seven ahruf. &ach 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 loo!out."
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The meaning of this ha!qth is explaine! as: #s for the *rophet's 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 mar!ed off and which no one ma overstep. #nd 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. #nd b his words each border ...... has a lookout he means that for each of the borders which God mar!ed off in the Qur'an - of the lawful and unlawful" and its other legal in+unctions there is a measure of God's reward and punishment which surve s it in the ,ereafter" and inspects it ...... at the -esurrection ......
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)n! in another ha!qth )b!ullsh Wbn ]as u! sai!:

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The Messenger of God said: "The first .oo! 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. /o" allow what it ma!es lawful" proscribe what it ma!es unlawful" do what it commands ou to do" forbid what it prohibits" be warned b its parables" act on its clear passages" trust in its ambiguous passages." #nd the said: "$e believe in it) it is all from our 0ord."
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)n! )br Qilaba narrate!: 1t has reached me that the *rophet 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."
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These above ha!qths serve as evi!ence that the Qurpan was reveale! in seven ahruf. The !efination of the term ahruf has been the subXect of much scholarl# !iscussion an! is inclu!e! in the general works of the Qurpan. The forms matche! the !ialects of following seven tribes: Qura/sh& Hudha/l& Tha(5f& Ha+67in& 8in6nah& Ta 5 and 9e en. The revelation of the Qurpan in seven !ifferent ahruf ma!e its recitation an! memoridation much easier for the various tribes. )t the same time the Qurpan challenge! them to pro!uce a surah like it in their own !ialect so that the# woul! not complain about the incomprehensibilit#. %or e2ample" the phrase 'alayhim 'on them( was read b some 'alayhumoo and the word siraat 'path" bridge( was read as ziraat and mu'min 'believer( as moomin.
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:ifferen!e ;et+een Ahr4f < Qir626t

Wt is important to realide the !ifference between ahruf an! Qirspst. `efore going into that it is interesting to know wh# the seven ahruf were brought !own to one !uring athmsnps time.
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The Qur'an continued to be read according to the seven ahruf until midwa through 3aliph '4thman's rule when some confusion arose in the outl ing provinces concerning the Qur'an's recitation. /ome #rab tribes had began to boast about the superiorit of their ahruf and a rivalr began to develop. #t the same time" some new Muslims also began mi2ing the various forms of recitation out of ignorance. 3aliph '4thman decided to ma!e official copies of the Qur'an according to the dialect of the Qura sh and send them along with the Qur'anic reciters to the ma+or centres of 1slam. This decision was approved b Sahaabah and all unofficial copies of the Qur'an were destro ed. %ollowing the distribution of the official copies" all the other ahruf were dropped and the Qur'an began to be read in onl one harf. Thus" the Qur'an which is available through out the world toda is written and recited onl according to the harf of Qura sh.
G^H

uow a few wor!s on Qirspst: # Qir5'5t 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 Qura sh" during the era of 3aliph '4thman" and all of the methods of recitation are based on this mode. The various methods have all been traced bac! to the *rophet through a number of Sahaabah who were most noted for their Qur'anic recitations. That is" these Sahaabah recited the Qur'an to the *rophet or in his presence and received his approval. #mong them were
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the following: Ubayy Ibn K'ab, 'Alee Ibn Abi Taalib, Zayd Ibn Thaabit, 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, Abu adDardaa and Abu Musaa al-Ash'aree. Man of the other Sahaabah learned from these masters. %or e2ample" 1bn '#bbaas" the master commentator of the Qur'an among the Sahaabah" learned from both 4ba and 6a d.
GoH

The transmission of the Qurpan is a uta+6tir transmission$ that is$ there are a large number of narrators on each level of the chain. br. `ilaal _hilips gives a brief account of the histor# of recitation in his book: #mong the ne2t generation of Muslims referred to as Taabe'oon" there arose man scholars who learned the various methods of recitation from the Sahaabah and taught them to others. 3entres of Qur'anic recitation developed in al-Madeenah" Ma!!ah" 7ufa" .asrah and / ria" leading to the evolution of Qur'anic recitation into an independent science. . mid-eighth centur 3&" there e2isted 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 b chains of reliable narrators ending with the *rophet . Those methods which were supported b 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 onl one on an level of the chain were refered to as shaadhdh. /ome 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 noteworth and accurate. . the middle of the tenth centur " the number seven became popular since it coincided with the number of dialects in which the Qur'an was revealed.
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The author went on to sa#: The first to limit the number of authentic reciters to seven was the 1ra8i scholar" #bu .a!r 1bn Mu+5hid 'd. 9:;3&(" and those who wrote the boo!s on Qir5'ah after him followed suit. This limitation is not an accurate reprensentation of the classical scholars of Qur'anic recitation. There were man others who were as good as the seven and the number who were greater than them.
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concerning the seven sets of rea!ings$ ]ontgomer# iatt an! tichar! `ell observe:

The seven sets of readings accepted b 1bn-Mu+5hid represent the s stems prevailing in different districts. There was one each from Medina" Mecca" Damascus and .asra" and three from 7ufa. %or each set of readings 'Qir5'a(" there were two slightl different version 'sing. -iwa a(. The whole ma be set out in tabular form:
G'2H

District Medina Mecca Damascus .asra 7>fa 7>fa 7>fa

Reader <af=
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First Rawi $arsh al-.a??= ,isham ad-D>r= ,afs 7halaf ad-D>r=

Second Rawi Q5l>n Qunbul 1bn Dha!w5n al-/>s= /h uba

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1bn 7ath=r 1bn #mir #bu #mr

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#sim

,am?a al-7is5'i

7hallad #bul-,ar=th

mther schools of Qirspst are of:

)br Ja far ladq! Wbn Qa qs of ]a!inah E'I0/ZUZ( la qrb Wbn Wshsq al-Ya!ramq of `asrah E205/^20( fhalaf Wbn Yishsm of `agh!a! E22o/^U^( Yasan al-`asrq of `asrah E''0/Z2^( Wbn ]uhaisin of ]akkah E'2I/ZU0( lah#s al-ladq!q of `asrah E202/^'Z(
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=onditions For The >alidit/ Of :ifferent Qir626t

con!itions were formulate! b# the scholars of the Qurpanic recitation to facilitate critical anal#sis of the above mentione! recitations. *or an# given recitation to be accepte! as authentic E3ahih($ it ha! to fulfill three con!itions an! if an# of the con!itions were missing such a recitation was classifie! as 3h6dhdh Eunusual(.

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 !nown to be righteous and the were all !nwon to possess good memories. 1t was also re8uired that the recitation be conve ed b a large number of narrators on each level of

the chain of narration below the level of Sahaabah 'the condition of Tawaatur(. <arrations which had authentic chains but lac!ed the condition of Tawaatur were accepted as e2planations 'Tafseer( of the Sahaabah but were not considered as methods of reciting the Qur'an. #s for the narrations which did not even have an authentic chain of narration" the were classified as Baatil 'false( and re+ected totall . The seond condition was that the variations in recitations match !nown #rabic grammatical constructions. 4nusual constructions could be verified b their e2istence in passages of pre-1slamic prose or poetr . The third condition re8uired the recitation to coincide with the script of one of the copies of the Qur'an distributed during the era of 3aliph 4thm5n. ,ence differences which result from dot placement 'i.e." ta'lamoon and ya'lamoon( are considered acceptable provided the other conditions are met. # 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 onl meant that the unverified constructions were considered Shaadhdh.
c G'IH

The =hain Of Narration Of :ifferent Qir626t

Wn this section$ the chain of narration or isnad of each Qirspst will be presente!. Wt is worth noting that the chains of narration here are uta+6tir. Qir62a fro Madinah? The rea!ing of ]a!inah known as the rea!ing of usfi Wbn )bq ua qm Emore precisel# )br )b! ar-tahmsn usfi Wbn )b! ar-tahmsn(.
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<5fi died in the ear @;9 ,. ,e reported from Aa?=d 1bn al-Qa 85 and #bd ar--ahm5n 1bn ,urmu? al-'#ra+ and Muslim 1bn Bundub al-,udhal= and Aa?=d 1bn -om5n and /ha bah 1bn <is5'. #ll of them reported from #b> ,ura rah and 1bn #bb5s and #bdall5h 1bn '# 5sh 1bn #b= -ab='ah al-Ma!h?>m= and the last three reported from 4ba 1bn 7a b from the *rophet .
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*rom usfi $ two maXor rea!ings came to us : Warsh an! Q6l4n.

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Qir62a fro

Ma''ah? The rea!ing of Wbn fathqr E )b!ullsh Wbn fathqr a!-bsrq(:

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1bn 7ath=r died in the ear @CD ,. ,e reported from #bdill5h 1bn #ssa'ib al-Ma!h?>m= who reported from 4ba 1bn 7a b 'The companion of the *rophet (.
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1bn 7ath=r has also reported from Mu+5hid 1bn Babr who reported from his teacher 1bn #bb5s who reported from 4ba 1bn 7a b and 6a d 1bn Th5bit and both reported from the *rophet .
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Qir62a fro :a as!us? *rom ash-\hsm Ebamascus($ the rea!ing is calle! after )b!ullsh Wbn )amir.
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,e died in @@E ,. ,e reported from #b> ad-Dard5' and al-Mugh=rah 1bn #b= /hih5b al-Ma!h?>m= from 4thm5n.
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G'VH

Qir62a fro

;asrah? The rea!ing of )br )mr from `asrah:

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'#ccording to al-/ab ah" the boo! of 1bn Mu+5hid page F9" #b> #mr is called 6a an #b> #mr 1bn al- #l5'. ,e was born in Ma!!ah in the ear ;E and grew up at 7>fah.( ,e died at @GH ,. ,e reported from Mu+5hid and /a =d 1bn Buba r and '1!rimah 1bn 7h5lid alMa!h?>m= and '#t5' 1bn #b= -ab5h and Muhammad 1bn #bd ar--ahm5n 1bn al-Muha sin and ,uma d 1bn Qa s al- #'ra+ and all are from Ma!!ah.
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,e also reported from Aa?=d 1bn al-Qa 85 and Aa?=d 1bn -um5n and /ha bah 1bn <is5' and all are from Madinah.
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,e also reported from al-'#ssan and Aah 5 1bn Aa mur and others from .asrah.
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#ll these people too! from the companions of the *rophet .

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*rom him came two rea!ings calle! as@34si an! ad@:4r5. Qir62a fro
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;asrah? *rom `asrah$ the rea!ing known as

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Aa 8>b 1bn 1sh58 al-,adram= the companion of /hu bah 'again(. ,e reported from #b> #mr and others.
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Qir62a fro an-uaXr!(:

84fah?The rea!ing of )asim Wbn )bq an-uaXr! E )asim Wbn `ah!alah Wbn )bq
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,e died in the ear @CF or @CE ,. ,e reported from #b> #bd ar--ahm5n as-/olamm= and 6irr 1bn ,uba sh.
c

#b> #bd ar--ahm5n reported from 4thm5n and #l= 1bn #b= T5lib and '4ba '1bn 7a b( and 6a d '1bn Th5bit(.
c c c c

#nd 6irr reported from 1bn Mas ud.

c c

G'oH

Two rea!ings were repote! from )asim: The famous one is Hafs$ the other one is 3hu #ah.
c

Qir62a fro

84fah? The rea!ing of Yamdah Wbn Yabqb Efrom frfah as well(

,am?ah was born in the ear ED , and died in the ear @G; ,. ,e reported from Muhammad 1bn #bd ar-ahm5n 1bn #b= 0a l5 'who reads the reading of #l= 1bn #b= T5lib '-#(" according to the boo! of 1bn Mu+5hid called al-/ab ah - The /even - page FH( and ,umr5n 1bn #' an and #b= 1sh58 as-/ab=' and Mansur 1bn al-Mu'tamir and al-Mugh=rah 1bn Mi8sam and Ba far 1bn Muhammad 1bn #l= 1bn #b= T5lib from the *rophet .
c c c c c E_( G20H

Qir62a fro

84fah? The rea!ing of al-p)mash from frfah as well:

,e reported from Aah 5 1bn $athth5b from '#l8amah and al-'#swad and '4ba d 1bn <adlah al-7hu?5' and #b> #bd ar--ahm5n as-/ulam= and 6irr ibn ,uba sh and all reported from 1bn Mas ud.
c c G2'H

Qir62a fro frfah.

84fah? The rea!ing of )li Wbn Yamdah al-fisspi known as al-fisspi from
c

,e died in the ear @E9 ,. ,e reported from ,am?ah 'the previous one( and 1es5 1bn 4mar and Muhammad 1bn #bd ar--ahm5n 1bn #b= 0a l5 and others.
c c c G22H

uow our !iscussion will be on Yafs an! iarsh Qirspst.

Hafs < Warsh Qir626t? Are The/ :ifferent >ersions Of The Qur2an1
The christian missionar# Jochen fatd ha! claime! that Yafs an! iarsh Qirspst are !ifferent pversionsp of the Qurpan. ) concise an! interesting article that the missionar# ha! use! to reach such a conclusion can be foun! in the book Approaches of The History of Interpretation of The Qur'an. Wronicall#$ it containe! an article b# )!rian `rockett$ title! vThe walue of Yafs )n! iarsh Transmissions *or The Textual Yistor# mf The Qurpanv$ which she!s some light on various aspects of !ifferences between the two recitations. Wt is also worth noting that$ in contrast to ]r. fatd$ `rockett use! the wor! trans ission rather than teAt for these two mo!es of recitations. \ome highlights from the article are repro!uce! below. `rockett states: 1n cases where there are no variations within each transmission itself" certain differences between the two transmissions" at least in the copies consulted" occur consistentl throughout. one o! the" has any e!!ect in the "eanin#.
G2IH

The author !emarcates the transmissions of Yafs an! iarsh into !ifferences of vocal form an! the !ifferences of graphic form. )ccor!ing `rockett: /uch a division is clearl made from a written standpoint" and on its own is unbalanced. 1t would be a mista!e to infer from it" for instance" that

because "ham?a" was at first mostl outside the graphic form" it was therefore at first also outside oral form. The division is therefore mainl +ust for ease of classification and reference.
G2UH

tegar!ing the graphic form of this transmission$ he further states: In the graphic side" the correspondences between the two transmissions are overwhelmingl more numerous than differences" often even with oddities li!e ayna ma and aynama being consistentl preserved in both transmissions" and la'nat allahi spelt both with ta tawila and ta marbuta in the same places in both transmissions as well" not one o! the #ra$hic di!!erences caused the Musli"s any doubts about the !aultlessly !aith!ul trans"ission o! the %ur'an&
G25H

)n! on the vocal si!e of the transmission the authorps opinion is: In the vocal side" correspondences between the two transmissions again far and awa outnumber the differences between them" even with the fine points such as long vowels before hamzat at- at having a madda. #lso" not one of the differences substantiall affects the meaning be ond its own conte2t... All this $oint to a re"ar'ably unitary trans"ission in both its #ra$hic !or" and its oral !or"&
G2VH

Ye also !iscusses the ]uslimsp an! orientalistsp attitu!e towar!s the graphic transmission: Man orientalists who see the Qur'an as onl a written document might thin! that in the graphic differences can be found significant clues about the earl histor of the Qur'an te2t - if 4thm5n issued a definitive written te2t" how can such graphic differences be e2plained" the might as!. %or Muslims" who see the Qur'an as an oral as well as a written te2t" however" these differences are simpl readings" certainl important" but no more so than readings involving" for instances" fine differences in assimilation or in vigour of pronouncing the hamza.
c G2ZH

`rockett goes so far as to provi!e examples with which the intereste! rea!er can carr# out an exten!e! anal#sis. Thus$ he states: The definitive limit of permissible graphic variation was" firstl " consonantal disturbance that was not too ma+or" then unalterabilit in meaning" and finall reliable authorit .

Wn the section title!$ vThe [xtent To ihich The bifferences )ffect The \ensev$ the author repeats the same point: The simple fact is that none of the differences" whether vocal or graphic" between the transmission of ,afs and the transmission of $arsh has an great effect on the meaning. Man are the differences which do not change the meaning at all" and the rest are differences with an effect on the meaning in the immediate conte2t of the te2t itself" but without an significant wider influence on Muslim thought.
G2^H

The above is supporte! b# the following: /uch then is the limit of the variation between these two transmissions of the Qur'an" a limit well within the boundaries of substantial e2egetical effect. This means that the readings found in these transmissions are most li!el not of e2egetical origin" or at least did not arise out of crucial e2egetigal dispute. The are therefore of the utmost value for the te2tual histor of the Qur'an.
G2oH

)n! interestingl# enough the author went on to sa#: The li"its o! their (ariation clearly establish that they are a sin#le te)t&
GI0H

*urthermore$ we rea!: Thus" if the Qur'an had been transmitted onl orall for the first centur " si?eable variations between te2ts such as are seen in the had=th and pre-1slamic poetr would be found" and if it had been transmitted onl in writing" si?eable variations such as in the different transmissions of the original document of the constitution of Medina would be found. .ut neither is the case with the Qur'an. There "ust ha(e been a $arallel written trans"ission li"itin# (ariation in the oral trans"ission to the #ra$hic !or", side by side with a $arallel oral trans"ission $reser(in# the written trans"ission !ro" corru$tion&
GI'H

The investigation le! to another conviction: The trans"ission o! the %ur'an a!ter the death o! Muha""ad was essentially static, rather than or#anic& There was a sin#le te)t, and nothin# si#ni!icant, not e(en alle#edly abro#ated "aterial, could be ta'en out nor could anythin# be $ut in&
GI2H

*inall#$ we woul! like to establish )!rian `rockettps conclusion on this matter: There can be no den ing that some of the formal characteristics of the Qur'an point to the oral side and others to the written side" but neither was as a whole" primar . There is therefore no need to ma!e different categories for vocal and graphic differences between transmissions. Muslims have not. The letter is not a dead s!eleton to be refleshed" but is a manifestation of the spirit alive from beginning. The transmission of the Qur'an has alwa s been oral" +ust as it has been written.
GIIH

Therefore$ it comes as no surprise that christian missionaries like Jochen fatd fin! themselves vrefleshingv a !ea! skeleton in or!er to compl# with their missionar# program of outright !eception. mf course$ regular participants in the newsgroups have time an! again witnesse! Jochenps tiring !ispla#s of !ialectical acrobatics - the misquoting of references an! the Xuggling of facts. \urprisingl# enough$ missionar# fatd cannot even support his point of view using the reference G2IH$ which un!ermines his missionar# agen!a of twisting the facts. The reference G2IH has firml# establishe! that:

There is onl# one Qurpan$ The !ifferences in recitation are !ivinel# reveale!$ not invente! b# humans The in!isputable conclusion that the Qurpan was not tampere! with.

Re!itation Of The Qur2an in Hafs& Warsh < Other Qir626t

) few centuries ago$ the Qurra$ or reciters of the Qurpan$ use! to take pri!e in reciting all seven Qirspst. Wn light of this fact$ we !eci!e! to make an informal inquir# into some the Qurra who recite in !ifferent Qirspst. Two brothers confirme! the following: Date: @E /ep @99F @::HH::F -DFDD %rom: Moustafa Mounir &l8abban <ewsgroups: soc.religion.islam 1 can confirm that al-,usar= did in fact record the entire Qur'an in $arsh" as 1 have the recording in m possession. # /omali brother also indicated to me that he has a cop of the Qur'an recited in #l-Doori ''an #b= #mr( recited" again" b al-,usar=. The Qur'an is ver widel read and recorded in Qawloon in 0ib a and Tunisia" so it shouldn't be difficult to ac8uire those Qir5'5t either.
c

)n! another brother corroborate! the following in a private e-mail: Date: Mon" CF Ict @99F C@:G9:CH JD@DD %rom: Mohamed Ghoniem To: Metallica /ub+ect: -e: readings

$ell" before al-,usar " #bdel .assit #bdus /amad has recorded the entire Qur'an in $arsh and man cassettes and 3Ds are on sale ever where in the &g pt and in %rance as well. 1 personall have in 3airo man recordings of other readers such as /a ed Mutawall and /a ed /a'eed e2clusivel in $arsh. 1 have seen several cassettes in the reading of ,am?ah 'from 7halaf's wa ( on sale in &g pt and 1 have bought a couple of them during this summer. The were recorded b /hei!h '#ntar Mosallam. *resentl " 1 have got two 3Ds recorded b /hei!h #bdel .assit gathering three readings ',afs" $arsh and ,am?ah(. These 3Ds belong to a series of si2 3Ds on sale publicl in %rance in the fnac stores.

Brinted Edition Of The Qur2an "n >arious Qir626t

The !ifferent Qirspst exist in the printe! e!itions. This woul! be news for most missionaries$ asi!e from the ones who bitterl# conceal these facts. ]ost of the masshif of the Qurpan carr# either in the beginning or in the en! the rules of pronunciation of that Qirspa as well as the isna!. This is to enable the rea!ers to properl# rea! the Qurpan. ) few examples of the printe! e!ition of masshif of the Qurpan in various Qirspst are given below:

The Ten Muta+6tir Readings

fro the +a/s of ash@3hat#i//ah and ad@:urrah

"n the Margin of

The Hol/ Qur2an

an i!ea from
c

Ala+i "#n Muha

ad "#n Ah ad ;ilfa(ih

carrie! out b#

3ha/'h Muha

ad 8ar5

R6Cih

The =hief Reader in the 3/rian land

:6r al@Muh6Cir for Bu#li!ations < :istri#ution This book is a thir! print publishe! in 'U'U)Y/'ooU c[. This book claims as a ...uni8ue and first wor! of this !ind in the field of /cience of the ten Mutaw*tir readings from the wa s of ash-/hatbi ah and ad-Durrah in the "ar#in o! the +oly %ur'an is now achieved" edited" and printed.
GI5H

The '0 rea!ers/transmitters of the uta+6tir rea!ings are below GThe Ten tea!ers x Their TransmittersH. ihat is more interesting is that there are reciters even to this !a# who have memorise! the Qurpan in all the '0 uta+6tir rea!ings. 1n the end" 1 address /ha !h 7ura im -5+ih the ,ead of the -eaders in the / rian lands with m gratitude for carr ing out that wor! and supervising its course and supplementing it with valuable guidelines that hardl come from an one e2cept an e2pert li!e him. May ,od reward his 'ind student and reader Muha""ad Fahd Kh*r-! who "asters the ten Mutaw*tir readin#s !ro" the ways o! ash-Shatbiyyah and ad-Durrah and atTibah !or $artici$atin# to this noble tas' "a'in# it" with the divine help" a beneficial wor! for the holders of God's #lmight .oo! and his readers.
GIVH

=on!lusions
Wn light of the above !iscussion$ it is clear that Yafs an! iarsh Qirspst are not the !ifferent pversionsp or ptextsp of the Qurpan as fantaside! b# missionar# fatd. The uta+6tir follows !irectl# to the companions of the _rophet who took the Qurpan from the _rophet himself. Thus$ the suggestion that a uta+6tir rea!ing was a later invention b# the ]uslims is to be !ismisse! as complete fiction.
E_( E_(

The Ten Readers < Their Trans itters

]uhamma! ghoniem x ] \ ] \aifullah y Wslamic )wareness$ )ll tights teserve!. *irst compose!: ^th Januar# 2002 "ast ap!ate!: ^th Januar# 2002

The following information is taken from %)lawi Wbn ]uhamma! Wbn )hma! `ilfaqihps$ )lQirapat al-%)shr al-]utawatir$ 'ooU$ bar al-]uhaXir.

1. Nafi al@Madani )of Medinah*? Wbn %)b! ar-tahman Wbn )bi ua%im$ )bu tuwa#m al"a#thi$ his origin is from Wsfahan EZ0-'Vo )Y(. Qalun? )bu ]usa$ %Wsa Wbn ]ina al-earqi$ the slave of `ani euhrah E'20-220 )Y(. Warsh? %athman Wbn \a%i! al-Qutbi$ the [g#ptian the slave of Qura#sh E''0'oZ )Y(. D. "#n 8athir& the Me!!an? %)b!ullah$ )bu ]a%ba! al-%)ttar al-bari$ the _ersian EU5'20)Y(. Al@;u77i? )hma! Wbn ]uhamma! Wbn %)b!illah$ )bu al-Yasan al-`uddi$ the _ersian E'Z0-250 )Y(. Qun#ul? ]uhamma! Wbn %)b! ar-tahman$ the ]akhdumi Eb# lo#alt#($ )bu %)mr the ]eccan$ known as Qunbul E'o5-2o' )Y(. E. A#u %A r "#n al@%Ala2? euban Wbn al-%)lap at-Tamimi al-]adini$ the `asran EV^-'5U )Y(. Hafs al@:uri? )bu %)mr$ Yafs Wbn %amar Wbn %)b! al-%)did al-`agh!a!i$ the grammarian$ the blin!. E-2UV )Y(. Al@3usi? )bu \hu%a#b$ \alih Wbn ei#a! Wbn %)b!illah Wbn Wsma%il Wbn al-Jaru! ar-tiqqi. E-2V' )Y(. F. "#n %A ir of :a as!us? %)b!ullah Wbn %)mir Wbn ladi! Wbn Tamim Wbn tabi%ah allahsibi E^-''^ )Y(. Hisha ? )bu al-iali!$ Yisham ibn %)mmar Wbn uusa#r Wbn ]a#sarah al\alami al-bimashqi E'5I-2U5 )Y(. "#n :ha'+an? )bu %)mr$ %)b!ullah Wbn )hma! al-Qura#shi al-bimashqi. E'ZI-2U2 )Y(. G. %Aasi & the 8ufan? )bu `akr$ %)asim Wbn )bi al-uaXu! al-p)sa!i Eb# lo#alt#( E-'2Z )Y(. 3hu%#ah? )bu `akr$ \hu%bah Wbn %)##ash Wbn \alim al-fufi Ei.e.$ the fufan( an-uahshali Eb# lo#alt#( Eo5-'oI )Y(. Hafs? )bu %)mr$ Yafs Wbn \ula#man Wbn al-]ughirah Wbn )bi bawu! al)sa!i al-fufi Ethe fufan(. Eo0-'^0 )Y(. H. Ha 7ah& the 8ufan? )bu %Wmarah$ Yamdah Wbn Yabib al-ea##at al-Ta#mi b# lo#alt# E^0'5V )Y(. 8halaf? )bu ]uhamma! al-)sa!i al-`addar al-`agh!a!i E'50-22o )Y(. 8hallad? )bu %Wsa$ fhalla! Wbn fhali! al-`agh!a!i E- 220 )Y(.

I. Al@8isa2i& the 8ufan? )bu al-Yasan$ %)li Wbn Yamdah$ the _ersian$ )sa!i b# lo#alt# E''o '^o )Y( Al@Ja/th? )bu al-Yarith$ al-"a#th Wbn fhali! al-`agh!a!i E- 2U0 )Y(. Al@:uri? Yafs the transmitter of )bu %)mr Esee above(. K. A#u %a%far? ladi! Wbn al-Qa%qa% al-]akhdumi al-]a!ani Eof ]e!inah( E- 'I0 )Y(. %"sa "#n Wirdan? )bu al-Yarith al-]a!ani Eof ]e!inah b# st#le( E- 'V0 )Y( "#n %u a7? )bu ar-tabi%$ \ula#man Wbn ]uslim Wbn Jummad al-]a!ani Eof ]e!inah( E- 'Z0 )Y( L. 9a%(u#? )bu ]uhamma!$ la%qub Wbn Wshaq Wbn ea#! Wbn %)b!illah Wbn )bi Wshaq alYa!rami$ the `asran$ the slave of the Ya!ramis E''Z - 205 )Y( Ru+a/s? )bu %)b!illah$ ]uhamma! Wbn al-]utawakkil$ the `asran E- 2I^ )Y(. Ra+h? )bu al-Yasan$ tawh Wbn %)b! al-]upmin$ the `asran$ the Yu!hali b# lo#alt# E- 2IU )Y(. 1M. 8halaf the 1Mth? The transmitter of Yamdah Esee above( "sha(? )bu la%qub$ Wshaq Wbn Wbrahim Wbn %athman al-]arudi al-`agh!a!i E2^V )Y(. "dris? )bu al-Yasan$ W!ris Wbn %)b! al-farim al-Ya!!a! al-`agh!a!i E'^o 2o2 )Y(. Are Qir626t :ue To The Ja!' Of >o+el < :ia!riti!al Boints "n The Earl/ Qur2ans1 \amuel green sa#s:
z ... owing to the fact that the kufic script in which the foran was z originall# written containe! no in!ication of vowels or z !iacritical points$ variant rea!ings are recognide! b# ]uslims as z of equal authorit#. Eu.J. bawoo!$ The foran$ ]i!!lesex$ [nglan!: z _enguin `ooks$ 'o^I$ p.'0$ bol! a!!e!(

Ye a!!s further that:

>OWEJ :"FFEREN=E3 - Wn the )rabic script of the mo!ern Qurpan the vowels are in!icate! b# small s#mbols above or below the basic printe! letters. )gain these were not inclu!e! in athmanps e!ition of the Qurpan.

Wt is to be ma!e clear that the )rabic script before an! !uring the time of athmsn was written without vowel an! !iacritical marks. To sa# that the vowels an! !iacritical marks were not inclu!e! in the athmsnic Qurpan actuall# shows the ignorance of the christian missionar# \amuel green concerning the evolution of )rabic script. The nee! for vowel an! !iacritical
c c

marks arose onl# after the time of athmsn to prevent the wrong recitation of the Qurpan b# ignorant )rabs an! non-)rabs.
c

)rabic orthograph# at the time of athmsn was not #et !evelope! in the wa# we have known for centuries$ particularl# in two important areas. There was no !istinction between letters of the alphabet of similar shape an! there were no vowel marks. This ma# now give the impression that such a s#stem must have given rise to great confusion in rea!ing. This was not actuall# the case because the morphological patterns of wor!s in )rabic enable rea!ers to rea! even ver# unfamiliar material without the short vowels being marke!. ]ore important$ however$ as far as the Qurpan was concerne!$ was the fact that learning an! rea!ing relie! above all on oral transmission. Wn the Wslamic tra!ition$ writing remaine! a secon!ar# ai!n nevertheless$ to ensure correct rea!ing of the written texts of the Qurpan$ particularl# for those coming after the first generation of ]uslims$ steps were taken gra!uall# to improve the orthograph#. This starte! with the two above mentione! areas b# intro!ucing !ots to in!icate !ifferent vowels an! nrnstion an! these were put in !ifferent coloure! ink from that of the text. There were also !ots to !istinguish between consonants of similar shape. This work was carrie! out chiefl# b# three men? A#4@l@As+ad al@:u2al5 )d. HL N HKK*& Nasr "#n Asi )d. KL N IMI* and 9ah/a "#n 9a ur )d.1DL NIFH*. an!erstan!abl# there was some opposition at first to a!!ing an#thing to the wa# the Qurpan was written. Wbn amar EZI/Vo2( !islike! the !ottingn others welcome! it$ clearl# because it was$ in fact$ !oing no more than ensuring proper rea!ing of the Qurpan as receive! from the _rophet $ an! this view was accepte! b# the maXorit# of ]uslims throughout the !ifferent parts of the ]uslims worl!$ from the time of the tsbi rn. The people of ]a!inah were reporte! to have use! re! !ots for vowels - tanwqn$ tash!q!$ takhfqf$ sukrn$ wasl an! ma!! an! #ellow !ots for the hamdas in particular. uaqt Eplacing !ots on wor!s in the mushaf($ became a separate subXect of stu!# with man# books written on it. *or !etails please see the article Qur2ani! Orthogra,h/? The Written Re,resentation Of The Re!ited TeAt Of The Qur2an.
c ! ! c E_( c

*urther$ the conclusions of the missionar# is that there was an

... ambiguit# as to which vowels shoul! be use!. This ambiguit# has lea! to !ifferences between the vowels in the !ifferent transmissions.

The aim of the christian missionar# here is to show that prior to the intro!uction of the vowel an! !iacritical marks$ that is$ throughout the perio! of the _rophet an! the companions$ as well as the generation imme!iatel# following the Qurpan was in un!etermine!$ flui! state$ a kin! of limbo$ an! that it assume! concrete form onl# with the a!!ition of !iacritical marks an! vocalidation signs$ which of course was long after the age of tevelation. Wn other wor!s$ for almost a centur# before YiXra the Qurpan was in the flui! state an! as soon as the vowels an! !iacritical marks were intro!uce!$ the Qurpan starte! to cr#stallise in the form that we have now after going through man# pversions.p *or such a situation there is no historical evi!ence. ueither$ there is historical evi!ence that ]uslims !iffere! over the Qurpan unlike the christians who !iffer over the extent of the canon even to this !a#. Wt must be emphaside! that for ]uslims !own through the centuries the consensus EiC a2( of the communit# has alwa#s been a !ecisive proof in all mattersn an! as the communit# is agree! that man has not contribute! a whit to the Qurpan$ the matter ma# be consi!ere! settle!. This is precisel# the point which has been note! in the quote of u J bawoo! use! b# the missionar#. Wt is quite clear that all the Qirspst are given equal authorit#. The above quote taken from u J bawoo!ps translation of the Qurpan is actuall# in !irect contra!iction of what \amuel green ha! inten!e! to show in his article$ i.e.$ that the ]uslims follow !ifferent psets of the Qurpanp as if the# are not all authoritative. mne won!ers wh# !i! he choose to quote the material which !oes not even serve his purposek
E_(

*urther evi!ence against the view in question ma# be !rawn from the Qirspst themselves. Wt is certainl# germane to the issue at han! to note that in man# instances where the unmarke! athmsnic canon is capable of being rea! in !iverse wa#s$ we fin! the Qurra Ei.e.$ the tea!ers( agreeing on a single rea!ing. \uch agreement can most reasonabl# be accounte! for on the basis of a firml# establishe! oral tra!ition of recitation. Take for example the verbal prefixes ta an! /a Eor tu or /u($ which in the unmarke! text woul! be represente! b# the same s#mbol. Taking the form turCa 4na an! /urCa 4na as a case point we note that all the Qirspst use the first of these forms in 2:2U5n '0:5Vn 2^:^^n IV:22$ ^In Io:UUn U':2' an! UI:^5n while all use the secon! in V:IV an! 'o:U0.
c c c

There are also man# wor!s in the Qurpan which coul! be given !ifferent form than the one given in the rea!ings$ but in fact are not. *or example$ the wor! u'ht in 'Z:'0V is so rea! b# all the rea!ers$ although there is no reason wh# it coul! not be rea! as i'th or a'th. The verb 'hatifa@/a'htafu$ which appears in 2:20n 22:I' an! IZ:'0 coul! be correctl# rea! as 'hatafa@/a'htifu$ but all the Qirspst keep the former form. ) few other examples can be shown b# refering to the books on Qirspst.
GIH

\o$ if the Qurra invente! the Qirspst Xust because the earliest manuscripts were un!otte!$ wh# then we see that the# ha! converge! to one single rea!ing man# timesj The christian missionar#ps last resort will be to invoke two conspiracies on a massive scale from \pain to Wn!ian first$ to achieve uanimit# on one rea!ing from vastl# !ivergent rea!ings an! secon!$ to fabricate the iC a2 on the Qurpan itself after thatk *urther rea!ing: http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/\cribal/haleem.html Qur2Oni! Orthogra,h/? The Written Re,resentation Of The Re!ited TeAt Of The Qur2On ] ) \ )b!el Yaleem Islamic Quarterly$ 'ojj$ pp. 'Z'-'o2 y Wslamic )wareness$ )ll tights teserve!.

vQuickk Yelp the ]uslims before the# !iffer about the text of the Qurp{n as the christians an! Jews !iffere! about their scripturesv. Thus !eman!e! Yu!ha#fa bin al-lam{n of |athm{n$ the thir! caliph$ on returning from battles in )derbaiXan E25/VU5(. Yu!ha#fa ha! become perturbe! when he saw ]uslim sol!iers from !ifferent parts of \#ria an! Wraq meeting together an! !iffering in their rea!ings of the Qurp{nG'H$ each consi!ering his rea!ing to be the correct one. ap to then the onl# full official written cop# which was ma!e un!er )b} `akr E!.'I/VIU( ha! remaine! unpublishe!$ kept first with )b} `akr$ then with |amar$ an! after his !eath with his !aughter Yafsa$ a wi!ow of the _rophetG2H. tespon!ing to the urgent !eman! for help$ |athm{n sent wor! to Yafsa$ asking for the cop# in her possession to be sent to him so that a number of copies coul! be ma!e of it$ to be publicise! an! followe! as the onl# authorise! Qurp{n in the !ifferent parts of the

]uslim worl!. This prevente! the possibilit# of !ifferent versions evolving in time$ as Yu!ha#fa ha! feare!$ when he urge! |athm{n to guar! against it. Wn the |athm{nic copies$ the Qurp{n was written in a particular rasm Eorthograph#( which became known as al-rasm al-`Uthmn Ethe |athm{nic wa# of writing the text of the Qurp{n( also referre! to as rasm al-mushaf. )s the copies ma!e at his or!ers an! !istribute! to various parts of the ]uslim worl! were meant to be authoritative$ it is no won!er that their rasm assume! authorit# as the correct wa# of writing the Qurp{n. )rabic orthograph# at the time was not #et !evelope! in the wa# we have known for centuries$ particularl# in two important areas. There was no !istinction between letters of the alphabet of similar shape an! there were no vowel marks. This ma# now give the impression that such a s#stem must have given rise to great confusion in rea!ing. This was not actuall# the case because the morphological patterns of wor!s in )rabic enable rea!ers to rea! even ver# unfamiliar material without the short vowels being marke!. ]ore important$ however$ as far as the Qurp{n was concerne!$ was the fact that learning an! rea!ing relie! above all on oral transmission. Wn the Wslamic tra!ition$ writing remaine! a secon!ar# ai!n nevertheless$ to ensure correct rea!ing of the written texts of the Qurp{n$ particularl# for those coming after the first generation of ]uslims$ steps were taken gra!uall# to improve the orthograph#. This starte! with the two above mentione! areas b# intro!ucing !ots to in!icate !ifferent vowels an! n}n{tion an! these were put in !ifferent coloure! ink from that of the text. There were also !ots to !istinguish between consonants of similar shape. This work was carrie! out chiefl# b# three men: )b}-l-)swa! al-bupal~ E!. Vo / V^^($ uasr Wbn |)sim E!. ^o / Z0Z( an! lah#{ Wbn la|mur E!.'2o /ZUV(. an!erstan!abl# there was some opposition at first to a!!ing an#thing to the wa# the Qurp{n was written. Wbn |amar EZI/Vo2( !islike! the !ottingn others welcome! it$ clearl# because it was$ in fact$ !oing no more than ensuring proper rea!ing of the Qurp{n as receive! from the _rophet$ an! this view was accepte! b# the maXorit# of ]uslims throughout the !ifferent parts of the ]uslims worl!$ from the time of the t{bi|}n. The people of ]a!inah were reporte! to have use! re! !ots for vowels - tan n! tashdd$ ta"hff$ su"#n$ asl an! madd an! #ellow !ots for the ham$as in particular. uaqtGIH Eplacing !ots on wor!s in the mushaf($ became a separate subXect of stu!# with man# books written on it.GUH )l-fhal~l Wbn )hma! E!.'Z0/Z^V( intro!uce! the tra!itional vowel signs into )rabic orthograph# instea! of the !ots$ but tht !otting s#stem continue! in writing Qurp{nic material. [ventuall# the tra!itional vowel signs were a!opte! for the Qurp{n.G5H Wt was thus in or!er to serve the Qurp{n that )rabic orthograph# was !evelope!. )fter all$ the Qurp{n$ as collecte! un!er )b} `akr$ became the first book in the )rabic language. Wt was in or!er to serve the Qurp{n that more an! more people began to learn rea!ing an! writingn that the art of calligraph# was !evelope!$ which became one of the chief arts of Wslam. The Qurp{n$ which unifie! the )rabic literar# language an! sprea! it into areas far be#on! )rabia$ was in fact the starting point of all Wslamic an! )rabic subXects of stu!#GVH$ mne of these subXects in particular has important bearing on Qurp{nic orthograph#: that is$ )rabic phonetics$ which was !evelope! in `ilm taj d al-Qur'n$ the science of the proper articulation an! rea!ing of the Qurp{n. )mong other things$ this has minutel# !escribe! an! !efinitivel# prescribe! for posterit# the articulation of consonants an! vowels singl# an! consecutivel#: the wa# of reciting the Qurp{n as receive! from the _rophet. This requires a !egree of exactitu!e unmatche! in rea!ing an# other material in )rabic. Qurp{nic orthographic signs ha! to be use! with the Qurp{nic rasm an! !evelope! to a higher stan!ar! of representation than is known or nee!e! in or!inar# )rabic orthograph#. )longsi!e the !evelopment of stu!ies in )rabic grammar$ )rabic orthograph# also !evelope!

for linguistic an! literar# material$ an! although the |athm{nic rasm was one of the sources of or!inar# orthograph#GZH the latter began to !iffer from the |athm{nic rasm of the Qurp{n. The question was aske! whether it was a!missible to write the Qurp{n itself in the new orthograph#. ]{lik E'Zo/Zo5( was aske! an! sai!: uo$ the Qurp{n shoul! be written onl# in the wa# of the first writing. Ye was also aske! whether the a!!itional an! alif Eas in the wor! 5M4/5 ( shoul! be !elete! since the# were not pronounce! an! sai! no. \imilarl# Wbn Yanbal E2UU/^5^( sai! it was unlawful to !eviate in writing the mushaf in $ y$ alif or an# other wa#.G^H Wn line with such views$ it will be seen that a!herence to the Qurp{nic rasm has persiste! up to the present. )long with numerous other aspects of the Qurp{n$ its orthograph# was single! out as a separate branch of stu!# known as |ilm al-rasm.GoH )b} |)mr )l-b{n~ EUUU/'052( examine! in !etail the characteristics of this rasm. Yis book al-]uqni|G'0H remaine! an important authorit# \u#}t~ Eo0o/'50I( re!uce! the rules of Qurp{nic rasm to V as follows: '. The rule of !eletion$ hadhf 2. The rule of a!!ition$ $iydah I. The rule of substitution$ badal U. The rule of the ham$a$ 5. The rule of Xoining an! separating$ al- asl a-l-fasl V. The rule of cases where there are two canonical rea!ings but the text is written accor!ing to one of them$ ma fhi %ir'tan fa-"utiba |al ihdhum. cY)_T[t '' TY[ QWt)&))T m* TY[ Qat&))u W. The ]eaning of the ior! %Qira&aat& The wor! %qir&aat% is the plural of %qiraa&a%$ which comes from the root q-r-a meaning$ %to rea!$ to recite&. %Qiraa&a% means the recitation of something. Wn Qur&aanic sciences$ it refers to the various wa#s an! manners of reciting the Qur&aan that are in existence to!a#. )s Wmaam ad-earkashee state!$ the Qur&aan is the revelation that was given to ]uhamma! E_`aY($ an! the qira&aat are the variations in the wor!s an! pronunciations of this revelation. Thus the qira&aat are the verbalisation of the Qur&aan$ an! the Qur&aan is preserve! in the qira&aat. [ach qiraa&a has its own peculiar rules of recitation EtaXwee!( an! variations in wor!s an! letters$ an! is names after the reciter EQaaree( who was famous for that particular qiraa&a. WW. The Yistor# of the Qira&aat The primar# metho! of transmission of the Qur&aan has alwa#s been an! alwa#s will be oral. [ach generation of ]uslims learns the Qur&aan from the generation before it$ an! this chain continues backwar!s until the time of the companions$ who learnt it from the _rophet E_`aY( himself. )s %amar ibn al-fhaattaab state!$ DThe recitation of the Qur&aan is a \unnahn the latter generations must take it from the earlier ones. Thereofre$ recite the Qur&aan onl# as #ou have been taught.F U'5 This is the fun!amental principal in the preservation of the Qur&aan.

Wn the last chapter$ the revelation of the Qur&aan in the seven ahruf was !iscusse!. )s the _rophet E_`aY( recite! the Qur&aan in all of these ahruf$ the companions memorise! it from him accor!ingl#. \ome of them memorise! onl# one harf$ others more than this. ihen the companions sprea! throughout the ]uslim lan!s$ the# took with them the variations that the# ha! learnt from the _rophet E_`aY(. The# un!erstoo! the importance of the oral transmission of the Qur&aan. %amar ibn al-fhattaab$ !uring his caliphate$ sent several prominent companions to various cities to teach the people the Qur&aann %abaa!ah ibn as-\aamit was sent to Yims$ aba# ibn fa&ab to _alestine$ an! )boo a!-bar!aa to bamascus. U'V "ikewise$ !uring his caliphate$ %athmaan also realise! the importance of the proper recitation of the Qur&aan$ an! sent reciters of the Qur&aan all over the ]uslim lan!s$ each with a cop# of his official mus-haf. Ye kept ea#! ibn Thaabit in ]a!eenahn with the ]akkan mus-haf$ he sent %)!ullaah ibn \aa&ib E!. VI ).Y.(n to \#ria was sent al-]ugheerah ibn \hu&bah E!. 50 ).Y.(n )boo %)b! ar-tahmaan as-\ulamee E!. Z0 ).Y.( was sent to foofahn an! %)amir ibn %)b!ul Qa#s to `asrah E!. 55 ).Y.(. U'Z The companions$ in turn$ recite! an! taught these variations to the \uccessors ETabi&oon($ who taught them to the next generation Eatbaa& at-tabi&oon($ an! so on. [ach generation ha! in its rank those who were famous for their knowle!ge of the recitation of the Qur&aan. Thus$ among the companions$ there were man# who were famous as having hear! from the _rophet E_`aY( most if not all of the Qur&aan. Wnclu!e! in this categor# are %athmaan ibn %)ffaan$ %)lee ibn )bee Taalib$ %aba# ibn fa&ab$ %)b!ullaah ibn ]as&oo!$ ea#! ibn Thaabit$ )boo a!-bar!aa$ an! )boo ]oosaa al-)sh&aree. These companions taught those companions who were #ounger or ha! not ha! as much exposure to the _rophet&s E_`aY( recitation$ such as )boo Yura#rah an! Wbn %)bbaas$ who both learnt from aba#. \ome learnt from more than one companion$ as$ for example$ Wbn %)bbaas also learnt from ea#! ibn Thaabit. These companions then taught the \uccessors. \ince the companions sprea! over the various parts of the ]uslim worl!$ each region starte! !eveloping a specific t#pe of recitation. )gain$ all of these various recitations ha! originate! from the mouth of the _rophet E_`aY($ an! the companions sprea! the !ifferent variations throughout the ]uslim worl!. Those famous among the \uccessors for the recitation of the Qur&aan are: in ]a!eenah$ \a&ee! ibn al-]usa##ib E!. o0 ).Y.($ %arwah ibn ad-euba#r E!. oU ).Y.($ \aalim E!. '0V ).Y.($ an! %amar ibn %)b! al-)deed E!. '0I ).Y.(n in ]akkah$ %aba#! ibn %ama#r E!. Z2 ).Y.($ %)taa ibn )bee tabah E!. ''U ).Y.($ Taawoos E!. '0V ).Y.($ ]uXaahi! E!. '0I ).Y.( an! %Wkrimah E!. '0U ).Y.(n in foofah$ %)lqamah ibn Qa#s E!. V0 ).Y.($ )boo %)b! altahmaan as-\ulamee E!. Z0 ).Y.($ Wbraaheem al-uakhaa&ee E!. oV ).Y.( an! ash-\ha&bee E!. '00 ).Y.(n in `asrah$ )boo al-)ali#ah E!. o0 ).Y.($ uasr ibn %)asim E!. ^o ).Y.($ Qataa!ah E!. ''0 ).Y.($ Wbn \ireen E!. ''0 ).Y.( an! lah#a ibn la&mar E!. '00 ).Y.(n an! in \#ria$ al]ugheerah ibn )bee \hihaab an! fhaleefah ibn \a&a!. U'^ )roun! the turn of the first centur# of the hiXrah appeare! the scholars of the Qur&aan after whom the qira&aat of to!a# are name!. )t this time$ along with man# other sciences of Wslaam$ the sciences of the qira&aat were co!ifie!. Thus$ members of this generation took from the \uccessors the various recitations that the# ha! learnt from the companions$ an! a!opte! a specific wa# of reciting the Qur&aan$ an! this is what is calle! a qiraa&a. [ach of these persons is calle! a Qaaree$ or teciter. These Qaarees were the most famous reciters of the Qur&aan in

their time$ an! people from all aroun! the ]uslim lan!s woul! come to them to learn the Qur&aan. To summarise$ the qira&aat are particular metho!ologies of reciting the Qur&aan. The# are name! after the Qaaree who recite! the Qur&aan in that particular manner$ an! were famous as being the lea!ers in this fiel!. The# represent the various wa#s that the companions learnt the Qur&aan from the _rophet E_`aY(. The# !iffer from each other in vaious wor!s$ proninciations$ an! rules of recitation EtaXwee!(. The# are not the same as the seven ahruf$ as shall be elaborate! upon shortl#. The scholars of the succee!ing generations starte! compiling works on the !ifferent qira&aat that were present in their times. *or example$ )boo %aba#! al-Qaasim ibn \allaam E!. 22U ).Y.( compile! twent#-five qira&aat$ )hma! ibn Juba#r al-foofee E!. 25^ ).Y.( wrote a book on five qira&aat$ an! al-Qaa!ee Wsmaa&eel ibn Wshaaq E!. 2^2 ).Y.( compile! his book on twent# qira&aat Einclu!ing the famous &seven&(. [ven ]uhamma! ibn Jareer at-Tabari E!. I'0( compile! a work on the qira&aat. Yowever$ the most famous of these books is the one b# )boo `akr )hma! ibn ]uXaahi! E!. I2U($ entitle! fitaab al-Qira&aat$ in which he compile! seven of the most famous qira&aat of his time from the maXor cities of the ]uslim worl!. Ye was the first to limit himself to these particular Qaarees$ for he wante! to combine the most famous recitations of ]akkah$ ]a!eenah$ foofah$ `asrah$ an! bamascus$ for these were the five territories from which the knowle!ge of Wslaam sprung forth - the knowle!ge of the Qur&aan$ tafseer$ ha!eeth an! fiqh. U'o Ye wrote in his intro!uction$ D\o these seven Ethat W have chosen( are scholars from YiXaad Ei.e.$ ]akkah an! ]a!eenah($ Wraq Ei.e.$ foofah an! `asrah( an! \#ria Ei.e.$ bamascus(. The# inherite! the \uccessors in the knowle!ge of the recitation of the Qur&aan$ an! the people all accepte! an! agree! upon their recitation$ from their respective territories$ an! the territories surroun!ing themTFU2V Ye purposel# chose seven Qaarees to match the number of ahruf that the Qur&aan was reveale! in. anfortunatel#$ this le! man# people to mistakenl# believe that the !ifferent qira&aat were the same as the ahruf that the _rophet E_`aY( referre! to in the various ha!eeth. This is obviousl# false$ since ibn ]uXaahi! wrote his book four centuries after the _rophet&s E_`aY( !eath. bue to this misconception$ man# of the later scholars took ibn ]uXaahi! to task$ wishing that he ha! chosen a !ifferent number$ so that this confusion coul! have been prevente!. Wbn al-Jadaree E!. ^I2 ).Y.( wrote$ D]an# of the scholars !islike! the fact that Wbn ]uXaahi! restricte! himself to seven qira&aat$ an! sai! that he was mistaken in !oing so$ an! wishe! that he ha! chosen a number greater than this$ or less than this$ or atleast explaine! the purpose behin! choosing this number$ so that those people who have no knowle!ge woul! not have been misle!.F U2' )nother misconception that arose was that some scholars assume! that these seven qira&aat were the onl# authentic qira&aat of the Qur&aan. Thus$ these scholars consi!ere! an# qira&aat besi!es these seven to be !efective Eshaa!h( qira&aat. This$ too$ is a misconception$ as there were other authentic qira&aat that Wbn ]uXaahi! !i! not compile. bue to the popularit# an! excellence of Wbn ]uXaahi!&s book$ these seven qira&aat became the most famous qira&aat of that time$ U22 an! the stu!ents of knowle!ge left other qira&aat to stu!# these seven. [ventuall#$ except for three other authentic qira&aat$ all the other qira&aat were left$ an! onl# these ten were stu!ie!. This !oes not impl#$ however$ that somehow a portion of the Qur&aan was lost b# preserving onl# these ten. ]an# of the qira&aat were

merel# a mixture of others$ so that their loss woul! not mean a loss of certain pronunciations or wor!s. The ]uslims are assure! of the fact that the# have the complete revelation that )llaah reveale! to the _rophet ]uhamma! E_`aY($ for it is )llaah&s promise to protect it: Dweril#$ it is ie who have reveale! the Qur&aan$ an! surel# ie will guar! itF EQur&n$ '5:o( WWW. The con!itions for an )uthentic Qiraa&a Wt was mentione! in the last section that$ !uring the first few centuries of the hiXrah$ there were man# qira&aat that use! to be recite!. The scholars of the qira&aat therefore establishe! rules in or!er to !ifferentiate the authentic qira&aat from the inauthentic ones. The famous scholar of the Qur&aan$ ]uhamma! ibn al-Jadaree E!. ^I2 ).Y.($ sai!: D[ver# qiraa&a that conforms to the rules of )rabic$ even if b# one manner$ an! matches with one of the mus-hafs of %athmaan$ even if such a match is not an obvious one$ an! has an authentic chain of narrators back to the _rophet E_`aY($ is an authentic qiraa&a. \uch a qiraa&a cannot be refute! or !enie!$ but rather must be believe! in$ an! is amongst the seven ahruf that the Qur&aan was reveale! in. Therefore the people must accept it$ whether it be from the seven qira&aat Ementione! above($ or from the ten qira&aat$ or even other than these. )n! whenever an# qiraa&a fails to meet one of the above mentione! three con!itions$ then it will be labelle! Eaccor!ing to which of the con!itions are not met( either weak E!a&eef($ irregular Eshaa!h($ or false Ebaatil(. )n! this Ei.e.$ these con!itions( is the strongest opinion among the scholars of the past an! the present.F U2I Therefore$ Wbn al-Jadaree mentione! three con!itions: '( The qiraa&a must conform to )rabic grammar. Wt is not essential$ however$ that the grammar use! be agree! upon b# all )rabic grammarians$ or that the qiraa&a emplo# the most fluent an! eloquent of phrases an! expressions. This is the meaning of the phrase$ DTeven if b# one manner.F The basic requirement is that it !oes not contra!ict an agree! upon principal of )rabic grammar. \ome scholars$ however$ !o not agree with this con!ition.U2U The# argue$ DWf a qiraa&a is proven to have originate! from the _rophet E_`aY($ then we cannot appl# the rules of grammar to it. Wf we were to !o this$ an! presume! an error in the qiraa&a$ then we woul! be impl#ing that the _rophet E_`aY( ma!e mistakes E)llaah forbi!k(. Therefore$ an authentic qiraa&a overri!es a rule of )rabic grammarkF ihat this is impl#ing is that it is the Qur&aan$ through an# of its qira&aat $ that is given preference over an# rule of grammar$ for the Qur&aan is the \peech of )llaah$ the most eloquent of \peech$ an! the rules of grammar must be base! on this. )mong the scholars of the Qur&aan who hel! this view are ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib E!. UIZ ).Y.( an! )boo %)mr a!-baanee E!. UUU ).Y.(. *or them$ the con!itions for an authentic qiraa&a are the last two. )ctuall#$ if the practice of the scholars of the Qur&aan is examine!$ it is apparent that the above !ifference is a !ifference in semantics onl#$ for the first categor# of scholars Esuch as Wbn al-Jadaree( will reXect a rule of grammar as invali! if it contra!icts an# of the ten authentic qira&aat. Thus$ the attempts b# some grammarians to invali!ate certain qira&aat Esuch as adeaXXaaX&s U25 attempts to invali!ate the qiraa&a of Yamdah in verse U:'( have been reXecte! b#

all the scholars of qiraa&a$ whether the# inclu!e this con!ition or not. U2V This point will be !iscusse! in greater !etail below. 2( The qiraa&a must conform with one of the mus-hafs of %athmaan. Wn the chapter on the compilation of the Qur&aan$ it was mentione! that %athmaan sent out between four an! eight mus-hafs aroun! the ]uslim worl!. )ll of them were without !ots an! vowel marks. )lso$ these mus-hafs ha! minor variations between them. )s long as a qiraa&a satisfie! an# one of these mus-hafs$ it was consi!ere! to have passe! this con!ition$ even if it conforme! slightl#. *or example$ the wor! maaliki U2Z in \oorah al*aatihah is written in all the %athmaanic mus-hafs as m-l-k G)rabic text hereH$ which allows for the variation foun! in other qira&aat of maliki. U2^ This is an example where the conformation is Dnot obvious.F )n example of an explicit conformation is in 2:25o$ where one recitation is ka#fa nunshiduha$ U2o but without a !ot over one letter becomes ka#fa nunshiruha. UI0 )n example of a qiraa&a conforming to one of the mus-hafs of %athmaan without the others is the qiraa&a of Wbn %)amir$ who rea! I:'^U as wa bi duburi wa bil kitaab instea! of wa ad-duburi wal kitaab Ei.e.$ without the bas($ since the mus-haf that %athmaan sent to \#ria ha! the two bas in it. )n example of a qiraa&a that contra!icts all the mus-hafs of %athmaan is the qiraa&a attribute! to Wbn %)bbaas in '^:Zo$ which translates as$ DTan! there was$ behin! them$ a king who seide! ever# ship b# force$F whereas Wbn %)bbas rea! it$ DTan! there was$ in front of them$ a king who seide! ever# useable ship b# force.F The two changes in the recitation of Wbn %)bbaas are not allowe! b# the mus-haf of %athmaan$ an! cannot$ therefore$ be consi!ere! an authentic recitation. I( The qiraa&a must have an authentic Esaheeh( chain of narrators back to the _rophet E_`aY(. This is the most important con!ition$ an! guarantees that the variations that occur in the qira&aat have all been sent !own b# )llaah as part of the Qur&aan$ recite! b# the _rophet E_`aY($ an! passe! !own to the ]uslim ummah without an# a!!ition or !eletion. )s was quote! from %amar earlier Ean! this same statement has also been ma!e b# ea#! ibn Thaabit$ an! man# of the \uccessors($ DThe recitation of the Qur&aan is a \unnahn the later generations must take it from the earlier ones. Therefore$ recite the Qur&aan onl# as #ou have been taught.F Yowever$ an important question is: !o these chains of narration have to be mutawaatirj The overwhelming maXorit# of scholars claime! that the# !i!. The onl# notable exceptions were from ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib E!. UIZ ).Y.($ an! later Wbn al-Jadaree E!. ^I2 ).Y.( Ewhose !efinition is being quote!(. `oth of these scholars are highl# respecte!$ classical scholars in the fiel! of qira&aat. Wbn al-Jadaree wrote$ D\ome of the later scholars have presume!T that the Qur&aan can onl# be proven with mutawaatir narrationsk The flaws in this opinion are obviousT F UI' Yowever$ this opinion itself goes againt the consensus EiXmaa&( of almost all the other scholars. Wmaam an-uuwa#ree E!. ^oZ ).Y.($ a commentator of Wbn al-Jadaree&s work$ wrote: DThis opinions is a newl#-invente! one$ contra!icting the consensus EiXmaa&( of the Xurists an!T the four ma!h-habsT an! man# scholars$ so man# that the# cannot even be counte!$ such as Wbn %)b! al-`arr$ Wbn %)ti##ah$ Wbn Ta#mi##ah$ Wmaam uawawee$ al-)draa&ee$ as\ubkee$ ad-earkashee$ Wbn al-YaaXib$ an! man# more besi!es these. )s for the reciters of the

Qur&aan$ the# were agree! on this since the earliest times$ an! the onl# one to contra!ict them in the later times are ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib UI2 an! those who followe! him Ei.e.$ Wbn alJadaree(.F UII Wn realit#$ Wbn al-Jadaree&s opinion seems to have more theoretical than realistic value$ for even he a!mits$ in another of his works$ that the ten qira&aat are all mutawaatir. Ye states$ Dihoever sa#s that the mutawaatir qira&aat are unlimite!$ then if he means this in our times$ this is not correct$ for to!a# there are no authentic mutaawatir qira&aat besi!es these tenn however$ if he means in earlier times$ then it is possible that he is correctT F UIU Therefore$ Wbn al-Jadaree was of the view that is was not neccessar# for a qiraa&a to be mutawaatir for it to be accepte!$ but at the same time he !i! believe that the ten qira&aat were all mutawaatir. Wbn al-Jadaree&s con!itions were perhaps applicable in his time$ when there existe! numerous qira&aat besi!es the ten that are present to!a#. )ccor!ing to him$ such qira&aat coul! be recite! as long as the# ha! an authentic chain of narrators back to the _rophet E_`aY($ even if such chains were ahaa!. ]ost of the other scholars of qiraa&a$ however$ !i! not agree with him on this point. UI5 Yowever$ since in our times$ onl# these ten qira&aat are in existence$ this issue becomes more theoretical than practical$ as most of the scholars are in agreement that these ten qira&aat are all mutawaatir. Wn conclusion$ the con!itions for an authentic qiraa&a is that it must be mutawaatir$ an! conforms to atleast one of the mus-hafs of %athmaan. )n# time such a qiraa&a exists$ it overi!es an# rule of )rabic grammar. Wt shoul! be mentione!$ however$ that there has never existe! an# mutawaatir qiraa&a that contra!icte! an# rule of )rabic grammar. UIV )l-Qaarree writes$ UIZ DWf we pon!er over this issue$ an! reflect over these con!itions$ we fin!s that this last con!ition Ei.e.$ the qiraa&a must conform with )rabic grammar( is$ in realit#$ not a %con!ition& in the sense of the wor!$ meaning that if this %con!ition& is not met$ the qiraa&a is reXecte!$ for two reasons: *irstl#$ such a case has never occurre!$ meaning that there is no authentic$ mutawaatir qiraa&a that conforms to the %athmaanic mus-hafs that has no basis in )rabic grammar. \econ!l#$ even if we allow for the possiblit# that there exists such a qiraa&a - an! authentic$ mutawaatir qiraa&a conforming to the script$ #et not having an# basis that we can !iscover in )rabic grammar - then this too !oes not impl# the reXection of the qiraa&a. This is because our ignorance of such a gramatical basis !oes not rule out the possibilit# of such a basis$ since no matter how much our knowle!ge encompasses$ it will still be limite!. )lso$ whenever a qiraa&a has a mutawaatir chain of narrators an! conforms with the %athmaanic script$ this is unequivocal proof that it is a part of the Qur&aan$ an! therefore there cannot be an# argument against it. To conclu!e$ therefore$ we sa#: This last con!ition Emeaning the con!ition of a qiraa&a with )rabic grammar( is in realit# a neccessar# b# pro!uct of the other two con!itions$ an! is not a %con!ition& per se.F )s has alrea!# been allu!e! to$ there are ten qira&aat that meet the above requirements$ an! these will be !iscusse! below$ Taqee a!-been as-\ubkee E!. Z5V ).Y.( state!$

DThe seven qira&aat that ash-\haatibee compile! UI^ along with the other three qira&aat are all authentic mutawaatir qira&aat. This has been recognise! b# all$ an! ever# letter that an# of these qira&aat have !iffere! with the others in$ is recognise! to have been reveale! to the _rophet E_`aY(. uone can reXect this fact except the ignorant.F UIo Theoreticall#$ it is possible for there to still exist other authentic qira&aat besi!es these ten$ since there is no !ivine law regulating that there can onl# be ten qira&aat. tealisticall#$ however$ such an existence is impossible$ as the scholars of the Qur&aan woul! have known of them b# now. Ww. The mther T#pes of Qira&aat Wf a qiraa&a fails to meet an# of these con!itions$ it is classifie! in a !ifferent categor#. bifferent scholars have a!opte! !ifferent classifications for !efining those qira&aat that !o not meet the above three con!itions. mne of the simpler ones is as follows: UU0 '( The \aheeh E)uthentic( Qira&aat: These are the ten authentic qira&aat$ an! the con!itions of acceptance were !iscusse! above. 2( The \haa!h EWrregular( Qira&aat: These qira&aat have an authentic chain of narration back to the _rophet E_`aY( an! conform to )rabic grammar$ but !o not match the mus-hafs of %athmaan. Wn a!!ition$ the# are not mutawaatir. Wn other wor!s$ the# emplo# wor!s of phrases that the %athmaanic mus-hafs !o not allow. ]ost of the time Ebut not all$ see \u#ootee&s classification below( this t#pe of qira&aat was in fact use! b# the companions as explanations to certain verses in the Qur&aan. *or example$ %)a&ishah use! to recite 2:2I^ % Twa salat alwusta& with the a!!ition &salat al-asr.& The meaning of the first is$ Dguar! against #our pra#ers$ especiall# the mi!!le one.F %)s&ishah&s a!!ition explaine! that the Dmi!!le pra#erF allu!e! to in this verse is in fact the %)sr pra#er. There are numerous authentic narrations from the companions of this nature$ in which the# recite! a certain verse in a wa# that the mus-haf of %athmaan woul! not allow. )nother explanation of this t#pe of qira&aat is that the# were a part of the ahruf that were reveale! to the _rophet E_`aY( but later abrogate!$ an! thus not preserve! in the mus-haf of %athmaan. I( The ba&eef Eieak( Qira&aat: These qira&aat conform with )rabic grammar an! are allowe! b# the mus-haf of %athmaan$ but !o not have authentic chains of narrations back to the _rophet E_`aY(. )n example of this t#pe is the recitation of ':U as malaki #awmu !een$ in the past tense. U( The `aatil E*alse( Qira&aat: These qira&aat !o not meet an# of the three criterion mentione! above$ an! are reXecte! completel#$ even as tafseer. *or example$ the rea!ing of I5:2^ as inama #akhsha )lllaahu min %iba!hil %ulama$ changes the meaning from$ DWt is onl# those who have knowle!ge amongst Yis slaves that trul# fear )llaah$F to$ D)llh is afrai! of the knowle!ge of Yis slaveskF E)ll praise be to )llaah$ Ye is far remove! from all that the# ascribe to Yimkk( The ruling concerning these last three t#pes of qira&aat$ the shaa!h$ the !a&eef an! the baatil$ is that the# are not a part of the Qur&aan$ an! in fact it is haraam Eforbi!!en( to consi!er such a qiraa&a as part of the Qur&aan. Wf it is recite! in pra#er$ such a pra#er will not be acceptable$ nor is one allowe! to pra# behin! someone who recites these qira&aat. Yowever$ the shaa!h

an! the !a&eef qira&aat ma# be stu!ie! un!er the science of tafseer Ean! other sciences$ such as the science of grammar$ or nahw( as long as the# are i!entifie! as such. The shaa!h qira&aat$ in particular$ use! to form a part of the seven ahruf that the Qur&aan was reveale! in$ but these recitations were abrogate! b# the _rophet E_`aY( himself$ an! therefore not preserve! b# %athmaan. an!er this categor# fall man# of the recitations that are transmitte! with authentic chains of narrations from the companions$ an! #et !o not conform with the %athmaanic mushaf. These recitations use! to form a part of the Qur&aan$ an! were recite! b# the companions$ until the# were abrogate! b# the _rophet E_`aY( before his !eath. )s-\u#ootee$ UU' following Wbn al-Jadaree E!. ^I2($ classifies the various qira&aat into six categories$ which are briefl#: '( ]utawaatir: These are the seven qira&aat compile! b# Wbn ]uXaahi!$ plus the other three. 2( ]ash-hoor Eiell-known(: These are some of the variations foun! within the ten authentic qira&aat$ such as the !ifferences between the raawis an! turuqs Eto be !iscusse! below(. I( )haa! E\ingular(: These are the qira&aat that have an authentic chain of narration$ but !o not conform to the mus-haf of %athmaan$ or contra!ict a rule of )rabic grammar Ethe same as shaa!h above(. U( \haa!h EWrregular(: These are the qira&aat that !o not have an authentic chain of narration back to the _rophet E_`aY( Ethe same as !a&eef above(. 5( ]aw!oo& E*abricate!(: These are the qira&aat that !o not meet an# of the three con!itions Esame as baatil above(. V( ]u!raX EWnterpolate!(: Wn this categor#$ as-\u#ootee classifie! those rea!ings that the companions use! to a!! of the sake of interpretation. *or example$ the verse$ DTan! he has a brother or sisterTF EQur&n$ U:'2( was recite! b# \a&ee! ibn )bee iaqqaas as$ DTan! he has a brother or sister from the same mother.F These t#pes of a!!itions are explaine! as having been hear! b# that companion from the _rophet E_`aY($ either as an explanation of the verse Ein which case it was assume! b# the companion to be part of the verse($ or that this was one of the ahruf of that verse that was later abrogate! b# the _rophet E_`aY( !uring his final recitation to Jibreel. UU2 )s-\u#ootee state! that the first two t#pes$ mutawaatir an! mash-hoor$ are consi!ere! part of the Qur&aan$ an! can be recite! in pra#er$ but the last four t#pes are not a part of the Qur&aan. w. The )uthentic Qira&aat an! the Qaarees uow that the various t#pes of qira&aat have been !iscusse! in !etail$ it is time to look at the ten authentic qira&aat$ an! the Qaarees whom the# are name! after. UUI The first seven are the ones that )boo `akr ibn ]uXaahi! E!. I2U ).Y.( preserve! in his book$ an! which ash\haatibee E!. 5U^ ).Y.( versifie! in his famous poem known as ash-\haatibi##ah. '( uaafi& al-]a!anee:

Ye is uaafi& ibn %)b! al-tahmaan ibn )bee ua&eem al-"a#thee$ originall# from an Wsfahanian famil#. Ye was one of the maXor scholars of qira&aat !uring his time. Ye was born aroun! Z0 ).Y.$ in ]a!eenah$ an! passe! awa# in the same cit# at the age of oo$ in 'Vo ).Y. Ye learnt the Qur&aan from over sevent# \uccessors$ inclu!ing )boo Ja&far ladee! ibn alQa&qa& E!. 'I0 ).Y.($ who took his recitation from )boo Yura#rah$ who took his recitation from aba# ibn fa&ab$ who took his recitation from the _rophet E_`aY(. )fter the era of the \uccessors$ he was taken as the cheif Qaaree of ]a!eenah. [ventuall# his qiraa&a was a!opte! b# the people of ]a!eenah. )mong his stu!ents was Wmaam ]aalik E!. 'Zo ).Y.(. Wmaam ]aalik use! to recite the Qur&aan in the qiraa&a of uaafi&$ an! he use! to sa#$ DWn!ee!$ the qiraa&a of uaafi& is the \unnah$F UUU meaning that this qiraa&a was the most like! b# him. The two stu!ents who preserve! his qiraa&a are: i( Qaloon: Ye is %[esaa ibn ]eena ad-earqee E'20-220 ).Y.(. Ye was the stepson of uaafi&$ an! live! his whole life in ]a!eenah. )fter uaafi& !ie!$ he took over his position as the lea!ing Qaaree of ]a!eenah. ii( iarsh: Ye is )boo \a&ee! %athmaan ibn \a&ee! al-]isree E''0-'oZ ).Y.(. Ye live! in [g#pt$ but travelle! to ]a!eenah in '55 ).Y. to stu!# un!er uaafi&$ an! recite! the Qur&aan to him man# times. [ventuall#$ he returne! to [g#pt$ an! became the lea!ing Qaaree of [g#pt. 2( Wbn fatheer al-]akkee: Ye is %)b! )llaah ibn fatheer ibn %amar al-]akkee$ born in ]akkah in U5 ).Y. an! !ie! '20 ).Y. Ye was among the generation of the \uccessors Ehe met some companions$ such as )nas ibn ]aalik an! %)b!ullaah ibn ad-euba#r($ an! learnt the Qur&aan from the earl# \uccessors$ such as )bee \aa&ib$ ]uXaahi! ibn Jabr E!. '0I ).Y.($ an! barbaas$ the slave of Wbn %)bbaas. barbaas learnt the Qur&aan from Wbn %)bbaas$ who learnt it from ea#! ibn Thaabit an! aba# ibn fa&ab$ who both learnt it from the _rophet E_`aY(. Wmaam ash-\haafi&ee E!. 20U ).Y.( use! to recite the qiraa&a of Wbn fatheer$ UU5 an! once remarke!$ Die were taught the qiraa&a of Wbn fatheer$ an! we foun! the people of ]akkah upon his qiraa&a.F UUV The two primar# Qaarees who preserve! his qiraa&a are: i( al-`uddee: Ye is )bul Yasan )hma! ibn `uddah al-]akkee E'Z0-250 ).Y.(. Ye was the mu&a!h-!hin at the ]asXi! al-Yaraam at ]akkah$ an! the lea!ing Qaaree of ]akkah !uring his time. ii( Qumbul: Ye is )boo %)mr ]uhamma! ibn %)b! al-tahmaan E'o5-2o' ).Y.(. Ye was the lea!ing Qaaree of the YiXaad. Ye was also one of the teachers of )boo `akr ibn ]uXaahi! E!. I2U ).Y.($ the author of fitaab al-Qira&aat. I( )boo %)mr al-`asree: Ye is eabaan ibn al-&)laa ibn %)mmaar al-`asree. Ye was born in Vo ).Y. an! passe! awa# in '5U ).Y. Ye was born in ]akkah$ but grew up in `asrah. Ye stu!ie! the Qur&aan un!er

man# of the \uccessors$ among them )boo Ja&far E!. 'I0 ).Y.($ an! )boo al-&)ali#ah E!. o5 ).Y.($ who learnt from %amar ibn al-fhattaab an! other companions$ who learnt from the _rophet E_`aY(. The two primar# Qaarees who preserve! his qiraa&a are: i( a!-boori: Ye is Yafs ibn %amar a!-boori E'o5-2UV ).Y.(. Ye was one of the first to compile !ifferent qira&aat $ notwithstan!ing the fact that he was blin!. ii( as-\oosee: Ye is )boo \hu&a#b \aalih ibn ei#aa! as-\oosee E'Z'-2V' ).Y.(. he taught the Qur&aan to Wmaam an-uasaa&ee E!. I0I ).Y.($ of \unan fame. U( Wbn %)amir ash-\haamee: Ye is %)b!ullaah ibn %)amir al-lahsabee$ born in 2' ).Y. Ye live! his life in bamascus$ which was the capital of the ]uslim empire in those !a#s. Ye met some of the companions$ an! stu!ie! the Qur&aan un!er the companion )boo a!-bar!aa$ an! al-]ugheerah ibn )bee \hihaab. Ye was the Wmaam of the amma#a! ]osque Ethe primar# mosque in bamascus( !uring the time of %amar ibn %)b! al-&)deed E!. '0I ).Y.($ an! was well-known for his recitation. )mong the seven Qaarees$ he has the highest chain or narrators Ei.e.$ least number of people between him an! the _rophet E_`aY(($ since he stu!ie! !irectl# un!er a companion. Ye was also chief Ju!ge of bamascus. Yis qiraa&a became accepte! b# the people of \#ria$ Ye !ie! on the !a# of %)ashoora$ UUZ ''^ ).Y. The two primar# Qaarees who preserve! his qiraa&a are: i( Yishaam: Ye is Yishaam ibn %)mmaar as-bamishqee E'5I-2U5 ).Y.(. Ye was well-known for his recitation$ an! his knowle!ge of ha!eeth an! fiqh$ an! was one of the teachers of Wmaam at-Tirmi!hee E!. 2Zo ).Y.(. ii( Wbn ehakwan: Ye is %)b!ullaah ibn )hma! ibn ehakwan E'ZI-2U2 ).Y.(. Ye was also the Wmaam of the amma#a! ]osque !uring his time. 5( %)asim al-foofee: Ye is %)asim ibn )bee uaXoo! al-foofee$ from among the \uccessors. Ye was the most knowle!gable person in recitation !uring his time$ an! took over the position of Wmaam of the Qaarees in foofah$ after the !eath of )boo %)b! ar-tahmaan as-\ulamee E!. Z5 ).Y.(. Ye learnt the Qur&aan from )boo %)b! ar-tahmaan Ewho stu!ie! un!er %)lee ibn )bee Taalib$ an! was the teacher of al-Yasan an! al-Yusa#n($ an! from eirr ibn Yuba#sh E!. ^I ).Y.( an! )boo % )mr ash-\ha#baanee E!. o5 ).Y.(. These learnt the Qur&aan from aba# ibn fa&ab$ %athmaan ibn %)ffaan$ %)lee ibn )bee Taalib$ an! ea#! ibn Thaabit$ who all learnt from the _rophet E_`aY(. Ye passe! awa# '2Z ).Y. Ye taught the Qur&aan to Wmaam )boo Yaneefah E!. '50 ).Y.($ who use! to recite in the qiraa&a of %)asim. Wmaam )hma! ibn Yambal E!. 20U ).Y.( was once aske!$ Dihich of the qira&aat !o #ou preferjF Ye replie!$ DThe qiraa&a of ]a!eenah Ei.e.$ uaafi&($ but if this is not possible$ then %)asim.F UU^ Yis two stu!ents who preserve! his qiraa&a are:

i( \hu&ba: Ye is \hu&ba ibn %W#aash al-foofee$ born o5 ).Y. an! passe! awa# 'oI ).Y. ii( Yafs: Ye is )boo %)mr Yafs ibn \ula#maan al-)sa!ee al-foofee Eo0-'^0 ).Y.($ a stepson of %)asim. Ye was the most knowle!gable person of the qiraa&a of %)asim. V( Yamdah al-foofee: Ye is Yamdah ibn Yabeeb al-foofee$ born ^0 ).Y. Ye met some of the companions$ an! learnt the Qur&aan from al-)mash E!. 'UZ ).Y.($ Ja&far as-\aa!iq E!. 'U^ ).Y.( Ethe greatgran!son of Yusa#n($ an! others. Yis qiraa&a goes back to the _rophet E_`aY( through %)lee ibn )bee Taalib an! %)b!ullaah ibn ]as&oo!. he passe! awa# '5V ).Y. The two primar# Qaarees through whom his qiraa&a is preserve! are: i( fhalaf: Ye is fhalaf ibn Yishaam al-`agh!aa!ee E'50-22Z ).Y.(. Ye memorise! the Qur&aan when he was ten #ears ol!. Ye also has his own qiraa&a$ !ifferent from the one he preserve! from Yamdah Esee below(. ii( fhallaa!: Ye is )boo %[esaa fhallaa! ibn fhaali! ash-\ha#baanee. he was born ''o ).Y. an! passe! awa# 220 ).Y. Z( )l-fisaa&ee Ye is )lee ibn Yamdah ibn %)b!illaah$ born aroun! '20 ).Y. Ye was the most knowle!gable of his contemporaries in )rabic grammar$ an! is consi!ere! one of the classical scholars in this fiel!. Ye authore! numerous books$ an! excelle! in the sciences an! recitation of the Qur&aan. \tu!ents use! to flock to him to listen to the entire Qur&aan$ an! the# even use! to recor! where he stoppe! an! starte! ever# verse. The caliph Yaroon ar-tashee! use! to hol! him in great esteem. Ye passe! awa# '^o ).Y. Yis two primar# stu!ents who preserve! his qiraa&a are: i( al-"a#th: he is al0"a#th ibn fhaali! al-`agh!aa!ee. Ye !ie! 2U0 ).Y. ii( a!-booree: Ye is the same a!-booree who is the stu!ent of )boo %)mr al-`asree Ementione! above($ for he stu!ie! an! preserve! both of these qira&aat. These are the seven Qaarees whom Wbn ]uXaahi! compile! in his book fitaab al-Qira&aat. mf these$ all are from non-)rab backgroun!s except Wbn %)amir an! )boo %)mr. The following three Qaarees complete the ten authentic qira&aat. ^( )boo Ja&far al-]a!anee: Ye is ladee! ibn al-Qa&qa& al-]akhdoomee$ among the \uccessors. Ye is one of the teachers of Wmaam uaafi&$ an! learnt the Qur&aan from %)b!ullaah ibn %)bbaas$ )boo Yura#rah an! others. he passe! awa# in 'I0 ).Y. Yis two primar# stu!ents who preserve! his qiraa&a were %[esaa ibn iar!aan E!. 'V0 ).Y.( an! \ula#maan ibn Jamad E!. 'Z0 ).Y.(

o( la&qoob al-`asree: Ye is la&qoob ibn Wshaaq al-Ya!hramee al-`asree. Ye became the Wmaam of the Qaarees in `asrah after the !eath of )boo %)mr ibn %)laa. he stu!ie! un!er )boo al-]un!hir \alaam ibn \ula#maan. Yis qiraa&a goes back to the _rophet E_`aY( through )boo ]oosaa al)sh&aree. Ye was initiall# consi!ere! among the seven maXor Qaarees b# man# of the earl# scholars$ but Wbn ]uXaahi! gave his position to al-fisaa&ee instea!. Ye passe! awa# in 205 ).Y. Yis two primar# stu!ents were tuwa#s E]uhamma! ibn ]uttawakil$ !. 2I^ ).Y.( an! tooh Etooh ibn %)b! al-]u&min al-`asree$ !. 2I5 ).Y.($ who was one of the teachers of Wmaam al`ukhaaree E!. 25V ).Y.(. '0( fhalaf: This is the same fhalaf that is one of the two stu!ents of Yamdah. Ye a!opte! a specific qiraa&a of his own$ an! is usuall# calle! fhalaf al-&)ashir Ethe %tenth& fhalf(. Yis two primar# stu!ents who preserve! this qiraa&a were Wshaaq EWshaaq ibn Wbraaheem ibn %athmaan$ !. 2^V ).Y.( an! W!rees EW!rees ibn %)b! al-fareem al-`agh!aa!ee$ !. 2o2 ).Y.( )ll of these ten qira&aat have authentic$ mutawaatir chains of narration back to the _rophet E_`aY(. [ach qiraa&a is preserve! through two stu!ents of the Wmaam of that qiraa&a. mf course$ these Qaarees ha! more than Xust two stu!entsn the reason that the qira&aat are preserve! through onl# two is that )boo %)mr %athmaan ibn \a&ee! E!. UUU($ better known as Wmaam a!-baanee$ selecte! an! preserve! the recitation of the two best stu!ents of each Qaaree in his book$ fitaab at-Ta#seer fee al-Qira&aat as-\aba&. These two stu!ents are each calle! taawis Enarrators($ an! the# occasionall# !iffer from each other. Thus$ although other taawis also narrate! each qiraa&a$ onl# the recitation of two main taawis have been preserve! in such !etail. teferences to the recitation of other taawis are$ however$ to be foun! in the classical works of qira&aat. These taawis learnt the qiraa&a from their Wmaam$ an! each preserve! some of the variations of the recitation of the Qaaree. \ometimes$ the Qaaree taught !ifferent qira&aat to each taawi. Yafs quote! %)asim as sa#ing that the qiraa&a he taught him was that of )boo %)b! altahmaan as-\ulamee E!. Z0 ).Y.( from %)lee ibn )bee Taalib$ while the one that he taught )boo `akr ibn %W#aash Ei.e.$ \hu&ba$ the other taawi of %)asim( was that of eirr ibn Yuba#sh E!. ^I ).Y.( from Wbn ]as&oo!. UUo Yowever$ t#picall# the variations between the taawis are minor when compare! to the !ifferences between the qira&aat themselves Ealthough usuall# there are !ifferences in the rules of taXwee! of the taawis(. *or example$ \hu&ba an! Yafs !iffer from each other in aroun! fort# places in the whole Qur&aan. U50 To preserve even these !ifferences$ however$ the qira&aat are alwa#s mentione! inclu!ing the taawis. \o$ when someone recites the qira&aat of uaafi&$ for example$ he shoul! mention whether it is through iarsh or Qaloon Efor example$ b# sa#ing$ DThe qira&aat of uaafi& through the riwaa#ah of iarsh$F or$ DThe qiraa&a of iarsh %an uaafi& F for short(. U5' ]ost of the time$ these stu!ents$ who were Qaarees in their own right$ stu!ie! !irectl# un!er the Qaaree whose qiraa&a it was. Thus$ for example$ iarsh an! Qaloon both stu!ie! un!er Wmaam uaafi&$ as !i! \hu&bah an! Yafs with Wmaam %)asim. Yowever$ sometimes$ there was

an interme!iar# Eor even two( between these stu!ents an! the Wmaam. ihen this occure!$ as for example with Wbn fatheer$ the interme!iar# was not mentione! above$ so as not to prolong the !iscussion. The intereste! rea!er ma# consult an# of the references mentione! in the beginning of this section. There are four shaa!h qira&aat Efollowing the original !efination above(. These are not consi!ere! as part of the Qur&aan$ but ma#be use! as tafseer$ an!$ accor!ing to some of the ma!h-habs$ as a basis for fiqh rulings as well. U52 The Qaarees whom the# are name! after are: '( al-Yasan al-`asree: This is the famous \uccessor$ Yasan ibn )bee al-Yasan lassaar )boo \a&ee! al-`asree. Ye passe! awa# ''0 ).Y. 2( Wbn ]uha#sin: Ye is ]uhamma! ibn %)b! al-tahmaan as-\uha#mee al-]akkee. Ye was one of the chief Qaarees of ]akkah$ along with Wbn fatheer. Ye passe! awa# '2I ).Y. I( lah#a al-ladee!ee: Ye is lah#a ibn al-]ubaarak ibn al-]ugheerah. Ye passe! awa# 202 ).Y. U( al-\hamboodee: Ye is ]uhamma! ibn )hma! ibn Wbraaheem al-\hamboodee. Ye passe! awa# I^^ ).Y. These four qira&aat contain most of the qira&aat that were recite! b# the companions an! !i! not conform to the mus-haf of %athmaan. mf course$ these four qira&aat !i! not contra!ict the mus-haf of %athmaan in ever# single versen onl# occasionall# is there a conflict. wW. The Qira&at To!a# The qira&aat were once a vital part of the ]uslim ummah$ an! each part of the ]uslim worl! use! to recite accor!ing to one of the qira&aat. uot surprisingl#$ the people of a particular cit# woul! recite in the qiraa&a of the Qaaree of that cit#. Thus$ for example$ ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib E!. UIZ ).Y.( reporte!$ in the thir! centur# of the hiXrah$ that the people of `asra followe! the recitation of )boo %)mr$ those of foofah followe! %)asim$ the \#rians followe! Wbn %)amir$ ]akkah took after Wbn fatheer$ an! ]a!eenah followe! uaafi&. [ventuall#$ however$ most of the other qira&aat !ie! out an! were replace! b# other ones. Thus$ the situation to!a# is that the vast maXorit# of the ]uslim worl! recites onl# the qiraa&a of %)asim through the riwa#a of Yafs EYafs %an %)asim(. Yowever$ there are certain areas in the worl! where other qira&aat are prevalent$ an! a rough break!own is as follows: This is obviousl# a rough ver# break!own$ base! on the population in these respective countries. U5I The qira&aat to!a# are as a whole onl# memorise!in specialise! institutions of higher learning throughout the ]uslim worl! Eor$ a stu!ent ma# stu!# privatel# un!er a scholar who has memorise! these qira&aat(. ) stu!ent of the Qur&aan who wishes to memorise the qira&aat must$ of course$ have alrea!# memorise! the entire Qur&aan in atleast one qiraa&a. There are two primar# wa#s of memorising these qira&aat$ an! both involve memorising length# poems that !etail the rules of recitation EtaXwee!( of each qiraa&a$ an! the !ifferences between them.

The first wa# is to memorise the \haatibi##ah Eits actual name is Yird al-)maanee wa iaXh at-Tahaanee($ which is a poem consisting of ''ZI couplets$ written b# Wmaam Qaasim ibn )hma! ash-\haatibee E!. 5U^ ).Y.($ an! then to memorise the burrah Eshort for a!-burrah al]a!hi##ah( b# ]uhamma! Wbn al-Jadaree E!. ^I2 ).Y.(. The first poem !eals with the first seven qira&aat. )fter a stu!ent of the Qur&aan has memorise! this$ he then moves on to the secon! poem$ which !eals with the last three qira&aat. This is the primar# metho! b# which the qira&aat are taught throughout the ]uslim worl!. The secon! metho! is to learn all ten qira&aat simultaneousl#$ b# memorising the Ta##ibah Eshort for Ta##ibah an-uashr fil Qira&aat al-&)shr($ which is a poem that !eals with all ten qira&aat $ also b# ]uhamma! ibn al-Jadaree. U5U wWW. The telationship of the )hruf with the Qira&aat The relationship of the ahruf with the authentic qira&aat must b# essence !epen! upon what the !efinition of ahruf is$ an! whether one believes that the ahruf are still in existence to!a#. Therefore$ the scholars of Wslaam have !efine! this relationship !epen!ing upon their respective !efinitions of the ahruf. The three maXor opinions on this issue are as follows: U55 '( The opinion of Wmaam at-Tabaree E!. I'0 ).Y.($ Wbn %)b! al-`arr E!. UVI ).Y.($ an! others$ is that all the authentic qira&aat are base! upon one harf of the Qur&aan. This is because$ as was mentione! in the last chapter$ the# hol! that the mus-haf of %athmaan eliminate! the other six ahruf an! preserve! onl# one harf. Yowever$ this opinion !oes not seem ver# strong$ since$ if the origin of all of the authentic qira&aat is one harf$ then where !o all the !ifferences between the qira&aat originate fromj Wn a!!ition$ as was mentione! in the previous chapter$ the opinion that onl# one harf has been preserve! !oes not seem to be the strongest. 2( The opinion of al-`aaqillaani E!. U0I ).Y.( an! a few scholars is that all of the seven ahruf are preserve! in the qira&aat$ such that each harf is foun! scattere! throughout the qira&aat. Therefore$ there is no single qira&aat that correspon!s exactl# to an# one harf$ but each qiraa&a represents various ahruf such that$ in the sum total of the qira&aat$ the ahruf are preserve!. This opinion also is base! upon these scholars& belief that all of the ahruf have been preserve!. This opinion seems like a strong opinion$ except for the fact that there exists man# narrations in which the companions use! to recite !ifferentl# from an# of the present qira&aat Ethese are to!a# present in the shaa!h qira&aat(. Wt seems that the# were reciting a peculiar harf of the Qur&aan$ but this was not preserve! in the qira&aat. U5V I( The opinion of ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib E!. UIZ ).Y.($ Wbn al-Jadaree E!. ^I2 ).Y.($ Wbn YaXr E!. ^52 ).Y.($ as-\u#ootee$ an! others$ an! the one that is perhaps the strongest$ is that the qira&aat represent portions of the seven ahruf$ but not all of the seven ahruf in totalit#. The !ifferences between the qira&aat$ even the most minute of !ifferences$ originate from the seven ahruf$ but not ever# !ifference between the seven ahruf is preserve! in the qira&aat. This goes back to our position on the existence of the ahruf to!a#: that the# exist inasmuch as the script of the mus-haf of %athmaan allows them to. Wn the last chapter$ the metho!olog# that the companions use! to !eci!e which ahruf to preserve was !iscusse!. Those ahruf that were preserve! are the ones that are in existence to!a#$ through the variations in the qira&aat.

To summarise the last two chapters$ we quote ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib E!. UIZ ).Y.($ who wrote$ Dihen the _rophet E_`aY( !ie!$ man# of the companions went to the newl# conquere! territories of the ]uslims$ an! this was !uring the time of )boo `akr an! %amar. The# taught them the recitation of the Qur&aan an! the fun!amentals of the religion. [ach companions taught his particular area the recitation that he ha! learnt from the _rophet E_`aY( Ei.e.$ the various ahruf(. Therefore the recitations of these territories !iffere! base! on the !ifferences of the companions. uow$ when %athmaan or!ere! the writing of the mus-hafs$ an! sent them to the new provinces$ an! or!ere! them to follow it an! !iscar! all other rea!ings$ each of the territories continue! to recite the Qur&aan the same wa# that the# ha! !one so before the mus-haf ha! reache! them$ as long as it conforme! to the mus-haf. Wf their recitation !iffere! with the mushaf$ the# left that recitationT This new recitation was passe! on from the earlier generations to the later ones$ until it reache! these seven Wmaams U5Z EQaarees( in the same form$ an! the# !iffere! with each other base! upon the !ifferences of the people of the territories - none of whom !iffere! with the mus-haf that %athmaan ha! sent to them. This$ therefore$ is the reason that the Qaarees have !iffere! with each otherTF U5^ Therefore$ the !ifferences in the qira&aat are ramnants of the !ifferences in the wa# that the _rophet E_`aY( taught the recitation of the Qur&aan to the !ifferent companions$ an! these !ifferences were among the seven ahruf of the Qur&aan which )llaah reevale! to the _rophet E_`aY(. Thus$ the ten authentic qira&aat preserve the final recitation that the _rophet E_`aY( recite! to Jibreel - in other wor!s$ the qira&aat are manifestations of the remaining ahruf of the Qur&aan. wWWW. The `enefits of the Qira&aat \ince the qira&aat are base! on the ahruf$ man# of the benefits of the qira&aat overlap with those of the ahruf. \ome of the benefits are as follows. '( The facilitation of the memorisation of the Qur&aan. This inclu!es not onl# !ifferences in pronunciations that the !ifferent )rab tribes were use! to$ but also the !ifferences in wor!s an! letters. 2( _roof that the Qur&aan is a revelation from )llaah$ for notwithstan!ing the thousan!s of !ifferences between the qira&aat$ not a single !ifference is contra!ictor#. I( _roof that the Qur&aan has been preserve! exactl#$ as all of these qira&aat have been recite! with a !irect$ authentic$ mutawaatir chain of narrators back to the _rophet E_`aY(. U( ) further in!ication of the miraculous nature E&iXaad( of the Qur&aan$ because these qira&aat a!! to the meaning an! beaut# of the Qur&aan in a complementar# manner$ as shall be shown in the next section. 5( The removal of an# stagnation that might exist with regar!s to the text of the Qur&aan. Wn other wor!s$ there exist various wa#s an! metho!ologies of recitaing the Qur&aan that are

!ifferent from each other in pronunciation an! meaning$ an! thus the text remains vibrant an! never becomes monotonous. U5o W. \ome [xamples of the bifferent Qira&aat Wt is appropriate to conclu!e this chapter b# quoting various verses that !emonstrate some of the !ifferences in the qira&aat$ with a !iscussion of the various meanings. UV0 *our verses were chosen$ the first of which !eals belief$ the secon! an! thir! with stories$ an! the last with laws. Wn each verse$ it will be seen that$ far fromcontra!icting each other$ the qira&aat taken together a!! much !eeper meanings an! connotations than an# one of them in!ivi!uall#. Wn fact$ the various rea!ings between the qira&aat are consi!ere! - in terms of extracting rulings from verses - as two seperate verses$ both of which must be looke! into$ an! neither of which can abrogate the other. The scholars of this centur#$ ]uhamma! )meen ash-\hanqeetee E!. 'IoI ).Y.($ sai! in his famous tafseer$ )!waa al-`a#aan$ DWn the event that the !ifferent qira&aat seem to give contra!ictor# rulings$ the# are consi!ere! as !ifferent versesTF UV' meaning that both of them must be taken into account for the final ruling to be given. This same principal applies in verses that !eal with stories or belief$ as the example below will show. '( \oorah *aatihah$ verse U. The first rea!ing$ that of %)asim an! al-fisaa&ee$ is maaliki #awm a!-!een. This is the recitation that most of the rea!ers will be familiar with. The wor! maalik means %master$ owner$& an! is one of the uames of )llaah. The emaning of this name when attribute! to )llaah is that )llaah is the one who _ossesses an! mwns all of the creation$ an! therefore Ye has full right to !o as Ye pleases with Yis creation$ an! Ye has the power to !o what Ye pleases with Yis creation$ an! no one can stop or question Yim. The verse therefore translates$ DThe mnl# mwner of the ba# of Ju!gement.F This name Emaalik( is also mentione! in$ D\a#: m )llaahk ]aalik E_ossessor( of Eall( fing!omskF EQur&n$ I:2V( )llaah is the mwner who _ossesses all things$ an! on the ba# of Ju!gement$ Ye will mwn tulership an! fingship. )s )llaah sa#s$ DThe sovereignt# on that !a# Ei.e.$ the ba# of Ju!gement( will be the true Esovereignt#($ belonging to the ]ost `eneficentF EQur&n$ 25:2V( Wf )llaah is the onl# ]aalik on the ba# of Ju!gement$ this automaticall# implies that Ye is the ]aalik before the ba# of Ju!gement also$ since the one who is the ]aalik on that !a# must be the ]aalik of all that was before that ba#k The secon! rea!ing$ that of uaafi&$ )boo %)mr$ Wbn %)amar$ Wbn fatheer an! Yamdah$ is maliki #awm a!-!ee!$ without the alif. The wor! %malik& means$ Dking$ sovereign$ monarch$F an! is also one of the uames of )llaah. This also has the connotation of the one who has power to Xu!ge. ) king E]alik( possesses not onl# wealth an! propert# Elike a ]aalik($ but also the authorit# to rule$ Xu!ge an! comman!. The verse therefore translates$ DThe fing Ean! the mnl# tuling Ju!ge( of the ba# of Ju!gement.F ]alik$ as one of the names of )llaah$ is mentione! in the Qur&aan:

DTthe fingTF EQur&n$ 5o:2I( an! also DThe fing of menF EQur&n$ ''U:2( The name of )llh %]alik& is a !escription of )llaah Ei.e.$ sifah !haati##ah($ since Ye is %The fing&n whereas the name %]aalik& is a !escription of )llaah an! Yis actions Ei.e.$ sifah fi&li##ah($ since Ye is %The mwner& of all of Yis creation. UV2 Wt can be seen that the two rea!ings increase the overall meaning of the verse$ each giving a connotation not given b# the other$ an! thus increasing the beaut# an! eloquence of the verse. DThe result of the two qiraa&a is that )llaah is the ]aalik on the ba# of Ju!gement$ an! the ]alik. \o on that ba#$ Ye will be the mwner E]aalik( of the ba# of Ju!gement - no other person will be an owner besi!es Yim in Ju!gement$ even though the# might have been owners of Xu!gement in this worl!. )n! )llaah is the fing E]alik( of the ba# of Ju!gement$ besi!es all else of Yis creation$ who$ in this worl!$ were might# an! arrogant kingsTso on this !a#$ these Ekings( will know for sure that the# are in realit# the most humiliate! of creation$ an! that the true ]ight$ an! _ower$ an! glor# an! fingship belongs onl# to )llaah$ as )llaah$ all glor# an! _raise be to Yim$ has sai!$ DThe ba# when the# will Eall( come out$ nothing of them will be hi!!en from )llaah. ihose is the fing!om on this !a#jk E)llaah Yimself will repl#:( Wt is )llh&s$ the anique$ the WrresistibleF EQur&n$ U0:'V( \o$ )llh has informe! us that Ye is the ]alik of the ba# of Ju!gement$ meaning that Ye is the onl# one whom fingship belongs to$ besi!es all the kings an! rulers of this worl!$ an! on this !a# these kings an! rulers will be in the greatest humiliation an! !isgrace$ instea! of their Ewor!l#( power an! glor#T )n! )llh has informe! us that Ye is the ]aalik of the ba# of Ju!gement$ meaning that Ye is the onl# one whom mwnership belongs to. \o$ there is none that can pass Xu!gements or rule on that ba# except Yim.F UVI 2( \oorah al-`aqarah$ verse 25o. This verse tells the stor# of a man who passe! b# a !eserte! town$ an! won!ere! how )llh woul! ever bring it back to life. Thus$ as a miracle for him$ )llaah cause! him to !ie for a hun!re! #ears$ then brought him back to life. )llaah also brought the man&s !onke# back to life in front of his e#es. The first rea!ing of the relevant part of the verse$ b# al-fisaa&ee$ Wbn %)amir$ %)asim an! Yamdah$ is$ Dka#fa nunshiduhaF. This is in reference to the resurrection of the !onke#. The wor! nunshiduha means$ Dto cause to rise.F The verse therefore translates $ D"ook at the bones Eof the bonke#($ how ie raise them up$F meaning$ DThow ie cause the bones to Xoin one another an! stan! up again Efrom the !ust(.F The secon! rea!ing$ b# )boo& )mr$ uaafi& an! Wbn fatheer$ is$ Dka#fa nunshiruhaF. The wor! nunshiruha means$ Dto bring to life$ to resurrect.F The verse then translates$ DThow ie resurrect it an! bring it back to life.F

)gain$ both rea!ings give !ifferent meanings$ but put together these rea!ings help form a more complete picture. The bones of the !onke# were %raise! up& from the !ust an! %resurrecte!& Emeaning clothe! with flesh( in front of the man. [ach rea!ing gives onl# a part of the picture$ but put together$ a more graphic picture is given. I( Wn the last portion of the same verse$ the rea!ings !iffer as follows: The first rea!ing$ that of uaafi&$ Wbn fatheer$ %)asim$ Wbn %)amir an! )boo )mr$ is DQaalaa a&lamu ana )llaaha %alaa kulli sha#in qa!eerF. This translates as$ DYe sai!$ %W Enow( know that )llaah is in!ee! capable of all things.&F This shows that$ after this miraculous !ispla#$ the man finall# believe! that )llh coul! bring the !ea! back to life$ an! repente! from his previous statement. The secon! rea!ing$ that of Yamdah an! al-fisaa&ee$ is$ DQala %lam ana )llaahaTF which translates as$ DWt was sai! Eto him(: %fnow that )llaah is capable of all things.&F Wn this rea!ing$ after the resurrection of the !onke# was shown to him$ he was or!ere! to believe that )llaah was in!ee! )ll-_owerful. mnce again$ each rea!ing a!!s more meaning to the overall picture. )fter this miraculous !ispla#$ the man was comman!e! to know that )llaah is in!ee! capable of all things. Ye respon!e! to this comman!$ an! testifie! that$ in!ee!$ )llaah is capable of all things. UVU U( \oorah al-]aai!ah$ verse V. *or the last example$ it will be seen that even !ifferent fiqh ruling are given b# the !ifferences in the qira&aat. The relevant verse !iscusses the proce!ure for ablution Ewu!oo(. Wn the rea!ing of uaafi&$ Wbn %)amir$ al-fisaa&ee an! Yafs$ the verse rea!s as follows: Dm #ou who believek ihen #ou inten! to pra#$ wash #our faces an! #our han!s up to the elbows$ wipe #our hea!s$ an! Ewash( #our feet up to the anklesTF The wor! %feet& is rea! arXulakum$ an! in this tense$ it refers back to the verb %wash.& Therefore$ the actual washing of the feet is comman!e!$ accor!ing to this recitation. The remaining qira&aat pronounce the wor! arXulikum$ in which case it refers back to the verb %wipe$& so the verse woul! rea!$ DTwash #our faces an! han!s up to the elbows$ an! wipe #our han!s an! feetTF )ccor!ing to this recitation$ washing is not obligator#$ an! wiping is sufficient. This is an apparent contra!iction between the qira&aat. boes one %wipe& his feet Emeaning pass water over it$ similar to how the hea! is wipe! in ablution($ or !oes one actuall# wash his feet Elike the han!s an! face are washe!(j Wn fact$ there is no contra!iction whatsoever$ for each recitation applies to a !ifferent circumstance. Wn general$ the ablution is performe! b# %washing& the feet. Yowever$ if a person is wearing shoes or socks$ an! he ha! ablution before putting them on$ he is allowe! - in fact even encourage! - to %wipe& over his feet$ an! is not oblige! to wash them. UV5 )d-earkashee sai!$ DThese two verses can be combine! to un!erstan! that one rea!ing !eals with wiping over the socks$ while the secon! rea!ing !eals with washing the feet Ein case of not wearing socks(.F UVV Therefore$ each of these recitations a!!s a ver# essential ruling concerning the ablution$ an! there is no contra!iction between them.

Wt can be seen from this section that the qira&aat are a part of the eloquence of the Qur&aan$ an! form an integral factor in the miraculous nature of the Qur&aan. *or in!ee!$ what other book in human histor# can claim the vitalit# that is !ispla#e! in the qira&aat - the subtle vatiations in letters an! wor!s that change an! complement the meaning of the verse$ not onl# in stor#-telling but also in beliefs an! comman!s an! prohibitionsk To a!! to this miracle$ all of these changes originate from the one script of %athmaank Wn!ee!$ there can be no !oubt the Qur&aan is the ultimate miracle of the _rophet E_`aY(. uotes an! teferences U'5 Wtr$ p. 2UU U'V iohaibee$ p. UV U'Z ad-earqaanee$ v.'$ p. U0U. U'^ Wt shoul! be kept in min! that this is a partial list an! is far from exhaustive. Those who are intereste! ma# consult aba#!aat$ p. 'VU$ Qattaan$ p. 'Z0$ an! ad-earqaanee$ v.'$ pps. U'UU'V. U'o awais$ p. 'V. U20 Wbn ]uXaahi!$ p. ^Z. U2' Wbn al-Jadaree$ p. Io. U22 This is ver# similar to what happene! in the histor# of ha!eeth. The reason that six particular books of ha!eeth Ea-`ukhaaree$ ]uslim$ )boo baawoo!$ at-Tirmi!hee$ anuasaa&ee an! Wbn ]aaXah( are known as the D\ihaah \ittaF or the D\ix )uthentic `ooksF$ is because of one book on the %uames of uarrators&$ )smaa ar-tiXaal$ written b# %)b! alghanee al-]aq!isee E!. V00 ).Y.(. bue to the throughness of this work$ people starte! classif#ing these six books separatel# from other works of ha!eeth$ an! man# consi!ere! these six books as authentic Esaheeh(. This !escription$ however$ is onl# applicable on the two saheeh collection of al-`ukhaaree an! ]uslimn the rest of these works contain both authentic an! inauthentic ahaa!eeth. U2I Wbn al-Jadaree$ p. o. W have paraphrase! from the )rabic. U2U cf. ad-earqaanee$ v.'$ p. U22. U25 Ye is %)b! al-tahmaan ibn Wshaaq ad-euXXaaX al-uihawan!ee E!. II2($ a note! ]uslim grammarian. U2V ad-earkashee$ `ahr$ v.'$ p. UZ'. U2Z The qiraa&a of %)asim an! al-fisaa&ee U2^ The qiraa&a of iarsh$ Wbn fatheer$ Wbn %)amir$ Yamdah an! )boo %)mr. U2o The qiraa&a of %)asim$ an! others

UI0 The qiraa&a of uaafi&$ an! others UI' Wbn al-Jadaree$ p. 'I. UI2 ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib is quote! as having been the first to hol! this opinion in all the works that W have come across !iscussing this topic Ealso see$ al-Qa!hi$ p. ^(. Yowever$ W came across another work of his entitle! fitaab al-Wbaanah %an ]a&aani al-Qira&aat$ in which he clearl# states that an# qiraa&a must be mutawaatir for it to be accepte!. *or example$ on p. UI$ while !iscussing the shaa!h qira&aat$ he states$ DTan! the Qur&aan cannot be confirme! with an ahaa! narrationnF on p. I'$ DTan! this Ei.e.$ taking a shaa!h qira&aat( implies confirming the Qur&aan with an ahaa! narration$ an! this is not allowe! b# an# of the people Eof knowle!ge(.F [lsewhere Ep. Io($ he clearl# states concerning this opinion DTan! this is the opinion we believe an! hol! to.F W !i! not see an# of the other books that W rea! mention these quotes$ so W !o not know whether this was his earlier opinion$ or his later one$ nor coul! W ascertain when he wrote the book. Wn an# case$ further research must be !one to ascertain whether this reall# was the final opinion of ]akkee ibn )bee Taalib. UII al-Qa!hi$ p.^. UIU awais$ p. '2$ quoting from Wbn al-Jadaree&s ]unXi! al-]uqreen. )lso$ see awais& !iscussion on this point$ pps. ''-'U. UI5 mther scholars make a !ifferentiation between the Qur&aan an! the qira&aat$ an! state that$ in or!er for the Qur&aan to be accepte!$ the narrations must be mutawaatir$ but in or!er for a qiraa&a to be accepte!$ an ahaa! narration will suffice. Yowever$ this !ifferentiation !oes not seem to solve the problem$ for the qira&aat are the Qur&aan$ an! the Qur&aan is preserve! in all of the qira&aat. Therefore$ if a qiraa&a is substantiate! as authentic$ that automaticall# implies that it is part of the Qur&aan. UIV This is not to sa# that there have not existe! qira&aat that )rab grammarians have not foun! fault with. There have been numerous attempts to prove various grammatical %faults& in the qira&aat$ but other grammarians have alwa#s proven that such rea!ings !o have grammatical basis for them. cf. al-Qaaree$ )b! al-)did: Ya!ith al-)hruf as-\aba&ah$ in ]aXalah fulli#ah al-Qur&aan al-fareem$ v. '$ 'o^I$ p. ''5$ for examples. UIZ al-Qaaree$ p. ''V$ with paraphrasing. The a!!ition in brackets are mine. UI^ Qaasim ibn )hma! as-\haatibee E!. 5o0 ).Y.( compile! the seven qira&aat of )boo `akr ibn ]uXaahi! in a poem known as the \haatibi#ah to facilitate its memorisation. UIo as-\u#ootee$ v.'$ p.^2 UU0 aba#!aat$ p. 'Z^ UU' as-\u#ootee$ v.'$ p. '02 UU2 cf. as-\u#ootee$ v.'$ p. '02 UUI )ll of the biographical information in this section$ unless otherwise reference!$ was taken from al-`anna v.'$ pps. 'o-I2$ ad-earqaanee$ v.'$ pps U5V-UZZ$ an! al-Yaashimee$ pps. Io'55.

UUU al-Yaashimee$ p. Io UU5 Yence his opinion of the origin of the wor! %Qur&aan&n cf$ ch.2$ %The meaning of the wor! %qur&aan&. UUV al-Yaashimee$ p. 5o UUZ The tenth of ]uharram UU^ al-Yaashimee$ p. ''V UUo iohaibee$ p. '0V U50 ]eaning that the# !iffer from each other in fort# wor!s$ but since these wor!s occur a total of aroun! five hun!re! times in the Qur&aan$ it might appear that their !ifferences are man#. cf. al-Qaaree$ p. 'U0 U5' )ctuall#$ there is a thir! level of narration$ below that of raawi$ calle! tareeq Epath(. [ach raawi has two tareeqs. The !ifferences between the turuq Epl. of tareeq( are negligible for our purposes$ concentrating mainl# on where to stop$ certain variations in the particulars of pronunciation$ etc. Yowever$ on some occasions there are noticeable !ifferences. *or example$ compare a Qur&aan printe! in _akistan ETaX compan#$ for example( an! one printe! in \au!i )rabia or [g#pt$ an! see I0:5U. The !ifference in the wor!s ba&fin an! bu&fin are !ue to the !ifferences in the turuq of the qiraa&a of Yafs %an %)asimk U52 cf. ad-earkashee$ `ahr$ pps$ UZU-U^0$ for a !iscussion of this point. U5I The table was taken from al-Yabash$ p. 50. Wn this author&s opinion$ he has greatl# exaggerate! the pre!ominance of the qiraa&a of Wbn %)amirn a!-booree&s percentage shoul! also be lessn Qaloon shoul! be more than 0.Z. Wn a!!ition$ Yafs is probabl# closer to oZ than o5$ an! )llaah knows best. U5U The Ta##ibah is more a!vance! than the \haatibi##ah-plus-burrah combination$ since Wbn al-Jadaree recor!e! more !ifferences between the various turuq than ash-\haatibee !i!. U55 cf. Wtr$ pps. IUV-I5Z U5V \ee the chapter entitle!$ DThe )hruf of the Qur&aan$F for a !iscussion of the existence of the ahruf to!a#. U5Z )ctuall#$ until it reache! the ten Qaarees$ an! not Xust seven. U5^ Wbn )bee Taalib$ )bu ]uhamma! ]akkee: fitaab al-Wbaanah %an ]a&ani al-Qira&aat. e!. br. ]uh#i tama!aan. bar al-]amoon li Thurath$ `eirut$ 'oZo$ p. Io U5o This is not to impl# that the Qur&aan woul! have become monotonous ha! the qira&aat not existe!$ but rather that the !ifferent qira&aat are one of the factors that contribute to this miraculous effect. )n# person who has !ealth with the qira&aat knows this feeling.

UV0 ]an# of the !ifferences in the qira&aat !o not affect the meaning of a verse$ but rather change onl# the pronunciation of certain vowels an! letters. Yowever$ this section !iscusses onl# those !ifferences that result in a change in meaning. UV' )!waa al-`a#aan$ v. V$ p. V^0 UV2 al-Yamoo!$ p. ^^ UVI `aadmool$ v. '$ p. U0I UVU Wn this verse in particular$ the i&Xaad of the Qur&aan can be felt$ for the ver# same verse is the comman! an! responsek UV5 \ee *iqh as-\unnah$ v.'$ pps. UU-UV$ for further !etails on this issue. UVV ad-earkashee$ v.2$ p. 52 uuffnang )!s