1

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 word ahruf is the plural of harf. Linguistically, harf has a number of meanings, including:
1) A letter or a word. Al-huruf al-abjadiyya, for example, means the letters of the alphabet.
2) The border, the edge of something, the brink. For example, Allaah says,

And among mankind is he who worships Allaah (as it were) upon a harf (i.e., upon the very
edge, or in doubt) [22:11]
3) To swerve from the truth, to distort. Allaah says concerning the Jews,

they have displaced (lit., yuharifuna) words from their right places [4:46]
Its exact definition in Quraanic sciencs is the subject matter of this chapter, and therefore
cannot be defined at this point. However, a temporary definition maybe given as follows: The
ahruf are the various ways that the verses of the Quraan are read. Imaam al-Qurtubee (d. 671
A.H.) said, Every variation of a word in the Quraan is said to be a harf. So, for example, when
we say the harf of Ibn Masood, it means the way that Ibn Masood used to recite that verse or
word. 380
Most English authors translate ahruf as modes or dialects. However, in this book the
word will be left in Arabic since the meaning is broader than these translated words.
II. The Number of Ahruf of the Quraan
The Quraan was revealed in seven ahruf. The proof for this is found in many narrations from
the Prophet (PBUH), so much so that it reaches the level of mutawaatir. 381 Jalaal ad-Deen asSuyootee lists twenty-one Companions who narrated that the Quraan was revealed in seven
ahruf. 382 Some of these narrations are as follows:
1) Ibn Abbaas reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said, Jibreel recited the Quraan to me in
one harf, and I recited it back to him, but I requested him to increase (the number of harf)
and he continued to increase it for me, until we stopped at seven ahruf. Ibn Shihaab azZuhree (d. 124 A.H.), one of the narrators of the hadeeth, said, It has reached me that these

2
seven ahruf are essentially one (in meaning), they do not differ about what is permitted or
forbidden. 383
2) Ubay ibn Kaab reported that the Prophet (PBUH) was once on the outskirts of Madeenah
(near the tribe of Banoo Ghifaar) when Jibreel came to him and said, Allaah has commanded
that you recite the Quraan to your people in one harf. The Prophet (PBUH) replied, I ask
Allaahs pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this! Jibreel then
came again and said, Allaah has commanded you to recite the Quraan to your people in
two ahruf. The Prophet (PBUH) again replied, I ask Allaahs pardon and forgiveness! My
people are not capable of doing this! Jibreel then came a third time and said, Allaah has
commanded you to recite the Quraan to your people in three ahruf. The Prophet (PBUH)
replied for a third time, I ask Allaahs pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable
of doing this! At last, Jibreel came for the fourth time, and said, Allaah has commanded you
to recite the Quraan to your people in seven ahruf, and in whichever harf they recite, they
would be right. 384
3) Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated, I was sitting in the masjid when I heard Hishaam ibn
Hakeem recite Soorah al-Furqaan. I was almost about the jump on him in his prayer, but I
waited until he finished, and then grabbed him by his garment and asked him, Who taught you
to recite in such a manner? He replied, It was the Prophet (PBUH) himself! I responded,
You are mistaken, for indeed I learnt this soorah from the Prophet (PBUH) and it was different
from your recitation! Therefore, I dragged him to the Prophet (PBUH) and complained to him
that Hishaam had recited Soorah al-Furqaan in a manner different from what he (PBUH) had
taught me. At this, the Prophet (PBUH) told me to let go of Hishaam, and asked him to recite
Soorah al-Furqaan. Hishaam recited the Soorah in the same way I had heard him before. When
he finished, the Prophet (PBUH) said, It was revealed this way. He then asked me to recite the
same soorah. When I had finished, he (PBUH) said, It was (also) revealed this way. Indeed, the
Quraan has been revealed in seven different ahruf, so recite whichever one is easy for you.
385
4) In a story similar to Umars, Ubay ibn Kaab also heard two people reciting the Quraan in
a manner different from what he had learnt. After some discussion, both parties went to the
Prophet (PBUH) and recited the same portion to him. He (PBUH) approved of both parties
recitations. At this point, Ubay narrates, there occurred in my mind a sort of denial and doubt
that did not exist even in the time of Jaahilliyah (before Islaam)! When the Messenger (PBUH)
saw how I was affected, he struck my chest, whereupon I started sweating, and felt as though I
were looking at Allaah in fear! Then the Prophet (PBUH) said, O Ubay! A message was sent
to me to recite the Quraan in one harf, but I requested (Allaah) to make things easy on my
nation. A second message came that I should recite the Quraan in two ahruf, but I again
made the same request. I was then ordered to recite the Quraan in seven ahruf. 386
5) Ubay ibn Kaab narrates that once the Prophet (PBUH) met Jibreel, and said, O Jibreel! I
have been sent to an illiterate nation. Among them are old and young men and women, and those
who have never read any writing! Jibreel answered him, O Muhammad, the Quraan has
been revealed in seven ahruf! 387
There are many other hadeeth that confirm that the Quraan was revealed in seven ahruf, but
these narrations will suffice for the present discussion.
III. What is Meant by the Ahruf of the Quraan?

3
Before discussing the answer to this question, it would be useful to mention some points that can
be inferred from the above narrations:
1) The different ahruf are all directly from Allaah, and not from the Companions. In all the
narrations where the Companions differed from each other, it was clear that each one had been
taught directly from the Prophet (PBUH), who was inspired by Allaah. This is why the Prophet
(PBUH) said to each one of the ahruf recited by Umar and Hishaam, It was revealed this way.
2) The reason the Prophet (PBUH) requested the number of ahruf to be increased was to make
the memorisation and recitation of the Quraan easier for his Ummah. The Prophet (PBUH)
prayed to increase the ahruf because in his ummah were old and young men and women, and
those who have never read any writing. Therefore, the limitations of the Quraan being in only
one harf have been removed by Allaah as a blessing for this Ummah.
3) The Prophet (PBUH) used to teach the different ahruf to different Companions, depending on
the condition and situation of that Companion. It can be assumed that the Prophet (PBUH) chose
the particular harf to recite to a Companion depending on which one would be the easiest for
that particular Companion to memorise, since the purpose of the ahruf was to simplify recitation
and memorisation. The Prophet (PBUH) did not teach all the ahruf to all the Companions, for
Umar and Hishaam did not know about the existence of the different ahruf. Also, the cause for
Ubays doubt was the fact that he was unaware of these ahruf, and the Prophet (PBUH) had to
pray to Allaah to remove his doubts.
4) The differences between these ahruf were not so great as to prevent recognition of what was
being recited. In other words, even though Hishaam was reciting the Quraan in a different harf
than Umar, Umar could still recognise that Hishaam was reciting Soorah al-Furqaan, thus
showing that the ahruf were not radically different from each other. Also, the narration of Ibn
Shihaab shows that the basic meaning of all these ahruf was the same.
5) Each one of these ahruf is complete in and of itself. The proof for this is the statement of the
Prophet (PBUH) so whichever one of them they recite, they are correct. This is not to say
that the ahruf do not complement one another in meaning, but rather that the recitation of the
Quraan in one harf is sufficient.
6) The number of ahruf is exactly seven - not more, not less. The Prophet (PBUH) asked Jibreel
to increase the number of ahruf until Jibreel reached seven ahruf; therefore interpretations to the
effect that seven indicates an unspecified plurality (this is the opinion of Qaadee Iyaad (d. 504
A.H.)) are false.
However, one narration in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad states that the Quraan was revealed in
three ahruf, and yet another narration states that it was revealed in ten ahruf. Some scholars have
tried to explain the first narration as meaning that, in the Makkan stage, the Quraan was
revealed in three ahruf, whereas in the Madeenan stage, Allaah increased this to seven ahruf.
Other scholars have given different interpretations to reconcile these hadeeth. 388 However,
there is no need to resort to such explanations, since both of these narrations are weak. 389
Therefore, the Quraan was revealed in exactly seven ahruf.
7) The revelation of the Quraan in seven ahruf started in Madeenah, after the hijrah. In one of
the narrations, the phrase, while the Prophet (PBUH) was on the outskirts of Madeenah,
indicates that this occurred after the hijrah.

4
8) A last benefit that can be inferred from these hadeeth (although this is not relevant to the
ahruf) is the concern shown by the Companions in the preservation of the correct recitation of
the Quraan. In all the cases quoted above, the Companions were not content with listening to
recitations that were different from theirs - despite the fact that these recitations were said to
have been learnt from the Prophet (PBUH) - until they had taken the matter to the Prophet
(PBUH) himself.
As for what is meant by these seven ahruf, there is a great deal of difference on this issue. Ibn
Qutaybah (d. 276 A.H.) recorded thirty-five opinions on this issue, and as-Suyootee listed over
forty. Ibn Saadan (d. 231 A.H.), a famous grammarian and reciter of the Quraan, even declared
that the true meaning of the ahruf was known only to Allaah, and thus to attempt to investigate
into this issue was futile! On the other hand, Imaam Muhammad ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832 A.H.),
perhaps the greatest scholar of the qiraaat after the era of the salaf, said, I have sought to
discover the meaning of these hadeeth (about the ahruf), and have pondered over them, and
contemplated this topic for over thirty years, until Allaah opened my mind to that which is the
correct answer in this matter, Inshaa Allaah! 390
The reason that such a great difference of opinion exists concerning the exact meaning of the
ahruf is due to the fact that there does not exist any explicit narration from the Prophet (PBUH),
or the salaf, concerning the exact nature of the ahruf; these various opinions are merely the
conclusions of later scholars, based upon their examination of the evidences and their personal
reasoning (ijtihaad).
Therefore, it should be understood from the outset that to arrive at one specific conclusion, and
claim with certainty that it alone is correct and all else is wrong, is pure folly. What is desired,
however, is to narrow down the various opinions and eliminate as many as possible based upon
evidences.
All of these opinions can be divided into three broad categories, which are discussed in the
following sections. 391

Revelation Of The Qur'an In Seven Ahrf

It is a well-known fact that there are seven different ahrf in which the Qur'an was revealed. In
the Islamic tradition, this basis can be traced back to a number of hadths concerning the
revelation of the Qur'an in seven ahrf (singular harf). Some of the examples of these hadths
are as follows:
From Ab Hurairah:
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 you should
put into practice what you know of it, and leave what
you do not know of it to someone who does."
(P)

[1]

From Ab Hurairah:

5
The Messenger of God said: "An All-knowing, Wise,
Forgiving, Merciful sent down the Qur'an in seven
ahruf."
(P)

[2]

From Abdullh Ibn Mas ud:

c

The Messenger of God said: "The Qur'an was sent down

in seven ahruf. Each of these ahruf has an outward
aspect (zahr) and an inward aspect (batn); each of the
ahruf has a border, and each border has a lookout."
(P)

[3]

The meaning of this hadth is explained as:

As for the Prophet'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 marked
off and which no one may overstep. And as for his
words Each of the ahruf has an outward aspect (zahr)
and an inward aspect (batn), its outward aspect is the
ostensive meaning of the recitation, and its inward
aspect is its interpretation, which is concealed. And
by his words each border ...... has a lookout he means
that for each of the borders which God marked off in
the Qur'an - of the lawful and unlawful, and its other
legal injunctions - there is a measure of God's reward
and punishment which surveys it in the Hereafter, and
inspects it ...... at the Resurrection ......
(P)

[4]

And in another hadth Abdullh Ibn Mas ud said:

c

The Messenger of God said: "The first Book came down

from one gate according to one harf, but the Qur'an
came down from seven gates according to seven ahruf:
prohibiting and commanding, lawful and unlawful, clear
and ambiguous, and parables. So, allow what it makes
lawful, proscribe what it makes unlawful, do what it
commands you to do, forbid what it prohibits, be
warned by its parables, act on its clear passages,
trust in its ambiguous passages." And they said: "We
believe in it; it is all from our Lord."
(P)

[5]

And Ab Qilaba narrated:

It has reached me that the Prophet 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."
(P)

[6]

These above hadths serve as evidence that the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf. The
defination of the term ahruf has been the subject of much scholarly discussion and is included in
the general works of the Qur'an. The forms matched the dialects of following seven tribes:

6
Quraysh, Hudhayl, Thaqf, Hawzin, Kinnah, Tamm and Yemen. The revelation of the
Qur'an in seven different ahruf made its recitation and memorization much easier for the various
tribes. At the same time the Qur'an challenged them to produce a surah like it in their own
dialect so that they would not complain about the incomprehensibility.
For example, the phrase 'alayhim (on them) was read by
some 'alayhumoo and the word siraat (path, bridge) was
read as ziraat and mu'min (believer) as moomin.
[7]

Difference Between Ahrf & Qir't

It is important to realize the difference between ahruf and Qir't. Before going into that it is
interesting to know why the seven ahruf were brought down to one during Uthmn's time.
c

(R)

The Qur'an continued to be read according to the seven

ahruf until midway through Caliph 'Uthman's rule when
some confusion arose in the outlying provinces
concerning the Qur'an's recitation. Some Arab tribes
had began to boast about the superiority of their
ahruf and a rivalry began to develop. At the same
time, some new Muslims also began mixing the various
forms of recitation out of ignorance. Caliph 'Uthman
decided to make official copies of the Qur'an
according to the dialect of the Quraysh and send them
along with the Qur'anic reciters to the major centres
of Islam. This decision was approved by Sahaabah and
all unofficial copies of the Qur'an were destroyed.
Following the distribution of the official copies, all
the other ahruf were dropped and the Qur'an began to
be read in only one harf. Thus, the Qur'an which is
available through out the world today is written and
recited only according to the harf of Quraysh.
[8]

Now a few words on Qir't:

A Qir't is for the most part a method of
pronunciation used in the recitations of the Qur'an.
These methods are different from the seven forms or
modes (ahruf) in which the Qur'an was revealed. The
seven modes were reduced to one, that of the Quraysh,
during the era of Caliph 'Uthman, and all of the
methods of recitation are based on this mode. The
various methods have all been traced back to the
Prophet through a number of Sahaabah who were most
noted for their Qur'anic recitations. That is, these
Sahaabah recited the Qur'an to the Prophet or in his
presence and received his approval. Among them were
the following: Ubayy Ibn K'ab, 'Alee Ibn Abi Taalib,
Zayd Ibn Thaabit, 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, Abu ad-Dardaa
and Abu Musaa al-Ash'aree. Many of the other Sahaabah
learned from these masters. For example, Ibn 'Abbaas,
(P)

(P)

7
the master commentator of the Qur'an among the
Sahaabah, learned from both Ubayy and Zayd.
[9]

The transmission of the Qur'an is a mutawtir transmission, that is, there are a large number of
narrators on each level of the chain. Dr. Bilaal Philips gives a brief account of the history of
recitation in his book:
Among the next generation of Muslims referred to as
Taabe'oon, there arose many scholars who learned the
various methods of recitation from the Sahaabah and
taught them to others. Centres of Qur'anic recitation
developed in al-Madeenah, Makkah, Kufa, Basrah and
Syria, leading to the evolution of Qur'anic recitation
into an independent science. By mid-eighth century CE,
there existed a large number of outstanding scholars
all of whom were considered specialists in the field
of recitation. Most of their methods of recitations
were authenticated by chains of reliable narrators
ending with the Prophet . Those methods which were
supported by a large number of reliable narrators on
each level of their chain were called Mutawaatir and
were considered to be the most accurate. Those methods
in which the number of narrators were few or only one
on any level of the chain were refered to as shaadhdh.
Some of the scholars of the following period began the
practice of designating a set number of individual
scholars from the pervious period as being the most
noteworthy and accurate. By the middle of the tenth
century, the number seven became popular since it
coincided with the number of dialects in which the
Qur'an was revealed.
(P)

[10]

The author went on to say:

The first to limit the number of authentic reciters to
seven was the Iraqi scholar, Abu Bakr Ibn Mujhid (d.
936CE), and those who wrote the books on Qir'ah after
him followed suit. This limitation is not an accurate
reprensentation of the classical scholars of Qur'anic
recitation. There were many others who were as good as
the seven and the number who were greater than them.
[11]

Concerning the seven sets of readings, Montgomery Watt and Richard Bell observe:
The seven sets of readings accepted by Ibn-Mujhid
represent the systems prevailing in different
districts. There was one each from Medina, Mecca,
Damascus and Basra, and three from Kufa. For each set
of readings (Qir'a), there were two slightly
different version (sing. Riwaya). The whole may be set
out in tabular form:
[12]

District

Reader

First Rawi

Second Rawi

Medina

Naf

Warsh

Qln

Mecca

Ibn Kathr

al-Bazz

Qunbul

Damascus

Ibn Amir

Hisham

Ibn Dhakwn

Basra

Abu Amr

ad-Dr

al-Ss

Asim

Hafs

Sh uba

Kfa

Hamza

Khalaf

Khallad

Kfa

al-Kis'i

ad-Dr

Abul-Harth

Kfa

Other schools of Qir't are of:

Ab Ja far Yazd Ibn Qa q of Madinah (130/747)

Ya qb Ibn Ishq al-Hadram of Basrah (205/820)
Khalaf Ibn Hishm of Baghdad (229/848)
Hasan al-Basr of Basrah (110/728)
Ibn Muhaisin of Makkah (123/740)
Yahy al-Yazd of Basrah (202/817)
c

Conditions For The Validity Of Different Qir't

Conditions were formulated by the scholars of the Qur'anic recitation to facilitate critical
analysis of the above mentioned recitations. For any given recitation to be accepted as authentic
(Sahih), it had to fulfill three conditions and if any of the conditions were missing such a
recitation was classified as Shdhdh (unusual).

The first condition was that the recitation have an

authentic chain of narration in which the chain of
narrators was continuous, the narrators were all known to
be righteous and they were all knwon to possess good
memories. It was also required that the recitation be
conveyed by a large number of narrators on each level of
the chain of narration below the level of Sahaabah (the
condition of Tawaatur). Narrations which had authentic
chains but lacked the condition of Tawaatur were accepted
as explanations (Tafseer) of the Sahaabah but were not
considered as methods of reciting the Qur'an. As for the
narrations which did not even have an authentic chain of
narration, they were classified as Baatil (false) and
rejected totally.
The seond condition was that the variations in recitations
match known Arabic grammatical constructions. Unusual
constructions could be verified by their existence in
passages of pre-Islamic prose or poetry.
The third condition required the recitation to coincide
with the script of one of the copies of the Qur'an
distributed during the era of Caliph Uthmn. Hence
c

9
differences which result from dot placement (i.e.,
ta'lamoon and ya'lamoon) are considered acceptable provided
the other conditions are met. A recitation of a
construction for which no evidence could be found would be
classified Shaadhdh. This classification did not mean that
all aspects of the recitation was considered Shaadhdh. it
only meant that the unverified constructions were
considered Shaadhdh.
[13]

The Chain Of Narration Of Different Qir't

In this section, the chain of narration or isnad of each Qir't will be presented. It is worth
noting that the chains of narration here are mutawtir.
Qir'a from Madinah: The reading of Madinah known as the reading of Nfi Ibn Ab Na m
(more precisely Ab Abd ar-Rahmn Nfi Ibn Abd ar-Rahmn).
c

Nfi died in the year 169 H. He reported from Yazd

Ibn al-Qa q and Abd ar-Rahmn Ibn Hurmuz al-'Araj and
Muslim Ibn Jundub al-Hudhal and Yazd Ibn Romn and
Shaybah Ibn Nis'. All of them reported from Ab
Hurayrah and Ibn Abbs and Abdallh Ibn 'Ayysh Ibn
Ab Rab'ah al-Makhzm and the last three reported
from Ubayy Ibn Ka b from the Prophet .
c

(P)

[14]

From Nfi , two major readings came to us : Warsh and Qln.

c

Qir'a from Makkah: The reading of Ibn Kathr ( Abdullh Ibn Kathr ad-Dr):
c

Ibn Kathr died in the year 120 H. He reported from

Abdillh Ibn Assa'ib al-Makhzm who reported from
Ubayy Ibn Ka b (The companion of the Prophet ).
c

(P)

Ibn Kathr has also reported from Mujhid Ibn Jabr who
reported from his teacher Ibn Abbs who reported from
Ubayy Ibn Ka b and Zayd Ibn Thbit and both reported
from the Prophet .
c

(P)

[15]

Qir'a from Damascus: From ash-Shm (Damascus), the reading is called after Abdullh Ibn
Aamir.
c

He died in 118 H. He reported from Ab ad-Dard' and

al-Mughrah Ibn Ab Shihb al-Makhzm from Uthmn.
c

[16]

Qir'a from Basrah: The reading of Ab Amr from Basrah:

c

(According to al-Sab ah, the book of Ibn Mujhid page

79, Ab Amr is called Zayyan Ab Amr Ibn al- Al'. He
was born in Makkah in the year 68 and grew up at
Kfah.) He died at 154 H. He reported from Mujhid and
c

10
Sa d Ibn Jubayr and 'Ikrimah Ibn Khlid al-Makhzm
and 'At' Ibn Ab Rabh and Muhammad Ibn Abd ar-Rahmn
Ibn al-Muhaysin and Humayd Ibn Qays al- A'raj and all
are from Makkah.
c

He also reported from Yazd Ibn al-Qa q and Yazd Ibn

Rumn and Shaybah Ibn Nis' and all are from Madinah.
c

He also reported from al-'Assan and Yahy Ibn Ya mur

and others from Basrah.
c

All these people took from the companions of the

Prophet .
(P)

[17]

From him came two readings called as-Ssi and ad-Dr.

Qir'a from Basrah: From Basrah, the reading known as
Ya qb Ibn Ishq al-Hadram the companion of Shu bah
(again). He reported from Ab Amr and others.
c

[18]

Qir'a from Kfah:The reading of Aasim Ibn Ab an-Najd ( Aasim Ibn Bahdalah Ibn Ab anNajd):
c

He died in the year 127 or 128 H. He reported from Ab

Abd ar-Rahmn as-Solamm and Zirr Ibn Hubaysh.
c

Ab Abd ar-Rahmn reported from Uthmn and Al Ibn

Ab Tlib and 'Ubayy (Ibn Ka b) and Zayd (Ibn Thbit).
c

And Zirr reported from Ibn Mas ud.

c

[19]

Two readings were repoted from Aasim: The famous one is Hafs, the other one is Shu bah.
c

Qir'a from Kfah: The reading of Hamzah Ibn Habb (from Kfah as well)
Hamzah was born in the year 80 H and died in the year
156 H. He reported from Muhammad Ibn Abd ar-Rahmn Ibn
Ab Layl (who reads the reading of Al Ibn Ab Tlib
(RA), according to the book of Ibn Mujhid called alSab ah - The Seven - page 74) and Humrn Ibn A'yan and
Ab Ishq as-Sab'y and Mansur Ibn al-Mu'tamir and alMughrah Ibn Miqsam and Ja far Ibn Muhammad Ibn Al Ibn
Ab Tlib from the Prophet .
c

(P)

[20]

Qir'a from Kfah: The reading of al-'Amash from Kfah as well:

He reported from Yahy Ibn Waththb from 'Alqamah and
al-'Aswad and 'Ubayd Ibn Nadlah al-Khuz'y and Ab Abd
c

11
ar-Rahmn as-Sulam and Zirr ibn Hubaysh and all
reported from Ibn Mas ud.
c

[21]

Qir'a from Kfah: The reading of Ali Ibn Hamzah al-Kis'i known as al-Kis'i from Kfah.
c

He died in the year 189 H. He reported from Hamzah

(the previous one) and Ies Ibn Umar and Muhammad Ibn
Abd ar-Rahmn Ibn Ab Layl and others.
c

[22]

Now our discussion will be on Hafs and Warsh Qir't.

Hafs & Warsh Qir't: Are They Different Versions Of The Qur'an?
The Christian missionary Jochen Katz had claimed that Hafs and Warsh Qir't are different
'versions' of the Qur'an. A concise and interesting article that the missionary had used to reach
such a conclusion can be found in the book Approaches of The History of Interpretation of The
Qur'an. Ironically, it contained an article by Adrian Brockett, titled "The Value of Hafs And
Warsh Transmissions For The Textual History Of The Qur'an", which sheds some light on
various aspects of differences between the two recitations. It is also worth noting that, in
contrast to Mr. Katz, Brockett used the word transmission rather than text for these two modes
of recitations. Some highlights from the article are reproduced below.
Brockett states:
In cases where there are no variations within each
transmission itself, certain differences between the
two transmissions, at least in the copies consulted,
occur consistently throughout. None of them has any
effect in the meaning.
[23]

The author demarcates the transmissions of Hafs and Warsh into differences of vocal form and
the differences of graphic form. According Brockett:
Such a division is clearly made from a written
standpoint, and on its own is unbalanced. It would be
a mistake to infer from it, for instance, that because
"hamza" was at first mostly outside the graphic form,
it was therefore at first also outside oral form. The
division is therefore mainly just for ease of
classification and reference.
[24]

Regarding the graphic form of this transmission, he further states:

On the graphic side, the correspondences between the
two transmissions are overwhelmingly more numerous
than differences, often even with oddities like ayna
ma and aynama being consistently 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 of the graphic

12
differences caused the Muslims any doubts about the
faultlessly faithful transmission of the Qur'an.
[25]

And on the vocal side of the transmission the author's opinion is:
On the vocal side, correspondences between the two
transmissions again far and away outnumber the
differences between them, even with the fine points
such as long vowels before hamzat at-qat having a
madda. Also, not one of the differences substantially
affects the meaning beyond its own context... All this
point to a remarkably unitary transmission in both its
graphic form and its oral form.
[26]

He also discusses the Muslims' and orientalists' attitude towards the graphic transmission:
Many orientalists who see the Qur'an as only a written
document might think that in the graphic differences
can be found significant clues about the early history
of the Qur'an text - if Uthmn issued a definitive
written text, how can such graphic differences be
explained, they might ask. For Muslims, who see the
Qur'an as an oral as well as a written text, however,
these differences are simply readings, certainly
important, but no more so than readings involving, for
instances, fine differences in assimilation or in
vigour of pronouncing the hamza.
c

[27]

Brockett goes so far as to provide examples with which the interested reader can carry out an
extended analysis. Thus, he states:
The definitive limit of permissible graphic variation
was, firstly, consonantal disturbance that was not too
major, then unalterability in meaning, and finally
reliable authority.
In the section titled, "The Extent To Which The Differences Affect The Sense", the author
repeats the same point:
The simple fact is that none of the differences,
whether vocal or graphic, between the transmission of
Hafs and the transmission of Warsh has any great
effect on the meaning. Many 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 context of the text itself, but without any
significant wider influence on Muslim thought.
[28]

The above is supported by the following:

13
Such then is the limit of the variation between these
two transmissions of the Qur'an, a limit well within
the boundaries of substantial exegetical effect. This
means that the readings found in these transmissions
are most likely not of exegetical origin, or at least
did not arise out of crucial exegetigal dispute. They
are therefore of the utmost value for the textual
history of the Qur'an.
[29]

And interestingly enough the author went on to say:

The limits of their variation clearly establish that
they are a single text.
[30]

Furthermore, we read:
Thus, if the Qur'an had been transmitted only orally
for the first century, sizeable variations between
texts such as are seen in the hadth and pre-Islamic
poetry would be found, and if it had been transmitted
only in writing, sizeable variations such as in the
different transmissions of the original document of
the constitution of Medina would be found. But neither
is the case with the Qur'an. There must have been a
parallel written transmission limiting variation in
the oral transmission to the graphic form, side by
side with a parallel oral transmission preserving the
written transmission from corruption.
[31]

The investigation led to another conviction:

The transmission of the Qur'an after the death of
Muhammad was essentially static, rather than organic.
There was a single text, and nothing significant, not
even allegedly abrogated material, could be taken out
nor could anything be put in.
[32]

Finally, we would like to establish Adrian Brockett's conclusion on this matter:

There can be no denying 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, primary. There is therefore no need to make
different categories for vocal and graphic differences
between transmissions. Muslims have not. The letter is
not a dead skeleton to be refleshed, but is a
manifestation of the spirit alive from beginning. The
transmission of the Qur'an has always been oral, just
as it has been written.
[33]

14
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Christian missionaries like Jochen Katz find themselves
"refleshing" a dead skeleton in order to comply with their missionary program of outright
deception. Of course, regular participants in the newsgroups have time and again witnessed
Jochen's tiring displays of dialectical acrobatics - the misquoting of references and the juggling
of facts. Surprisingly enough, missionary Katz cannot even support his point of view using the
reference [23], which undermines his missionary agenda of twisting the facts. The reference [23]
has firmly established that:

There is only one Qur'an,

The differences in recitation are divinely revealed, not invented by humans
The indisputable conclusion that the Qur'an was not tampered with.

Recitation Of The Qur'an in Hafs, Warsh & Other Qir't

A few centuries ago, the Qurra, or reciters of the Qur'an, used to take pride in reciting all seven
Qir't. In light of this fact, we decided to make an informal inquiry into some the Qurra who
recite in different Qir't. Two brothers confirmed the following:
Date: 18 Sep 1997 13:44:37 -0700
From: Moustafa Mounir Elqabbany
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
I can confirm that al-Husar did in fact record the
entire Qur'an in Warsh, as I have the recording in my
possession. A Somali brother also indicated to me that
he has a copy of the Qur'an recited in Al-Doori ('an
Ab Amr) recited, again, by al-Husar. The Qur'an is
very widely read and recorded in Qawloon in Libya and
Tunisia, so it shouldn't be difficult to acquire those
Qir't either.
c

And another brother corroborated the following in a private e-mail:

Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 21:59:24 +0100
From: Mohamed Ghoniem
To: Metallica
Subject: Re: readings
Well, before al-Husary, Abdel Bassit Abdus Samad has
recorded the entire Qur'an in Warsh and many cassettes
and CDs are on sale everywhere in the Egypt and in
France as well. I personally have in Cairo many
recordings of other readers such as Sayyed Mutawally
and Sayyed Sa'eed exclusively in Warsh. I have seen
several cassettes in the reading of Hamzah (from
Khalaf's way) on sale in Egypt and I have bought a
couple of them during this summer. They were recorded
by Sheikh 'Antar Mosallam.

15
Presently, I have got two CDs recorded by Sheikh Abdel
Bassit gathering three readings (Hafs, Warsh and
Hamzah). These CDs belong to a series of six CDs on
sale publicly in France in the fnac stores.

Printed Edition Of The Qur'an In Various Qir't

The different Qir't exist in the printed editions. This would be news for most missionaries,
aside from the ones who bitterly conceal these facts. Most of the mashif of the Qur'an carry
either in the beginning or in the end the rules of pronunciation of that Qir'a as well as the isnad.
This is to enable the readers to properly read the Qur'an.
A few examples of the printed edition of mashif of the Qur'an in various Qir't are given
below:

The Ten Mutawtir Readings

from the ways of ash-Shatbiyyah and ad-Durrah

In the Margin of

The Holy Qur'an

an idea from
Alawi Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Bilfaqih

carried out by

Shaykh Muhammad Karm Rjih

The Chief Reader in the Syrian land

Dr al-Muhjir for Publications & Distribution

This book is a third print published in 1414AH/1994 CE. This book claims as a
...unique and first work of this kind in the field of
Science of the ten Mutawtir readings from the ways of
ash-Shatbiyyah and ad-Durrah in the margin of the Holy
Qur'an is now achieved, edited, and printed.
[35]

16
The 10 readers/transmitters of the mutawtir readings are below [The Ten Readers & Their
Transmitters]. What is more interesting is that there are reciters even to this day who have
memorised the Qur'an in all the 10 mutawtir readings.
In the end, I address Shaykh Kurayyim Rjih the Head
of the Readers in the Syrian lands with my gratitude
for carrying out that work and supervising its course
and supplementing it with valuable guidelines that
hardly come from anyone except an expert like him.
May God reward his kind student and reader Muhammad
Fahd Khrf who masters the ten Mutawtir readings
from the ways of ash-Shatbiyyah and ad-Durrah and atTibah for participating to this noble task making it,
with the divine help, a beneficial work for the
holders of God's Almighty Book and his readers.
[36]

Conclusions
In light of the above discussion, it is clear that Hafs and Warsh Qir't are not the different
'versions' or 'texts' of the Qur'an as fantasized by missionary Katz. The mutawtir follows
directly to the Companions of the Prophet who took the Qur'an from the Prophet himself.
Thus, the suggestion that a mutawtir reading was a later invention by the Muslims is to be
dismissed as complete fiction.
(P)

(P)

The Ten Readers & Their Transmitters

Muhammad Ghoniem & M S M Saifullah
Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.
First Composed: 8th January 2002
Last Updated: 8th January 2002

The following information is taken from Alawi Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Bilfaqih's, AlQira'at al-Ashr al-Mutawatir, 1994, Dar al-Muhajir.

1. Nafi al-Madani (of Medinah): Ibn Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Abi Naim, Abu Ruwaym alLaythi, his origin is from Isfahan (70-169 AH).
Qalun: Abu Musa, Isa Ibn Mina al-Zarqi, the slave of Bani Zuhrah (120-220
AH).
Warsh: Uthman Ibn Said al-Qutbi, the Egyptian the slave of Quraysh (110-197
AH).

17
2. Ibn Kathir, the Meccan: Abdullah, Abu Mabad al-Attar al-Dari, the Persian (45-120AH).
Al-Buzzi: Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abdillah, Abu al-Hasan al-Buzzi, the
Persian (170-250 AH).
Qunbul: Muhammad Ibn Abd ar-Rahman, the Makhzumi (by loyalty), Abu
Amr the Meccan, known as Qunbul (195-291 AH).
3. Abu Amr Ibn al-Ala': Zuban Ibn al-Ala' at-Tamimi al-Mazini, the Basran (68-154 AH).
Hafs al-Duri: Abu Amr, Hafs Ibn Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Baghdadi, the
grammarian, the blind. (-246 AH).
Al-Susi: Abu Shuayb, Salih Ibn Ziyad Ibn Abdillah Ibn Ismail Ibn al-Jarud arRiqqi. (-261 AH).
4. Ibn Amir of Damascus: Abdullah Ibn Amir Ibn Yazid Ibn Tamim Ibn Rabiah al-Yahsibi
(8-118 AH).
Hisham: Abu al-Walid, Hisham ibn Ammar Ibn Nusayr Ibn Maysarah al-Salami
al-Dimashqi (153-245 AH).
Ibn Dhakwan: Abu Amr, Abdullah Ibn Ahmad al-Qurayshi al-Dimashqi. (173242 AH).
5. Aasim, the Kufan: Abu Bakr, Aasim Ibn Abi al-Najud al-'Asadi (by loyalty) (-127 AH).
Shubah: Abu Bakr, Shubah Ibn Ayyash Ibn Salim al-Kufi (i.e., the Kufan) anNahshali (by loyalty) (95-193 AH).
Hafs: Abu Amr, Hafs Ibn Sulayman Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Abi Dawud al-Asadi
al-Kufi (the Kufan). (90-180 AH).
6. Hamzah, the Kufan: Abu Imarah, Hamzah Ibn Habib al-Zayyat al-Taymi by loyalty (80156 AH).
Khalaf: Abu Muhammad al-Asadi al-Bazzar al-Baghdadi (150-229 AH).
Khallad: Abu Isa, Khallad Ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi (- 220 AH).
7. Al-Kisa'i, the Kufan: Abu al-Hasan, Ali Ibn Hamzah, the Persian, Asadi by loyalty (119 189 AH)
Al-Layth: Abu al-Harith, al-Layth Ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi (- 240 AH).
Al-Duri: Hafs the transmitter of Abu Amr (see above).
8. Abu Jafar: Yazid Ibn al-Qaqa al-Makhzumi al-Madani (of Medinah) (- 130 AH).
Isa Ibn Wirdan: Abu al-Harith al-Madani (of Medinah by style) (- 160 AH)

18
Ibn Jummaz: Abu ar-Rabi, Sulayman Ibn Muslim Ibn Jummaz al-Madani (of
Medinah) (- 170 AH)
9. Yaqub: Abu Muhammad, Yaqub Ibn Ishaq Ibn Zayd Ibn Abdillah Ibn Abi Ishaq alHadrami, the Basran, the slave of the Hadramis (117 - 205 AH)
Ruways: Abu Abdillah, Muhammad Ibn al-Mutawakkil, the Basran (- 238 AH).
Rawh: Abu al-Hasan, Rawh Ibn Abd al-Mu'min, the Basran, the Hudhali by
loyalty (- 234 AH).
10. Khalaf the 10th: The transmitter of Hamzah (see above)
Ishaq: Abu Yaqub, Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Uthman al-Maruzi al-Baghdadi (286 AH).
Idris: Abu al-Hasan, Idris Ibn Abd al-Karim al-Haddad al-Baghdadi (189 - 292
AH).
Are Qir't Due To The Lack Of Vowel & Diacritical Points In The Early Qur'ans?
Samuel Green says:
> ... owing to the fact that the kufic script in which the Koran was
> originally written contained no indication of vowels or
> diacritical points, variant readings are recognized by Muslims as
> of equal authority. (N.J. Dawood, The Koran, Middlesex, England:
> Penguin Books, 1983, p.10, bold added)

He adds further that:

VOWEL DIFFERENCES - In the Arabic script of the modern Qur'an the vowels are indicated
by small symbols above or below the basic printed letters. Again these were not included in
Uthman's edition of the Qur'an.

It is to be made clear that the Arabic script before and during the time of Uthmn was written
without vowel and diacritical marks. To say that the vowels and diacritical marks were not
included in the Uthmnic Qur'an actually shows the ignorance of the Christian missionary
Samuel Green concerning the evolution of Arabic script. The need for vowel and diacritical
marks arose only after the time of Uthmn to prevent the wrong recitation of the Qur'an by
ignorant Arabs and non-Arabs.
c

Arabic orthography at the time of Uthmn was not yet developed in the way we have known for
centuries, particularly in two important areas. There was no distinction between letters of the
alphabet of similar shape and there were no vowel marks. This may now give the impression
that such a system must have given rise to great confusion in reading. This was not actually the
case because the morphological patterns of words in Arabic enable readers to read even very
unfamiliar material without the short vowels being marked. More important, however, as far as
the Qur'an was concerned, was the fact that learning and reading relied above all on oral
transmission. In the Islamic tradition, writing remained a secondary aid; nevertheless, to ensure
correct reading of the written texts of the Qur'an, particularly for those coming after the first
c

19
generation of Muslims, steps were taken gradually to improve the orthography. This started with
the two above mentioned areas by introducing dots to indicate different vowels and nntion
and these were put in different coloured ink from that of the text. There were also dots to
distinguish between consonants of similar shape. This work was carried out chiefly by three
men: Ab-l-Aswad al-Du'al (d. 69 / 688), Nasr Ibn Asim (d. 89 / 707) and Yahya Ibn
Ya mur (d.129 /746). Understandably there was some opposition at first to adding anything to
the way the Qur'an was written. Ibn Umar (73/692) disliked the dotting; others welcomed it,
clearly because it was, in fact, doing no more than ensuring proper reading of the Qur'an as
received from the Prophet , and this view was accepted by the majority of Muslims throughout
the different parts of the Muslims world, from the time of the tbi n. The people of Madinah
were reported to have used red dots for vowels - tanwn, tashdd, takhff, sukn, wasl and madd
and yellow dots for the hamzas in particular. Naqt (placing dots on words in the mushaf),
became a separate subject of study with many books written on it. For details please see the
article Qur'anic Orthography: The Written Representation Of The Recited Text Of The
Qur'an.
c

(P)

Further, the conclusions of the missionary is that there was an

... ambiguity as to which vowels should be used. This ambiguity has lead to differences between
the vowels in the different transmissions.

The aim of the Christian missionary here is to show that prior to the introduction of the vowel
and diacritical marks, that is, throughout the period of the Prophet and the Companions, as well
as the generation immediately following the Qur'an was in undetermined, fluid state, a kind of
limbo, and that it assumed concrete form only with the addition of diacritical marks and
vocalization signs, which of course was long after the age of Revelation. In other words, for
almost a century before Hijra the Qur'an was in the fluid state and as soon as the vowels and
diacritical marks were introduced, the Qur'an started to crystallise in the form that we have now
after going through many 'versions.' For such a situation there is no historical evidence. Neither,
there is historical evidence that Muslims differed over the Qur'an unlike the Christians who
differ over the extent of the canon even to this day. It must be emphasized that for Muslims
down through the centuries the consensus (ijma') of the community has always been a decisive
proof in all matters; and as the community is agreed that man has not contributed a whit to the
Qur'an, the matter may be considered settled. This is precisely the point which has been noted in
the quote of N J Dawood used by the missionary. It is quite clear that all the Qir't are given
equal authority. The above quote taken from N J Dawood's translation of the Qur'an is actually
in direct contradiction of what Samuel Green had intended to show in his article, i.e., that the
Muslims follow different 'sets of the Qur'an' as if they are not all authoritative. One wonders
why did he choose to quote the material which does not even serve his purpose!
(P)

Further evidence against the view in question may be drawn from the Qir't themselves. It is
certainly germane to the issue at hand to note that in many instances where the unmarked
Uthmnic canon is capable of being read in diverse ways, we find the Qurra (i.e., the Readers)
agreeing on a single reading. Such agreement can most reasonably be accounted for on the basis
of a firmly established oral tradition of recitation. Take for example the verbal prefixes ta and ya
(or tu or yu), which in the unmarked text would be represented by the same symbol. Taking the
form turja na and yurja na as a case point we note that all the Qir't use the first of these
forms in 2:245; 10:56; 28:88; 36:22, 83; 39:44; 41:21 and 43:85; while all use the second in
6:36 and 19:40.
c

There are also many words in the Qur'an which could be given different form than the one given

20
in the readings, but in fact are not. For example, the word mukht in 17:106 is so read by all the
readers, although there is no reason why it could not be read as mikth or makth. The verb
khatifa-yakhtafu, which appears in 2:20; 22:31 and 37:10 could be correctly read as khatafayakhtifu, but all the Qir't keep the former form. A few other examples can be shown by
refering to the books on Qir't.
[3]

So, if the Qurra invented the Qir't just because the earliest manuscripts were undotted, why
then we see that they had converged to one single reading many times? The Christian
missionary's last resort will be to invoke two conspiracies on a massive scale from Spain to
India; first, to achieve uanimity on one reading from vastly divergent readings and second, to
fabricate the ijma' on the Qur'an itself after that!
Further reading:
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Scribal/haleem.html
Qur'nic Orthography: The Written Representation Of The Recited Text Of The Qur'n
M A S Abdel Haleem
Islamic Quarterly, 19??, pp. 171-192
Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.

"Quick! Help the Muslims before they differ about the text of the Qur'n as the
Christians and Jews differed about their scriptures".
Thus demanded Hudhayfa bin al-Yamn of `Uthmn, the third Caliph, on returning from battles
in Azerbaijan (25/645). Hudhayfa had become perturbed when he saw Muslim soldiers from
different parts of Syria and Iraq meeting together and differing in their readings of the Qur'n[1],
each considering his reading to be the correct one. Up to then the only full official written copy
which was made under Ab Bakr (d.13/634) had remained unpublished, kept first with Ab
Bakr, then with `Umar, and after his death with his daughter Hafsa, a widow of the Prophet[2].
Responding to the urgent demand for help, `Uthmn sent word to Hafsa, asking for the copy in
her possession to be sent to him so that a number of copies could be made of it, to be publicised
and followed as the only authorised Qur'n in the different parts of the Muslim world. This
prevented the possibility of different versions evolving in time, as Hudhayfa had feared, when
he urged `Uthmn to guard against it.
In the `Uthmnic copies, the Qur'n was written in a particular rasm (orthography) which
became known as al-rasm al-`Uthmn (the `Uthmnic way of writing the text of the Qur'n)
also referred to as rasm al-mushaf. As the copies made at his orders and distributed to various
parts of the Muslim world were meant to be authoritative, it is no wonder that their rasm
assumed authority as the correct way of writing the Qur'n. Arabic orthography at the time was
not yet developed in the way we have known for centuries, particularly in two important areas.
There was no distinction between letters of the alphabet of similar shape and there were no
vowel marks. This may now give the impression that such a system must have given rise to

21
great confusion in reading. This was not actually the case because the morphological patterns of
words in Arabic enable readers to read even very unfamiliar material without the short vowels
being marked. More important, however, as far as the Qur'n was concerned, was the fact that
learning and reading relied above all on oral transmission. In the Islamic tradition, writing
remained a secondary aid; nevertheless, to ensure correct reading of the written texts of the
Qur'n, particularly for those coming after the first generation of Muslims, steps were taken
gradually to improve the orthography. This started with the two above mentioned areas by
introducing dots to indicate different vowels and nntion and these were put in different
coloured ink from that of the text. There were also dots to distinguish between consonants of
similar shape. This work was carried out chiefly by three men: Ab-l-Aswad al-Du'al (d. 69 /
688), Nasr Ibn `Asim (d. 89 / 707) and Yahy Ibn Ya`mur (d.129 /746). Understandably there
was some opposition at first to adding anything to the way the Qur'n was written. Ibn `Umar
(73/692) disliked the dotting; others welcomed it, clearly because it was, in fact, doing no more
than ensuring proper reading of the Qur'n as received from the Prophet, and this view was
accepted by the majority of Muslims throughout the different parts of the Muslims world, from
the time of the tbi`n. The people of Madinah were reported to have used red dots for vowels tanwn, tashdd, takhff, sukn, wasl and madd and yellow dots for the hamzas in particular.
Naqt[3] (placing dots on words in the mushaf), became a separate subject of study with many
books written on it.[4]
Al-Khall Ibn Ahmad (d.170/786) introduced the traditional vowel signs into Arabic orthography
instead of the dots, but tht dotting system continued in writing Qur'nic material. Eventually the
traditional vowel signs were adopted for the Qur'n.[5]
It was thus in order to serve the Qur'n that Arabic orthography was developed. After all, the
Qur'n, as collected under Ab Bakr, became the first book in the Arabic language. It was in
order to serve the Qur'n that more and more people began to learn reading and writing; that the
art of calligraphy was developed, which became one of the chief arts of Islam. The Qur'n,
which unified the Arabic literary language and spread it into areas far beyond Arabia, was in fact
the starting point of all Islamic and Arabic subjects of study[6], One of these subjects in particular
has important bearing on Qur'nic orthography: that is, Arabic phonetics, which was developed
in `ilm tajwd al-Qur'n, the science of the proper articulation and reading of the Qur'n. Among
other things, this has minutely described and definitively prescribed for posterity the articulation
of consonants and vowels singly and consecutively: the way of reciting the Qur'n as received
from the Prophet. This requires a degree of exactitude unmatched in reading any other material
in Arabic. Qur'nic orthographic signs had to be used with the Qur'nic rasm and developed to a
higher standard of representation than is known or needed in ordinary Arabic orthography.
Alongside the development of studies in Arabic grammar, Arabic orthography also developed
for linguistic and literary material, and although the `Uthmnic rasm was one of the sources of
ordinary orthography[7] the latter began to differ from the `Uthmnic rasm of the Qur'n. The
question was asked whether it was admissible to write the Qur'n itself in the new orthography.
Mlik (179/795) was asked and said: No, the Qur'n should be written only in the way of the
first writing. He was also asked whether the additional ww and alif (as in the word )
should be deleted since they were not pronounced and said no. Similarly Ibn Hanbal (244/858)
said it was unlawful to deviate in writing the mushaf in ww, y, alif or any other way.[8] In line
with such views, it will be seen that adherence to the Qur'nic rasm has persisted up to the
present.
Along with numerous other aspects of the Qur'n, its orthography was singled out as a separate

22
branch of study known as `ilm al-rasm.[9] Ab `Amr Al-Dn (444/1052) examined in detail the
characteristics of this rasm. His book al-Muqni`[10] remained an important authority - Suyt
(909/1503) reduced the rules of Qur'nic rasm to 6 as follows:*
1. The rule of deletion, hadhf
2. The rule of addition, ziydah
3. The rule of substitution, badal
4. The rule of the hamza,
5. The rule of joining and separating, al-wasl wa-l-fasl
6. The rule of cases where there are two canonical readings but the text is written
according to one of them, ma fhi qir'tan fa-kutiba `al ihdhum.
CHAPTER 11
THE QIRAAAT OF THE QURAAN
I. The Meaning of the Word Qiraaat
The word qiraat is the plural of qiraaa, which comes from the root q-r-a meaning, to read,
to recite. Qiraaa means the recitation of something.
In Quraanic sciences, it refers to the various ways and manners of reciting the Quraan that are
in existence today. As Imaam az-Zarkashee stated, the Quraan is the revelation that was given
to Muhammad (PBUH), and the qiraaat are the variations in the words and pronunciations of
this revelation. Thus the qiraaat are the verbalisation of the Quraan, and the Quraan is
preserved in the qiraaat.
Each qiraaa has its own peculiar rules of recitation (tajweed) and variations in words and
letters, and is names after the reciter (Qaaree) who was famous for that particular qiraaa.
II. The History of the Qiraaat
The primary method of transmission of the Quraan has always been and always will be oral.
Each generation of Muslims learns the Quraan from the generation before it, and this chain
continues backwards until the time of the Companions, who learnt it from the Prophet (PBUH)
himself. As Umar ibn al-Khaattaab stated, The recitation of the Quraan is a Sunnah; the latter
generations must take it from the earlier ones. Thereofre, recite the Quraan only as you have
been taught. 415 This is the fundamental principal in the preservation of the Quraan.
In the last chapter, the revelation of the Quraan in the seven ahruf was discussed. As the
Prophet (PBUH) recited the Quraan in all of these ahruf, the Companions memorised it from
him accordingly. Some of them memorised only one harf, others more than this. When the
Companions spread throughout the Muslim lands, they took with them the variations that they
had learnt from the Prophet (PBUH). They understood the importance of the oral transmission
of the Quraan. Umar ibn al-Khattaab, during his caliphate, sent several prominent Companions
to various cities to teach the people the Quraan; Ubaadah ibn as-Saamit was sent to Hims,
Ubay ibn Kaab to Palestine, and Aboo ad-Dardaa to Damascus. 416
Likewise, during his caliphate, Uthmaan also realised the importance of the proper recitation of
the Quraan, and sent reciters of the Quraan all over the Muslim lands, each with a copy of his

23
official mus-haf. He kept Zayd ibn Thaabit in Madeenah; with the Makkan mus-haf, he sent
Adullaah ibn Saaib (d. 63 A.H.); to Syria was sent al-Mugheerah ibn Shubah (d. 50 A.H.);
Aboo Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sulamee (d. 70 A.H.) was sent to Koofah; and Aamir ibn Abdul
Qays to Basrah (d. ~ 55 A.H.). 417
The Companions, in turn, recited and taught these variations to the Successors (Tabioon), who
taught them to the next generation (atbaa at-tabioon), and so on. Each generation had in its
rank those who were famous for their knowledge of the recitation of the Quraan.
Thus, among the Companions, there were many who were famous as having heard from the
Prophet (PBUH) most if not all of the Quraan. Included in this category are Uthmaan ibn
Affaan, Alee ibn Abee Taalib, Ubay ibn Kaab, Abdullaah ibn Masood, Zayd ibn Thaabit,
Aboo ad-Dardaa, and Aboo Moosaa al-Asharee. These Companions taught those Companions
who were younger or had not had as much exposure to the Prophets (PBUH) recitation, such as
Aboo Hurayrah and Ibn Abbaas, who both learnt from Ubay. Some learnt from more than one
Companion, as, for example, Ibn Abbaas also learnt from Zayd ibn Thaabit.
These Companions then taught the Successors. Since the Companions spread over the various
parts of the Muslim world, each region started developing a specific type of recitation. Again, all
of these various recitations had originated from the mouth of the Prophet (PBUH), and the
Companions spread the different variations throughout the Muslim world.
Those famous among the Successors for the recitation of the Quraan are: in Madeenah, Saeed
ibn al-Musayyib (d. 90 A.H.), Urwah ibn az-Zubayr (d. 94 A.H.), Saalim (d. 106 A.H.), and
Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez (d. 103 A.H.); in Makkah, Ubayd ibn Umayr (d. 72 A.H.), Ataa ibn
Abee Rabah (d. 114 A.H.), Taawoos (d. 106 A.H.), Mujaahid (d. 103 A.H.) and Ikrimah (d. 104
A.H.); in Koofah, Alqamah ibn Qays (d. 60 A.H.), Aboo Abd al-Rahmaan as-Sulamee (d. 70
A.H.), Ibraaheem al-Nakhaaee (d. 96 A.H.) and ash-Shabee (d. 100 A.H.); in Basrah, Aboo alAaliyah (d. 90 A.H.), Nasr ibn Aasim (d. 89 A.H.), Qataadah (d. 110 A.H.), Ibn Sireen (d. 110
A.H.) and Yahya ibn Yamar (d. 100 A.H.); and in Syria, al-Mugheerah ibn Abee Shihaab and
Khaleefah ibn Saad. 418
Around the turn of the first century of the hijrah appeared the scholars of the Quraan after
whom the qiraaat of today are named. At this time, along with many other sciences of Islaam,
the sciences of the qiraaat were codified. Thus, members of this generation took from the
Successors the various recitations that they had learnt from the Companions, and adopted a
specific way of reciting the Quraan, and this is what is called a qiraaa. Each of these persons is
called a Qaaree, or Reciter. These Qaarees were the most famous reciters of the Quraan in their
time, and people from all around the Muslim lands would come to them to learn the Quraan.
To summarise, the qiraaat are particular methodologies of reciting the Quraan. They are named
after the Qaaree who recited the Quraan in that particular manner, and were famous as being
the leaders in this field. They represent the various ways that the Companions learnt the Quraan
from the Prophet (PBUH). They differ from each other in vaious words, proninciations, and
rules of recitation (tajweed). They are not the same as the seven ahruf, as shall be elaborated
upon shortly.
The scholars of the succeeding generations started compiling works on the different qiraaat that
were present in their times. For example, Aboo Ubayd al-Qaasim ibn Sallaam (d. 224 A.H.)
compiled twenty-five qiraaat, Ahmad ibn Jubayr al-Koofee (d. 258 A.H.) wrote a book on five

24
qiraaat, and al-Qaadee Ismaaeel ibn Ishaaq (d. 282 A.H.) compiled his book on twenty qiraaat
(including the famous seven). Even Muhammad ibn Jareer at-Tabari (d. 310) compiled a work
on the qiraaat. However, the most famous of these books is the one by Aboo Bakr Ahmad ibn
Mujaahid (d. 324), entitled Kitaab al-Qiraaat, in which he compiled seven of the most famous
qiraaat of his time from the major cities of the Muslim world. He was the first to limit himself
to these particular Qaarees, for he wanted to combine the most famous recitations of Makkah,
Madeenah, Koofah, Basrah, and Damascus, for these were the five territories from which the
knowledge of Islaam sprung forth - the knowledge of the Quraan, tafseer, hadeeth and fiqh. 419
He wrote in his introduction,
So these seven (that I have chosen) are scholars from Hijaaz (i.e., Makkah and Madeenah), Iraq
(i.e., Koofah and Basrah) and Syria (i.e., Damascus). They inherited the Successors in the
knowledge of the recitation of the Quraan, and the people all accepted and agreed upon their
recitation, from their respective territories, and the territories surrounding them426
He purposely chose seven Qaarees to match the number of ahruf that the Quraan was revealed
in. Unfortunately, this led many people to mistakenly believe that the different qiraaat were the
same as the ahruf that the Prophet (PBUH) referred to in the various hadeeth. This is obviously
false, since ibn Mujaahid wrote his book four centuries after the Prophets (PBUH) death. Due
to this misconception, many of the later scholars took ibn Mujaahid to task, wishing that he had
chosen a different number, so that this confusion could have been prevented. Ibn al-Jazaree (d.
832 A.H.) wrote,
Many of the scholars disliked the fact that Ibn Mujaahid restricted himself to seven qiraaat,
and said that he was mistaken in doing so, and wished that he had chosen a number greater than
this, or less than this, or atleast explained the purpose behind choosing this number, so that those
people who have no knowledge would not have been misled. 421
Another misconception that arose was that some scholars assumed that these seven qiraaat were
the only authentic qiraaat of the Quraan. Thus, these scholars considered any qiraaat besides
these seven to be defective (shaadh) qiraaat. This, too, is a misconception, as there were other
authentic qiraaat that Ibn Mujaahid did not compile.
Due to the popularity and excellence of Ibn Mujaahids book, these seven qiraaat became the
most famous qiraaat of that time, 422 and the students of knowledge left other qiraaat to study
these seven. Eventually, except for three other authentic qiraaat, all the other qiraaat were left,
and only these ten were studied. This does not imply, however, that somehow a portion of the
Quraan was lost by preserving only these ten. Many of the qiraaat were merely a mixture of
others, so that their loss would not mean a loss of certain pronunciations or words. The Muslims
are assured of the fact that they have the complete revelation that Allaah revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH), for it is Allaahs promise to protect it:
Verily, it is We who have revealed the Quraan, and surely We will guard it (Qur n, 15:9)
III. The Conditions for an Authentic Qiraaa
It was mentioned in the last section that, during the first few centuries of the hijrah, there were
many qiraaat that used to be recited. The scholars of the qiraaat therefore established rules in
order to differentiate the authentic qiraaat from the inauthentic ones.

25
The famous scholar of the Quraan, Muhammad ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832 A.H.), said:
Every qiraaa that conforms to the rules of Arabic, even if by one manner, and matches with
one of the mus-hafs of Uthmaan, even if such a match is not an obvious one, and has an
authentic chain of narrators back to the Prophet (PBUH), is an authentic qiraaa. Such a qiraaa
cannot be refuted or denied, but rather must be believed in, and is amongst the seven ahruf that
the Quraan was revealed in. Therefore the people must accept it, whether it be from the seven
qiraaat (mentioned above), or from the ten qiraaat, or even other than these. And whenever any
qiraaa fails to meet one of the above mentioned three conditions, then it will be labelled
(according to which of the conditions are not met) either weak (daeef), irregular (shaadh), or
false (baatil). And this (i.e., these conditions) is the strongest opinion among the scholars of the
past and the present. 423
Therefore, Ibn al-Jazaree mentioned three conditions:
1) The qiraaa must conform to Arabic grammar. It is not essential, however, that the grammar
used be agreed upon by all Arabic grammarians, or that the qiraaa employ the most fluent and
eloquent of phrases and expressions. This is the meaning of the phrase, even if by one
manner. The basic requirement is that it does not contradict an agreed upon principal of Arabic
grammar.
Some scholars, however, do not agree with this condition.424 They argue, If a qiraaa is proven
to have originated from the Prophet (PBUH), then we cannot apply the rules of grammar to it. If
we were to do this, and presumed an error in the qiraaa, then we would be implying that the
Prophet (PBUH) made mistakes (Allaah forbid!). Therefore, an authentic qiraaa overrides a
rule of Arabic grammar!
What this is implying is that it is the Quraan, through any of its qiraaat , that is given
preference over any rule of grammar, for the Quraan is the Speech of Allaah, the most eloquent
of Speech, and the rules of grammar must be based on this. Among the scholars of the Quraan
who held this view are Makkee ibn Abee Taalib (d. 437 A.H.) and Aboo Amr ad-Daanee (d.
444 A.H.). For them, the conditions for an authentic qiraaa are the last two.
Actually, if the practice of the scholars of the Quraan is examined, it is apparent that the above
difference is a difference in semantics only, for the first category of scholars (such as Ibn alJazaree) will reject a rule of grammar as invalid if it contradicts any of the ten authentic qiraaat.
Thus, the attempts by some grammarians to invalidate certain qiraaat (such as az-Zajjaajs 425
attempts to invalidate the qiraaa of Hamzah in verse 4:1) have been rejected by all the scholars
of qiraaa, whether they include this condition or not. 426 This point will be discussed in greater
detail below.
2) The qiraaa must conform with one of the mus-hafs of Uthmaan. In the chapter on the
compilation of the Quraan, it was mentioned that Uthmaan sent out between four and eight
mus-hafs around the Muslim world. All of them were without dots and vowel marks. Also, these
mus-hafs had minor variations between them.
As long as a qiraaa satisfied any one of these mus-hafs, it was considered to have passed this
condition, even if it conformed slightly. For example, the word maaliki 427 in Soorah alFaatihah is written in all the Uthmaanic mus-hafs as m-l-k [Arabic text here], which allows for
the variation found in other qiraaat of maliki. 428 This is an example where the conformation is

26
not obvious. An example of an explicit conformation is in 2:259, where one recitation is kayfa
nunshizuha, 429 but without a dot over one letter becomes kayfa nunshiruha. 430 An example of
a qiraaa conforming to one of the mus-hafs of Uthmaan without the others is the qiraaa of Ibn
Aamir, who read 3:184 as wa bi zuburi wa bil kitaab instead of wa az-zuburi wal kitaab (i.e.,
without the bas), since the mus-haf that Uthmaan sent to Syria had the two bas in it.
An example of a qiraaa that contradicts all the mus-hafs of Uthmaan is the qiraaa attributed to
Ibn Abbaas in 18:79, which translates as, and there was, behind them, a king who seized
every ship by force, whereas Ibn Abbas read it, and there was, in front of them, a king who
seized every useable ship by force. The two changes in the recitation of Ibn Abbaas are not
allowed by the mus-haf of Uthmaan, and cannot, therefore, be considered an authentic
recitation.
3) The qiraaa must have an authentic (saheeh) chain of narrators back to the Prophet (PBUH).
This is the most important condition, and guarantees that the variations that occur in the qiraaat
have all been sent down by Allaah as part of the Quraan, recited by the Prophet (PBUH), and
passed down to the Muslim ummah without any addition or deletion. As was quoted from Umar
earlier (and this same statement has also been made by Zayd ibn Thaabit, and many of the
Successors), The recitation of the Quraan is a Sunnah; the later generations must take it from
the earlier ones. Therefore, recite the Quraan only as you have been taught.
However, an important question is: do these chains of narration have to be mutawaatir? The
overwhelming majority of scholars claimed that they did. The only notable exceptions were
from Makkee ibn Abee Taalib (d. 437 A.H.), and later Ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832 A.H.) (whose
definition is being quoted). Both of these scholars are highly respected, classical scholars in the
field of qiraaat.
Ibn al-Jazaree wrote, Some of the later scholars have presumed that the Quraan can only be
proven with mutawaatir narrations! The flaws in this opinion are obvious 431
However, this opinion itself goes againt the consensus (ijmaa) of almost all the other scholars.
Imaam an-Nuwayree (d. 897 A.H.), a commentator of Ibn al-Jazarees work, wrote:
This opinions is a newly-invented one, contradicting the consensus (ijmaa) of the jurists and
the four madh-habs and many scholars, so many that they cannot even be counted, such as Ibn
Abd al-Barr, Ibn Atiyyah, Ibn Taymiyyah, Imaam Nawawee, al-Azraaee, as-Subkee, azZarkashee, Ibn al-Haajib, and many more besides these. As for the reciters of the Quraan, they
were agreed on this since the earliest times, and the only one to contradict them in the later times
are Makkee ibn Abee Taalib 432 and those who followed him (i.e., Ibn al-Jazaree). 433
In reality, Ibn al-Jazarees opinion seems to have more theoretical than realistic value, for even
he admits, in another of his works, that the ten qiraaat are all mutawaatir. He states, Whoever
says that the mutawaatir qiraaat are unlimited, then if he means this in our times, this is not
correct, for today there are no authentic mutaawatir qiraaat besides these ten; however, if he
means in earlier times, then it is possible that he is correct 434 Therefore, Ibn al-Jazaree was
of the view that is was not neccessary for a qiraaa to be mutawaatir for it to be accepted, but at
the same time he did believe that the ten qiraaat were all mutawaatir.
Ibn al-Jazarees conditions were perhaps applicable in his time, when there existed numerous
qiraaat besides the ten that are present today. According to him, such qiraaat could be recited

27
as long as they had an authentic chain of narrators back to the Prophet (PBUH), even if such
chains were ahaad. Most of the other scholars of qiraaa, however, did not agree with him on
this point. 435 However, since in our times, only these ten qiraaat are in existence, this issue
becomes more theoretical than practical, as most of the scholars are in agreement that these ten
qiraaat are all mutawaatir.
In conclusion, the conditions for an authentic qiraaa is that it must be mutawaatir, and conforms
to atleast one of the mus-hafs of Uthmaan. Any time such a qiraaa exists, it overides any rule
of Arabic grammar.
It should be mentioned, however, that there has never existed any mutawaatir qiraaa that
contradicted any rule of Arabic grammar. 436 Al-Qaarree writes, 437
If we ponder over this issue, and reflect over these conditions, we finds that this last condition
(i.e., the qiraaa must conform with Arabic grammar) is, in reality, not a condition in the sense
of the word, meaning that if this condition is not met, the qiraaa is rejected, for two reasons:
Firstly, such a case has never occurred, meaning that there is no authentic, mutawaatir qiraaa
that conforms to the Uthmaanic mus-hafs that has no basis in Arabic grammar.
Secondly, even if we allow for the possiblity that there exists such a qiraaa - and authentic,
mutawaatir qiraaa conforming to the script, yet not having any basis that we can discover in
Arabic grammar - then this too does not imply the rejection of the qiraaa. This is because our
ignorance of such a gramatical basis does not rule out the possibility of such a basis, since no
matter how much our knowledge encompasses, it will still be limited. Also, whenever a qiraaa
has a mutawaatir chain of narrators and conforms with the Uthmaanic script, this is unequivocal
proof that it is a part of the Quraan, and therefore there cannot be any argument against it.
To conclude, therefore, we say: This last condition (meaning the condition of a qiraaa with
Arabic grammar) is in reality a neccessary by product of the other two conditions, and is not a
condition per se.
As has already been alluded to, there are ten qiraaat that meet the above requirements, and
these will be discussed below, Taqee ad-Deen as-Subkee (d. 756 A.H.) stated,
The seven qiraaat that ash-Shaatibee compiled 438 along with the other three qiraaat are all
authentic mutawaatir qiraaat. This has been recognised by all, and every letter that any of these
qiraaat have differed with the others in, is recognised to have been revealed to the Prophet
(PBUH). None can reject this fact except the ignorant. 439
Theoretically, it is possible for there to still exist other authentic qiraaat besides these ten, since
there is no divine law regulating that there can only be ten qiraaat. Realistically, however, such
an existence is impossible, as the scholars of the Quraan would have known of them by now.
IV. The Other Types of Qiraaat
If a qiraaa fails to meet any of these conditions, it is classified in a different category. Different
scholars have adopted different classifications for defining those qiraaat that do not meet the
above three conditions. One of the simpler ones is as follows: 440

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1) The Saheeh (Authentic) Qiraaat: These are the ten authentic qiraaat, and the conditions of
acceptance were discussed above.
2) The Shaadh (Irregular) Qiraaat: These qiraaat have an authentic chain of narration back to
the Prophet (PBUH) and conform to Arabic grammar, but do not match the mus-hafs of
Uthmaan. In addition, they are not mutawaatir. In other words, they employ words of phrases
that the Uthmaanic mus-hafs do not allow. Most of the time (but not all, see Suyootees
classification below) this type of qiraaat was in fact used by the Companions as explanations to
certain verses in the Quraan. For example, Aaishah used to recite 2:238 wa salat al-wusta
with the addition salat al-asr. The meaning of the first is, Guard against your prayers,
especially the middle one. Asishahs addition explained that the middle prayer alluded to in
this verse is in fact the Asr prayer. There are numerous authentic narrations from the
Companions of this nature, in which they recited a certain verse in a way that the mus-haf of
Uthmaan would not allow.
Another explanation of this type of qiraaat is that they were a part of the ahruf that were
revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) but later abrogated, and thus not preserved in the mus-haf of
Uthmaan.
3) The Daeef (Weak) Qiraaat: These qiraaat conform with Arabic grammar and are allowed
by the mus-haf of Uthmaan, but do not have authentic chains of narrations back to the Prophet
(PBUH). An example of this type is the recitation of 1:4 as malaki yawmu deen, in the past
tense.
4) The Baatil (False) Qiraaat: These qiraaat do not meet any of the three criterion mentioned
above, and are rejected completely, even as tafseer. For example, the reading of 35:28 as inama
yakhsha Alllaahu min ibadhil ulama, changes the meaning from, It is only those who have
knowledge amongst His slaves that truly fear Allaah, to, Allh is afraid of the knowledge of
His slaves! (All praise be to Allaah, He is far removed from all that they ascribe to Him!!)
The ruling concerning these last three types of qiraaat, the shaadh, the daeef and the baatil, is
that they are not a part of the Quraan, and in fact it is haraam (forbidden) to consider such a
qiraaa as part of the Quraan. If it is recited in prayer, such a prayer will not be acceptable, nor
is one allowed to pray behind someone who recites these qiraaat. However, the shaadh and the
daeef qiraaat may be studied under the science of tafseer (and other sciences, such as the
science of grammar, or nahw) as long as they are identified as such. The shaadh qiraaat, in
particular, used to form a part of the seven ahruf that the Quraan was revealed in, but these
recitations were abrogated by the Prophet (PBUH) himself, and therefore not preserved by
Uthmaan. Under this category fall many of the recitations that are transmitted with authentic
chains of narrations from the Companions, and yet do not conform with the Uthmaanic mushaf. These recitations used to form a part of the Quraan, and were recited by the Companions,
until they were abrogated by the Prophet (PBUH) before his death.
As-Suyootee, 441 following Ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832), classifies the various qiraaat into six
categories, which are briefly:
1) Mutawaatir: These are the seven qiraaat compiled by Ibn Mujaahid, plus the other three.
2) Mash-hoor (Well-known): These are some of the variations found within the ten authentic
qiraaat, such as the differences between the raawis and turuqs (to be discussed below).

29
3) Ahaad (Singular): These are the qiraaat that have an authentic chain of narration, but do not
conform to the mus-haf of Uthmaan, or contradict a rule of Arabic grammar (the same as
shaadh above).
4) Shaadh (Irregular): These are the qiraaat that do not have an authentic chain of narration
back to the Prophet (PBUH) (the same as daeef above).
5) Mawdoo (Fabricated): These are the qiraaat that do not meet any of the three conditions
(same as baatil above).
6) Mudraj (Interpolated): In this category, as-Suyootee classified those readings that the
Companions used to add of the sake of interpretation. For example, the verse,
and he has a brother or sister (Qurn, 4:12)
was recited by Saeed ibn Abee Waqqaas as, and he has a brother or sister from the same
mother.
These types of additions are explained as having been heard by that Companion from the
Prophet (PBUH), either as an explanation of the verse (in which case it was assumed by the
Companion to be part of the verse), or that this was one of the ahruf of that verse that was later
abrogated by the Prophet (PBUH) during his final recitation to Jibreel. 442
As-Suyootee stated that the first two types, mutawaatir and mash-hoor, are considered part of
the Quraan, and can be recited in prayer, but the last four types are not a part of the Quraan.
V. The Authentic Qiraaat and the Qaarees
Now that the various types of qiraaat have been discussed in detail, it is time to look at the ten
authentic qiraaat, and the Qaarees whom they are named after. 443 The first seven are the ones
that Aboo Bakr ibn Mujaahid (d. 324 A.H.) preserved in his book, and which ash-Shaatibee (d.
548 A.H.) versified in his famous poem known as ash-Shaatibiyyah.
1) Naafi al-Madanee:
He is Naafi ibn Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abee Naeem al-Laythee, originally from an Isfahanian
family. He was one of the major scholars of qiraaat during his time. He was born around 70
A.H., in Madeenah, and passed away in the same city at the age of 99, in 169 A.H. He learnt the
Quraan from over seventy Successors, including Aboo Jafar Yazeed ibn al-Qaqa (d. 130
A.H.), who took his recitation from Aboo Hurayrah, who took his recitation from Ubay ibn
Kaab, who took his recitation from the Prophet (PBUH). After the era of the Successors, he was
taken as the cheif Qaaree of Madeenah. Eventually his qiraaa was adopted by the people of
Madeenah.
Among his students was Imaam Maalik (d. 179 A.H.). Imaam Maalik used to recite the Quraan
in the qiraaa of Naafi, and he used to say, Indeed, the qiraaa of Naafi is the Sunnah, 444
meaning that this qiraaa was the most liked by him.
The two students who preserved his qiraaa are:

30
i) Qaloon: He is Eesaa ibn Meena az-Zarqee (120-220 A.H.). He was the stepson of Naafi, and
lived his whole life in Madeenah. After Naafi died, he took over his position as the leading
Qaaree of Madeenah.
ii) Warsh: He is Aboo Saeed Uthmaan ibn Saeed al-Misree (110-197 A.H.). He lived in Egypt,
but travelled to Madeenah in 155 A.H. to study under Naafi, and recited the Quraan to him
many times. Eventually, he returned to Egypt, and became the leading Qaaree of Egypt.
2) Ibn Katheer al-Makkee:
He is Abd Allaah ibn Katheer ibn Umar al-Makkee, born in Makkah in 45 A.H. and died 120
A.H. He was among the generation of the Successors (he met some Companions, such as Anas
ibn Maalik and Abdullaah ibn az-Zubayr), and learnt the Quraan from the early Successors,
such as Abee Saaib, Mujaahid ibn Jabr (d. 103 A.H.), and Darbaas, the slave of Ibn Abbaas.
Darbaas learnt the Quraan from Ibn Abbaas, who learnt it from Zayd ibn Thaabit and Ubay ibn
Kaab, who both learnt it from the Prophet (PBUH).
Imaam ash-Shaafiee (d. 204 A.H.) used to recite the qiraaa of Ibn Katheer, 445 and once
remarked, We were taught the qiraaa of Ibn Katheer, and we found the people of Makkah upon
his qiraaa. 446
The two primary Qaarees who preserved his qiraaa are:
i) al-Buzzee: He is Abul Hasan Ahmad ibn Buzzah al-Makkee (170-250 A.H.). He was the
muadh-dhin at the Masjid al-Haraam at Makkah, and the leading Qaaree of Makkah during his
time.
ii) Qumbul: He is Aboo Amr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahmaan (195-291 A.H.). He was the
leading Qaaree of the Hijaaz. He was also one of the teachers of Aboo Bakr ibn Mujaahid (d.
324 A.H.), the author of Kitaab al-Qiraaat.
3) Aboo Amr al-Basree:
He is Zabaan ibn al-Alaa ibn Ammaar al-Basree. He was born in 69 A.H. and passed away in
154 A.H. He was born in Makkah, but grew up in Basrah. He studied the Quraan under many
of the Successors, among them Aboo Jafar (d. 130 A.H.), and Aboo al-Aaliyah (d. 95 A.H.),
who learnt from Umar ibn al-Khattaab and other Companions, who learnt from the Prophet
(PBUH).
The two primary Qaarees who preserved his qiraaa are:
i) ad-Doori: He is Hafs ibn Umar ad-Doori (195-246 A.H.). He was one of the first to compile
different qiraaat , notwithstanding the fact that he was blind.
ii) as-Soosee: He is Aboo Shuayb Saalih ibn Ziyaad as-Soosee (171-261 A.H.). he taught the
Quraan to Imaam an-Nasaaee (d. 303 A.H.), of Sunan fame.
4) Ibn Aamir ash-Shaamee:

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He is Abdullaah ibn Aamir al-Yahsabee, born in 21 A.H. He lived his life in Damascus, which
was the capital of the Muslim empire in those days. He met some of the Companions, and
studied the Quraan under the Companion Aboo ad-Dardaa, and al-Mugheerah ibn Abee
Shihaab. He was the Imaam of the Ummayad Mosque (the primary mosque in Damascus)
during the time of Umar ibn Abd al-Azeez (d. 103 A.H.), and was well-known for his
recitation. Among the seven Qaarees, he has the highest chain or narrators (i.e., least number of
people between him and the Prophet (PBUH)), since he studied directly under a Companion. He
was also Chief Judge of Damascus. His qiraaa became accepted by the people of Syria, He died
on the day of Aashoora, 447 118 A.H.
The two primary Qaarees who preserved his qiraaa are:
i) Hishaam: He is Hishaam ibn Ammaar as-Damishqee (153-245 A.H.). He was well-known for
his recitation, and his knowledge of hadeeth and fiqh, and was one of the teachers of Imaam atTirmidhee (d. 279 A.H.).
ii) Ibn Zhakwan: He is Abdullaah ibn Ahmad ibn Zhakwan (173-242 A.H.). He was also the
Imaam of the Ummayad Mosque during his time.
5) Aasim al-Koofee:
He is Aasim ibn Abee Najood al-Koofee, from among the Successors. He was the most
knowledgable person in recitation during his time, and took over the position of Imaam of the
Qaarees in Koofah, after the death of Aboo Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sulamee (d. 75 A.H.). He
learnt the Quraan from Aboo Abd ar-Rahmaan (who studied under Alee ibn Abee Taalib, and
was the teacher of al-Hasan and al-Husayn), and from Zirr ibn Hubaysh (d. 83 A.H.) and Aboo
Amr ash-Shaybaanee (d. 95 A.H.). These learnt the Quraan from Ubay ibn Kaab, Uthmaan
ibn Affaan, Alee ibn Abee Taalib, and Zayd ibn Thaabit, who all learnt from the Prophet
(PBUH). He passed away 127 A.H.
He taught the Quraan to Imaam Aboo Haneefah (d. 150 A.H.), who used to recite in the qiraaa
of Aasim. Imaam Ahmad ibn Hambal (d. 204 A.H.) was once asked, Which of the qiraaat do
you prefer? He replied, The qiraaa of Madeenah (i.e., Naafi), but if this is not possible, then
Aasim. 448
His two students who preserved his qiraaa are:
i) Shuba: He is Shuba ibn Iyaash al-Koofee, born 95 A.H. and passed away 193 A.H.
ii) Hafs: He is Aboo Amr Hafs ibn Sulaymaan al-Asadee al-Koofee (90-180 A.H.), a step-son
of Aasim. He was the most knowledgable person of the qiraaa of Aasim.
6) Hamzah al-Koofee:
He is Hamzah ibn Habeeb al-Koofee, born 80 A.H. He met some of the Companions, and learnt
the Quraan from al-Amash (d. 147 A.H.), Jafar as-Saadiq (d. 148 A.H.) (the great-grandson of
Husayn), and others. His qiraaa goes back to the Prophet (PBUH) through Alee ibn Abee
Taalib and Abdullaah ibn Masood. he passed away 156 A.H.
The two primary Qaarees through whom his qiraaa is preserved are:

32
i) Khalaf: He is Khalaf ibn Hishaam al-Baghdaadee (150-227 A.H.). He memorised the Quraan
when he was ten years old.
He also has his own qiraaa, different from the one he preserved from Hamzah (see below).
ii) Khallaad: He is Aboo Eesaa Khallaad ibn Khaalid ash-Shaybaanee. he was born 119 A.H.
and passed away 220 A.H.
7) Al-Kisaaee
He is Alee ibn Hamzah ibn Abdillaah, born around 120 A.H. He was the most knowledgable of
his contemporaries in Arabic Grammar, and is considered one of the classical scholars in this
field. He authored numerous books, and excelled in the sciences and recitation of the Quraan.
Students used to flock to him to listen to the entire Quraan, and they even used to record where
he stopped and started every verse. The Caliph Haroon ar-Rasheed used to hold him in great
esteem. He passed away 189 A.H.
His two primary students who preserved his qiraaa are:
i) al-Layth: he is al0Layth ibn Khaalid al-Baghdaadee. He died 240 A.H.
ii) ad-Dooree: He is the same ad-Dooree who is the student of Aboo Amr al-Basree (mentioned
above), for he studied and preserved both of these qiraaat.
These are the seven Qaarees whom Ibn Mujaahid compiled in his book Kitaab al-Qiraaat. Of
these, all are from non-Arab backgrounds except Ibn Aamir and Aboo Amr. The following
three Qaarees complete the ten authentic qiraaat.
8) Aboo Jafar al-Madanee:
He is Yazeed ibn al-Qaqa al-Makhzoomee, among the Successors. He is one of the teachers of
Imaam Naafi, and learnt the Quraan from Abdullaah ibn Abbaas, Aboo Hurayrah and others.
he passed away in 130 A.H.
His two primary students who preserved his qiraaa were Eesaa ibn Wardaan (d. 160 A.H.) and
Sulaymaan ibn Jamaz (d. 170 A.H.)
9) Yaqoob al-Basree:
He is Yaqoob ibn Ishaaq al-Hadhramee al-Basree. He became the Imaam of the Qaarees in
Basrah after the death of Aboo Amr ibn Alaa. he studied under Aboo al-Mundhir Salaam ibn
Sulaymaan. His qiraaa goes back to the Prophet (PBUH) through Aboo Moosaa al-Asharee.
He was initially considered among the seven major Qaarees by many of the early scholars, but
Ibn Mujaahid gave his position to al-Kisaaee instead. He passed away in 205 A.H.
His two primary students were Ruways (Muhammad ibn Muttawakil, d. 238 A.H.) and Rooh
(Rooh ibn Abd al-Mumin al-Basree, d. 235 A.H.), who was one of the teachers of Imaam alBukhaaree (d. 256 A.H.).
10) Khalaf:

33
This is the same Khalaf that is one of the two students of Hamzah. He adopted a specific qiraaa
of his own, and is usually called Khalaf al-Aashir (the tenth Khalf).
His two primary students who preserved this qiraaa were Ishaaq (Ishaaq ibn Ibraaheem ibn
Uthmaan, d. 286 A.H.) and Idrees (Idrees ibn Abd al-Kareem al-Baghdaadee, d. 292 A.H.)
All of these ten qiraaat have authentic, mutawaatir chains of narration back to the Prophet
(PBUH). Each qiraaa is preserved through two students of the Imaam of that qiraaa. Of course,
these Qaarees had more than just two students; the reason that the qiraaat are preserved through
only two is that Aboo Amr Uthmaan ibn Saeed (d. 444), better known as Imaam ad-Daanee,
selected and preserved the recitation of the two best students of each Qaaree in his book, Kitaab
at-Tayseer fee al-Qiraaat as-Saba. These two students are each called Raawis (narrators), and
they occasionally differ from each other. Thus, although other Raawis also narrated each qiraaa,
only the recitation of two main Raawis have been preserved in such detail. References to the
recitation of other Raawis are, however, to be found in the classical works of qiraaat.
These Raawis learnt the qiraaa from their Imaam, and each preserved some of the variations of
the recitation of the Qaaree. Sometimes, the Qaaree taught different qiraaat to each Raawi. Hafs
quoted Aasim as saying that the qiraaa he taught him was that of Aboo Abd al-Rahmaan asSulamee (d. 70 A.H.) from Alee ibn Abee Taalib, while the one that he taught Aboo Bakr ibn
Iyaash (i.e., Shuba, the other Raawi of Aasim) was that of Zirr ibn Hubaysh (d. 83 A.H.) from
Ibn Masood. 449
However, typically the variations between the Raawis are minor when compared to the
differences between the qiraaat themselves (although usually there are differences in the rules
of tajweed of the Raawis). For example, Shuba and Hafs differ from each other in around forty
places in the whole Quraan. 450 To preserve even these differences, however, the qiraaat are
always mentioned including the Raawis. So, when someone recites the qiraaat of Naafi, for
example, he should mention whether it is through Warsh or Qaloon (for example, by saying,
The qiraaat of Naafi through the riwaayah of Warsh, or, The qiraaa of Warsh an Naafi
for short). 451
Most of the time, these students, who were Qaarees in their own right, studied directly under the
Qaaree whose qiraaa it was. Thus, for example, Warsh and Qaloon both studied under Imaam
Naafi, as did Shubah and Hafs with Imaam Aasim. However, sometimes, there was an
intermediary (or even two) between these students and the Imaam. When this occured, as for
example with Ibn Katheer, the intermediary was not mentioned above, so as not to prolong the
discussion. The interested reader may consult any of the references mentioned in the beginning
of this section.
There are four shaadh qiraaat (following the original defination above). These are not
considered as part of the Quraan, but maybe used as tafseer, and, according to some of the
madh-habs, as a basis for fiqh rulings as well. 452 The Qaarees whom they are named after are:
1) al-Hasan al-Basree: This is the famous Successor, Hasan ibn Abee al-Hasan Yassaar Aboo
Saeed al-Basree. He passed away 110 A.H.
2) Ibn Muhaysin: He is Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahmaan as-Suhaymee al-Makkee. He was one
of the Chief Qaarees of Makkah, along with Ibn Katheer. He passed away 123 A.H.

34
3) Yahya al-Yazeedee: He is Yahya ibn al-Mubaarak ibn al-Mugheerah. He passed away 202
A.H.
4) al-Shamboozee: He is Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibraaheem al-Shamboozee. He passed
away 388 A.H.
These four qiraaat contain most of the qiraaat that were recited by the Companions and did not
conform to the mus-haf of Uthmaan. Of course, these four qiraaat did not contradict the mushaf of Uthmaan in every single verse; only occasionally is there a conflict.
VI. The Qiraat Today
The qiraaat were once a vital part of the Muslim ummah, and each part of the Muslim world
used to recite according to one of the qiraaat. Not surprisingly, the people of a particular city
would recite in the qiraaa of the Qaaree of that city. Thus, for example, Makkee ibn Abee Taalib
(d. 437 A.H.) reported, in the third century of the hijrah, that the people of Basra followed the
recitation of Aboo Amr, those of Koofah followed Aasim, the Syrians followed Ibn Aamir,
Makkah took after Ibn Katheer, and Madeenah followed Naafi.
Eventually, however, most of the other qiraaat died out and were replaced by other ones. Thus,
the situation today is that the vast majority of the Muslim world recites only the qiraaa of
Aasim through the riwaya of Hafs (Hafs an Aasim). However, there are certain areas in the
world where other qiraaat are prevalent, and a rough breakdown is as follows:
This is obviously a rough very breakdown, based on the population in these respective countries.
453
The qiraaat today are as a whole only memorisedin specialised institutions of higher learning
throughout the Muslim world (or, a student may study privately under a scholar who has
memorised these qiraaat). A student of the Quraan who wishes to memorise the qiraaat must,
of course, have already memorised the entire Quraan in atleast one qiraaa. There are two
primary ways of memorising these qiraaat, and both involve memorising lengthy poems that
detail the rules of recitation (tajweed) of each qiraaa, and the differences between them.
The first way is to memorise the Shaatibiyyah (its actual name is Hirz al-Amaanee wa Wajh atTahaanee), which is a poem consisting of 1173 couplets, written by Imaam Qaasim ibn Ahmad
ash-Shaatibee (d. 548 A.H.), and then to memorise the Durrah (short for ad-Durrah alMadhiyyah) by Muhammad Ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832 A.H.). The first poem deals with the first
seven qiraaat. After a student of the Quraan has memorised this, he then moves on to the
second poem, which deals with the last three qiraaat. This is the primary method by which the
qiraaat are taught throughout the Muslim world.
The second method is to learn all ten qiraaat simultaneously, by memorising the Tayyibah
(short for Tayyibah an-Nashr fil Qiraaat al-Ashr), which is a poem that deals with all ten
qiraaat , also by Muhammad ibn al-Jazaree. 454
VII. The Relationship of the Ahruf with the Qiraaat
The relationship of the ahruf with the authentic qiraaat must by essence depend upon what the
definition of ahruf is, and whether one believes that the ahruf are still in existence today.

35
Therefore, the scholars of Islaam have defined this relationship depending upon their respective
definitions of the ahruf. The three major opinions on this issue are as follows: 455
1) The opinion of Imaam at-Tabaree (d. 310 A.H.), Ibn Abd al-Barr (d. 463 A.H.), and others, is
that all the authentic qiraaat are based upon one harf of the Quraan. This is because, as was
mentioned in the last chapter, they hold that the mus-haf of Uthmaan eliminated the other six
ahruf and preserved only one harf.
However, this opinion does not seem very strong, since, if the origin of all of the authentic
qiraaat is one harf, then where do all the differences between the qiraaat originate from? In
addition, as was mentioned in the previous chapter, the opinion that only one harf has been
preserved does not seem to be the strongest.
2) The opinion of al-Baaqillaani (d. 403 A.H.) and a few scholars is that all of the seven ahruf
are preserved in the qiraaat, such that each harf is found scattered throughout the qiraaat.
Therefore, there is no single qiraaat that corresponds exactly to any one harf, but each qiraaa
represents various ahruf such that, in the sum total of the qiraaat, the ahruf are preserved.
This opinion also is based upon these scholars belief that all of the ahruf have been preserved.
This opinion seems like a strong opinion, except for the fact that there exists many narrations in
which the Companions used to recite differently from any of the present qiraaat (these are today
present in the shaadh qiraaat). It seems that they were reciting a peculiar harf of the Quraan,
but this was not preserved in the qiraaat. 456
3) The opinion of Makkee ibn Abee Taalib (d. 437 A.H.), Ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832 A.H.), Ibn Hajr
(d. 852 A.H.), as-Suyootee, and others, and the one that is perhaps the strongest, is that the
qiraaat represent portions of the seven ahruf, but not all of the seven ahruf in totality. The
differences between the qiraaat, even the most minute of differences, originate from the seven
ahruf, but not every difference between the seven ahruf is preserved in the qiraaat. This goes
back to our position on the existence of the ahruf today: that they exist inasmuch as the script of
the mus-haf of Uthmaan allows them to. In the last chapter, the methodology that the
Companions used to decide which ahruf to preserve was discussed. Those ahruf that were
preserved are the ones that are in existence today, through the variations in the qiraaat.
To summarise the last two chapters, we quote Makkee ibn Abee Taalib (d. 437 A.H.), who
wrote,
When the Prophet (PBUH) died, many of the Companions went to the newly conquered
territories of the Muslims, and this was during the time of Aboo Bakr and Umar. They taught
them the recitation of the Quraan and the fundamentals of the religion. Each Companions
taught his particular area the recitation that he had learnt from the Prophet (PBUH) (i.e., the
various ahruf). Therefore the recitations of these territories differed based on the differences of
the Companions.
Now, when Uthmaan ordered the writing of the mus-hafs, and sent them to the new provinces,
and ordered them to follow it and discard all other readings, each of the territories continued to
recite the Quraan the same way that they had done so before the mus-haf had reached them, as
long as it conformed to the mus-haf. If their recitation differed with the mus-haf, they left that
recitation

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This new recitation was passed on from the earlier generations to the later ones, until it reached
these seven Imaams 457 (Qaarees) in the same form, and they differed with each other based
upon the differences of the people of the territories - none of whom differed with the mus-haf
that Uthmaan had sent to them. This, therefore, is the reason that the Qaarees have differed with
each other 458
Therefore, the differences in the qiraaat are ramnants of the differences in the way that the
Prophet (PBUH) taught the recitation of the Quraan to the different Companions, and these
differences were among the seven ahruf of the Quraan which Allaah reevaled to the Prophet
(PBUH). Thus, the ten authentic qiraaat preserve the final recitation that the Prophet (PBUH)
recited to Jibreel - in other words, the qiraaat are manifestations of the remaining ahruf of the
Quraan.
VIII. The Benefits of the Qiraaat
Since the qiraaat are based on the ahruf, many of the benefits of the qiraaat overlap with those
of the ahruf. Some of the benefits are as follows.
1) The facilitation of the memorisation of the Quraan. This includes not only differences in
pronunciations that the different Arab tribes were used to, but also the differences in words and
letters.
2) Proof that the Quraan is a revelation from Allaah, for notwithstanding the thousands of
differences between the qiraaat, not a single difference is contradictory.
3) Proof that the Quraan has been preserved exactly, as all of these qiraaat have been recited
with a direct, authentic, mutawaatir chain of narrators back to the Prophet (PBUH).
4) A further indication of the miraculous nature (ijaaz) of the Quraan, because these qiraaat
add to the meaning and beauty of the Quraan in a complementary manner, as shall be shown in
the next section.
5) The removal of any stagnation that might exist with regards to the text of the Quraan. In
other words, there exist various ways and methodologies of recitaing the Quraan that are
different from each other in pronunciation and meaning, and thus the text remains vibrant and
never becomes monotonous. 459
IX. Some Examples of the Different Qiraaat
It is appropriate to conclude this chapter by quoting various verses that demonstrate some of the
differences in the qiraaat, with a discussion of the various meanings. 460 Four verses were
chosen, the first of which deals belief, the second and third with stories, and the last with laws.
In each verse, it will be seen that, far fromcontradicting each other, the qiraaat taken together
add much deeper meanings and connotations than any one of them individually. In fact, the
various readings between the qiraaat are considered - in terms of extracting rulings from verses
- as two seperate verses, both of which must be looked into, and neither of which can abrogate
the other.
The scholars of this century, Muhammad Ameen ash-Shanqeetee (d. 1393 A.H.), said in his
famous tafseer, Adwaa al-Bayaan, In the event that the different qiraaat seem to give

37
contradictory rulings, they are considered as different verses 461 meaning that both of them
must be taken into account for the final ruling to be given. This same principal applies in verses
that deal with stories or belief, as the example below will show.
1) Soorah Faatihah, verse 4.
The first reading, that of Aasim and al-Kisaaee, is maaliki yawm ad-deen. This is the recitation
that most of the readers will be familiar with. The word maalik means master, owner, and is
one of the Names of Allaah. The emaning of this name when attributed to Allaah is that Allaah is
the one who Possesses and Owns all of the Creation, and therefore He has full right to do as He
pleases with His creation, and He has the power to do what He pleases with His creation, and no
one can stop or question Him.
The verse therefore translates, The Only Owner of the Day of Judgement. This name (maalik)
is also mentioned in,
Say: O Allaah! Maalik (Possessor) of (all) Kingdoms! (Qur n, 3:26)
Allaah is the Owner who Possesses all things, and on the Day of Judgement, He will Own
Rulership and Kingship. As Allaah says,
The sovereignty on that day (i.e., the Day of Judgement) will be the true (sovereignty),
belonging to the Most Beneficent (Qurn, 25:26)
If Allaah is the only Maalik on the Day of Judgement, this automatically implies that He is the
Maalik before the Day of Judgement also, since the one who is the Maalik on that day must be
the Maalik of all that was before that Day!
The second reading, that of Naafi, Aboo Amr, Ibn Aamar, Ibn Katheer and Hamzah, is maliki
yawm ad-deed, without the alif. The word malik means, king, sovereign, monarch, and is
also one of the Names of Allaah. This also has the connotation of the one who has power to
judge. A king (Malik) possesses not only wealth and property (like a Maalik), but also the
authority to rule, judge and command. The verse therefore translates, The King (and the Only
Ruling Judge) of the Day of Judgement. Malik, as one of the names of Allaah, is mentioned in
the Quraan:
the King (Qurn, 59:23)
and also
The King of men (Qurn, 114:2)
The name of Allh Malik is a description of Allaah (i.e., sifah dhaatiyyah), since He is The
King; whereas the name Maalik is a description of Allaah and His actions (i.e., sifah
filiyyah), since He is The Owner of all of His creation. 462
It can be seen that the two readings increase the overall meaning of the verse, each giving a
connotation not given by the other, and thus increasing the beauty and eloquence of the verse.

38
The result of the two qiraaa is that Allaah is the Maalik on the Day of Judgement, and the
Malik. So on that Day, He will be the Owner (Maalik) of the Day of Judgement - no other
person will be an owner besides Him in Judgement, even though they might have been owners
of judgement in this world. And Allaah is the King (Malik) of the Day of Judgement, besides all
else of His creation, who, in this world, were mighty and arrogant kingsso on this day, these
(kings) will know for sure that they are in reality the most humiliated of creation, and that the
true Might, and Power, and Glory and Kingship belongs only to Allaah, as Allaah, all Glory and
Praise be to Him, has said,
The Day when they will (all) come out, nothing of them will be hidden from Allaah. Whose is
the Kingdom on this day?! (Allaah Himself will reply:) It is Allhs, the Unique, the
Irresistible (Qurn, 40:16)
So, Allh has informed us that He is the Malik of the Day of Judgement, meaning that He is
the only one whom Kingship belongs to, besides all the kings and rulers of this world, and on
this day these kings and rulers will be in the greatest humiliation and disgrace, instead of their
(wordly) power and glory
And Allh has informed us that He is the Maalik of the Day of Judgement, meaning that He is
the only one whom Ownership belongs to. So, there is none that can pass judgements or rule on
that Day except Him. 463
2) Soorah al-Baqarah, verse 259.
This verse tells the story of a man who passed by a deserted town, and wondered how Allh
would ever bring it back to life. Thus, as a miracle for him, Allaah caused him to die for a
hundred years, then brought him back to life. Allaah also brought the mans donkey back to life
in front of his eyes.
The first reading of the relevant part of the verse, by al-Kisaaee, Ibn Aamir, Aasim and
Hamzah, is, kayfa nunshizuha. This is in reference to the resurrection of the donkey. The word
nunshizuha means, to cause to rise. The verse therefore translates , Look at the bones (of the
Donkey), how We raise them up, meaning, how We cause the bones to join one another and
stand up again (from the dust).
The second reading, by Aboo Amr, Naafi and Ibn Katheer, is, kayfa nunshiruha. The word
nunshiruha means, to bring to life, to resurrect. The verse then translates, how We
resurrect it and bring it back to life.
Again, both readings give different meanings, but put together these readings help form a more
complete picture. The bones of the donkey were raised up from the dust and resurrected
(meaning clothed with flesh) in front of the man. Each reading gives only a part of the picture,
but put together, a more graphic picture is given.
3) In the last portion of the same verse, the readings differ as follows:
The first reading, that of Naafi, Ibn Katheer, Aasim, Ibn Aamir and Aboo Amr, is Qaalaa
alamu ana Allaaha alaa kulli shayin qadeer. This translates as, He said, I (now) know that
Allaah is indeed capable of all things. This shows that, after this miraculous display, the man

39
finally believed that Allh could bring the dead back to life, and repented from his previous
statement.
The second reading, that of Hamzah and al-Kisaaee, is, Qala lam ana Allaaha which
translates as, It was said (to him): Know that Allaah is capable of all things. In this reading,
after the resurrection of the donkey was shown to him, he was ordered to believe that Allaah was
indeed All-Powerful.
Once again, each reading adds more meaning to the overall picture. After this miraculous
display, the man was commanded to know that Allaah is indeed capable of all things. He
responded to this command, and testified that, indeed, Allaah is capable of all things. 464
4) Soorah al-Maaidah, verse 6.
For the last example, it will be seen that even different fiqh ruling are given by the differences in
the qiraaat.
The relevant verse discusses the procedure for ablution (wudoo). In the reading of Naafi, Ibn
Aamir, al-Kisaaee and Hafs, the verse reads as follows: O you who believe! When you intend
to pray, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and (wash) your feet
up to the ankles The word feet is read arjulakum, and in this tense, it refers back to the verb
wash. Therefore, the actual washing of the feet is commanded, according to this recitation.
The remaining qiraaat pronounce the word arjulikum, in which case it refers back to the verb
wipe, so the verse would read, wash your faces and hands up to the elbows, and wipe your
hands and feet According to this recitation, washing is not obligatory, and wiping is
sufficient.
This is an apparent contradiction between the qiraaat. Does one wipe his feet (meaning pass
water over it, similar to how the head is wiped in ablution), or does one actually wash his feet
(like the hands and face are washed)? In fact, there is no contradiction whatsoever, for each
recitation applies to a different circumstance. In general, the ablution is performed by washing
the feet. However, if a person is wearing shoes or socks, and he had ablution before putting them
on, he is allowed - in fact even encouraged - to wipe over his feet, and is not obliged to wash
them. 465 Az-Zarkashee said, These two verses can be combined to understand that one
reading deals with wiping over the socks, while the second reading deals with washing the feet
(in case of not wearing socks). 466
Therefore, each of these recitations adds a very essential ruling concerning the ablution, and
there is no contradiction between them.
It can be seen from this section that the qiraaat are a part of the eloquence of the Quraan, and
form an integral factor in the miraculous nature of the Quraan. For indeed, what other book in
human history can claim the vitality that is displayed in the qiraaat - the subtle vatiations in
letters and words that change and complement the meaning of the verse, not only in story-telling
but also in beliefs and commands and prohibitions! To add to this miracle, all of these changes
originate from the one script of Uthmaan! Indeed, there can be no doubt the Quraan is the
ultimate miracle of the Prophet (PBUH).
Notes and References

40
415 Itr, p. 244
416 Wohaibee, p. 46
417 az-Zarqaanee, v.1, p. 404.
418 It should be kept in mind that this is a partial list and is far from exhaustive. Those who are
interested may consult Ubaydaat, p. 164, Qattaan, p. 170, and az-Zarqaanee, v.1, pps. 414-416.
419 Uwais, p. 16.
420 Ibn Mujaahid, p. 87.
421 Ibn al-Jazaree, p. 39.
422 This is very similar to what happened in the history of hadeeth. The reason that six
particular books of hadeeth (a-Bukhaaree, Muslim, Aboo Daawood, at-Tirmidhee, an-Nasaaee
and Ibn Maajah) are known as the Sihaah Sitta or the Six Authentic Books, is because of
one book on the Names of Narrators, Asmaa ar-Rijaal, written by Abd al-Ghanee al-Maqdisee
(d. 600 A.H.). Due to the throughness of this work, people started classifying these six books
separately from other works of hadeeth, and many considered these six books as authentic
(saheeh). This description, however, is only applicable on the two saheeh collection of alBukhaaree and Muslim; the rest of these works contain both authentic and inauthentic
ahaadeeth.
423 Ibn al-Jazaree, p. 9. I have paraphrased from the Arabic.
424 cf. az-Zarqaanee, v.1, p. 422.
425 He is Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Ishaaq az-Zujjaaj al-Nihawandee (d. 332), a noted Muslim
grammarian.
426 az-Zarkashee, Bahr, v.1, p. 471.
427 The qiraaa of Aasim and al-Kisaaee
428 The qiraaa of Warsh, Ibn Katheer, Ibn Aamir, Hamzah and Aboo Amr.
429 The qiraaa of Aasim, and others
430 The qiraaa of Naafi, and others
431 Ibn al-Jazaree, p. 13.
432 Makkee ibn Abee Taalib is quoted as having been the first to hold this opinion in all the
works that I have come across discussing this topic (also see, al-Qadhi, p. 8). However, I came
across another work of his entitled Kitaab al-Ibaanah an Maaani al-Qiraaat, in which he
clearly states that any qiraaa must be mutawaatir for it to be accepted. For example, on p. 43,
while discussing the shaadh qiraaat, he states, and the Quraan cannot be confirmed with an
ahaad narration; on p. 31, and this (i.e., taking a shaadh qiraaat) implies confirming the

41
Quraan with an ahaad narration, and this is not allowed by any of the people (of knowledge).
Elsewhere (p. 39), he clearly states concerning this opinion and this is the opinion we believe
and hold to. I did not see any of the other books that I read mention these quotes, so I do not
know whether this was his earlier opinion, or his later one, nor could I ascertain when he wrote
the book. In any case, further research must be done to ascertain whether this really was the final
opinion of Makkee ibn Abee Taalib.
433 al-Qadhi, p.8.
434 Uwais, p. 12, quoting from Ibn al-Jazarees Munjid al-Muqreen. Also, see Uwais
discussion on this point, pps. 11-14.
435 Other scholars make a differentiation between the Quraan and the qiraaat, and state that,
in order for the Quraan to be accepted, the narrations must be mutawaatir, but in order for a
qiraaa to be accepted, an ahaad narration will suffice. However, this differentiation does not
seem to solve the problem, for the qiraaat are the Quraan, and the Quraan is preserved in all
of the qiraaat. Therefore, if a qiraaa is substantiated as authentic, that automatically implies
that it is part of the Quraan.
436 This is not to say that there have not existed qiraaat that Arab grammarians have not found
fault with. There have been numerous attempts to prove various grammatical faults in the
qiraaat, but other grammarians have always proven that such readings do have grammatical
basis for them. cf. al-Qaaree, Abd al-Aziz: Hadith al-Ahruf as-Sabaah, in Majalah Kulliyah alQuraan al-Kareem, v. 1, 1983, p. 115, for examples.
437 al-Qaaree, p. 116, with paraphrasing. The addition in brackets are mine.
438 Qaasim ibn Ahmad as-Shaatibee (d. 590 A.H.) compiled the seven qiraaat of Aboo Bakr
ibn Mujaahid in a poem known as the Shaatibiyah to facilitate its memorisation.
439 as-Suyootee, v.1, p.82
440 Ubaydaat, p. 178
441 as-Suyootee, v.1, p. 102
442 cf. as-Suyootee, v.1, p. 102
443 All of the biographical information in this section, unless otherwise referenced, was taken
from al-Banna v.1, pps. 19-32, az-Zarqaanee, v.1, pps 456-477, and al-Haashimee, pps. 39-155.
444 al-Haashimee, p. 39
445 Hence his opinion of the origin of the word Quraan; cf, Ch.2, The meaning of the word
quraan.
446 al-Haashimee, p. 59
447 The tenth of Muharram

42
448 al-Haashimee, p. 116
449 Wohaibee, p. 106
450 Meaning that they differ from each other in forty words, but since these words occur a total
of around five hundred times in the Quraan, it might appear that their differences are many. cf.
al-Qaaree, p. 140
451 Actually, there is a third level of narration, below that of raawi, called tareeq (path). Each
raawi has two tareeqs. The differences between the turuq (pl. of tareeq) are negligible for our
purposes, concentrating mainly on where to stop, certain variations in the particulars of
pronunciation, etc. However, on some occasions there are noticeable differences. For example,
compare a Quraan printed in Pakistan (Taj Company, for example) and one printed in Saudi
Arabia or Egypt, and see 30:54. The difference in the words Dafin and Dufin are due to the
differences in the turuq of the qiraaa of Hafs an Aasim!
452 cf. az-Zarkashee, Bahr, pps, 474-480, for a discussion of this point.
453 The table was taken from al-Habash, p. 50. In this authors opinion, he has greatly
exaggerated the predominance of the qiraaa of Ibn Aamir; ad-Doorees percentage should also
be less; Qaloon should be more than 0.7%. In addition, Hafs is probably closer to 97 than 95%,
and Allaah knows best.
454 The Tayyibah is more advanced than the Shaatibiyyah-plus-Durrah combination, since Ibn
al-Jazaree recorded more differences between the various turuq than ash-Shaatibee did.
455 cf. Itr, pps. 346-357
456 See the chapter entitled, The Ahruf of the Quraan, for a discussion of the existence of the
ahruf today.
457 Actually, until it reached the ten Qaarees, and not just seven.
458 Ibn Abee Taalib, Abu Muhammad Makkee: Kitaab al-Ibaanah an Maani al-Qiraaat. ed.
Dr. Muhyi Ramadaan. Dar al-Mamoon li Thurath, Beirut, 1979, p. 39
459 This is not to imply that the Quraan would have become monotonous had the qiraaat not
existed, but rather that the different qiraaat are one of the factors that contribute to this
miraculous effect. Any person who has dealth with the qiraaat knows this feeling.
460 Many of the differences in the qiraaat do not affect the meaning of a verse, but rather
change only the pronunciation of certain vowels and letters. However, this section discusses
only those differences that result in a change in meaning.
461 Adwaa al-Bayaan, v. 6, p. 680
462 al-Hamood, p. 88
463 Baazmool, v. 1, p. 403

43
464 In this verse in particular, the ijaaz of the Quraan can be felt, for the very same verse is the
command and response!
465 See Fiqh as-Sunnah, v.1, pps. 44-46, for further details on this issue.
466 az-Zarkashee, v.2, p. 52
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