Qiraʼat

In Islam, Qirāʼah, (pl. Qiraʼat ) (Arabic: ‫ِق راءة‬‎, lit . 'recit at ions or readings') which are "different
linguist ic, lexical, phonet ic, morphological and synt act ical forms permit t ed wit h recit ing" t he
holy book of Islam, t he Quran.[1] Differences bet ween Qiraʼat are slight and include varying
rules regarding t he "prolongat ion, int onat ion, and pronunciat ion of words",[2] but also
differences in st ops,[Note 1] vowels,[Note 2] consonant s[Note 3] (leading t o different pronouns and
verb forms), and less frequent ly ent ire words.[Note 4] Qiraʼat also refers t o t he "branch of
Islamic st udies" t hat deals wit h t hese modes of recit at ion.[5]

There are t en different recognised schools of qiraʼat, each one deriving it s name from a
not ed Quran recit er or "reader" (qāriʾ pl. qāriʾūn or qurr'aʿ),[Note 5] such as Nafi‘ al-Madani, Ibn
Kat hir al-Makki, Abu Amr of Basra, Ibn Amir ad-Dimashqi, Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud, Hamzah az-
Zaiyyat , Al-Kisa'i.
While t hese readers lived in t he second and t hird cent ury of Islam, t he
scholar who approved t he first seven qira'at (Abu Bakr Ibn Mujāhid) lived a cent ury lat er, and
t he readings t hemselves have a chain of t ransmission (like hadit h) going back t o t he t ime of
Muhammad.[5] Consequent ly, t he readers/qurr'aʿ who give t heir name t o Qira'at are part of a
chain of t ransmit ion called a riwaya.[Note 6] The lines of t ransmission passed down from a
riwaya are called turuq, and t hose passsed down from a turuq are called wujuh.[3]

Qiraʼat should not be confused wit h Tajwid -- t he rules of pronunciat ion, int onat ion, and
caesuras of t he Quran. Each Qira'at has it s own Tajwid.[7] Qiraʼat are called readings or
recit at ions because t he Quran was originally spread and passed down orally, and t hough t here
was a writ t en t ext , it did not include most vowels or dist inguish bet ween many consonant s,
allowing for much variat ion.[8] (Qiraʼat now each have t heir own t ext in modern Arabic
script .)[Note 7]Qira'at are also somet imes confused wit h Ahruf—bot h being variant s of t he
Quran wit h "unbroken chain(s) of t ransmission" (Muslims believe) going "back t o t he
Prophet ",[2] and bot h oft en said t o have seven different variet ies.[9] There are mult iple views
on t he nat ure of t he ahruf and how t hey relat e t o t he qira'at, a common one being t hat caliph
Ut hman eliminat ed all but one variet y of ahruf somet ime in t he mid-7t h cent ury CE.[10] The
seven readings, or Qira'at, were select ed lat er and canonized in t he 9-10t h cent ury CE.[11]

Even aft er cent uries of Islamic scholarship, t he variant s of t he Qira'at have been said t o
cont inue "t o ast ound and puzzle" Islamic scholars (by Ammar Khat ib and Nazir Khan),[2] and
along wit h Ahruf make up "t he most difficult t opics" in Quranic st udies (according t o Abu
Ammaar Yasir Qadhi).[12] Qira'at may also seem t o conflict wit h t he doct rine t hat t he Quran
"exist s exact ly as it had been revealed t o t he Prophet ; not a word - nay, not a dot of it - has
been changed", which many Muslims assume means t here must be only one reading of t he
Quran.[13]

The maṣḥaf Quran t hat is in "general use" t hroughout almost all t he Muslim world t oday,[Note 8]
is a 1924 Egypt ian edit ion based on t he Qira'at "reading of Ḥafṣ on t he aut horit y of `Asim",
(Ḥafṣ being t he Rawi, or "t ransmit t er", and `Asim being t he Qari or "reader").[15]

History

According t o Islamic belief, t he Qur'an is recorded in t he preserved t ablet in heaven (al-lawh

al-mahfooz),[16] and was revealed t o t he prophet Muhammad by t he angel Gabriel.

Quranic orthography

*Rasm -- also called "consonantal skeleton" -- (example in black) was the only script found in the earliest surviving
fragments of the Quran. Most variations of the Quran that had different rasm were found in Ahruf variants.[17]

*I‘jām or nuqat al-I'jam (examples in red) was added in later Arabic (possibly around 700 CE)[18] so that letters (mostly
consonants, such as these five letters ‫ـبـ ـتـ ـثـ ـنـ ـيـ‬ ; y, n, th, t, b) could be distinguished.

*Ḥarakāt or nuqaṭ ali'rab (examples in blue) indicate other vocalizations -- short vowels, nunization, glottal stops, long
consonants. Variations among Qira'at mostly involve harakat.
Early manuscript s of t he Qur’ān did not use diacrit ics eit her for vowels (Ḥarakāt) or t o
dist inguish t he different values of t he rasm (I‘jām') [see t he graphic t o t he right ], -- or at
least used t hem "only sporadically and insufficient ly t o creat e a complet ely unambiguous
t ext ".[8] These early manuscript s included t he "official" copy of t he Quran creat ed by ‘Ut hman,
according t o t he Saudi Salafi websit e IslamQA:

When ‘Uthmaan made copies of the Qur’aan, he did so according to

one style (harf), but he omitted the dots and vowel points so that
some other styles could also be accommodated. So the Mus'haf that
was copied in his time could be read according to other styles, and
whatever styles were accommodated by the Mus'haf of ‘Uthmaan
remained in use, and the styles that could not be accommodated fell
into disuse. The people had started to criticize one another for
reciting differently, so ‘Uthmaan united them by giving them one
style of the Qur’aan.[9]

Gradual st eps were t aken t o improve t he ort hography of t he Quran, in t he first cent ury wit h
dot s t o dist inguish similarly-shaped consonant s (predecessors t o i‘jām), followed by marks
(t o indicat e different vowels, like ḥarakāt) and nunat ion in different -coloured ink from t he
t ext (Abu'l Aswad ad-Du'alî (d. 69 AH/688 CE). (Not relat ed t o t he colours used in t he graphic
t o t he right .) Lat er t he different colours were replaced wit h marks used in writ t en Arabic
t oday.

According t o Islam Quest ion and Answer websit e, point s/dot s t o dist inguish consonant s
were added t o t he Quran during t he era of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, by t he
"knowledgeable, right eous, pious" scholars Nasr ibn ‘Aasim al-Layt hi and Yahya ibn Ya’mar
al-‘Adwaani.[19]

Recitations

In t he meant ime, before t he variat ions were finally commit t ed ent irely t o writ ing, t he Quran
was preserved by recit at ion from one generat ion t o t he next . Doing t he recit ing were
prominent recit ers of a st yle of narrat ion who had memorized t he Quran (known as hafiz).
According t o Csaba Okvát h,

It was during the period of the Successors [i.e. the generation of

Muslims succeeding the companions of Muhammad ] and shortly
thereafter that exceptional reciters became renowned as teachers of
 Qur'anic recitation in cities like Makkah, Madina, Kufa, Basra, and
greater Syria (al-Sham). They attracted students from all over the
expanding Muslim state and their modes of recitations were then
attached to their names. It is therefore commonly said that [for
example] he recites according to the reading of Ibn Kathir or Nafi';
this, however, does not mean that these reciters [Ibn Kathir or Nafi]
are the originators of these recitations, their names have been
attached to the mode of recitation simply because their rendition of
the Prophetic manner of recitation was acclaimed for authenticity
and accuracy and their names became synonymous with these
Qur'anic recitations. In fact, their own recitation goes back to the
Prophetic mode of recitation through an unbroken chain.[20][2]

Each recit er had variat ions in t heir t ajwid rules and occasional words in t heir recit at ion of t he
Qur'an are different or of a different morphology (form of t he word) wit h t he same root .
Scholars differ on why t here are different recit at ions (see below).
Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley
gives an example of a line of t ransmission of recit at ion "you are likely t o find ... in t he back of
a Qur'an" from t he Warsh harf, going backwards from Warsh all t he way t o Allah himself:

"'t he riwaya of Imam Warsh from Nafi' al-Madini from Abu Ja'far Yazid ibn al-Qa'qa' from
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas from Ubayy ibn Ka'b from t he Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, from Jibril, peace be upon him, from t he Creat or.'"[21]

Aft er Muhammad's deat h t here were many qira'at , from which 25 were described by Abu
'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam t wo cent uries aft er Muhammad's deat h. The seven qira'at
readings which are current ly not able were select ed in t he fourt h cent ury by Abu Bakr Ibn
Mujahid (died 324 AH, 936 CE) from prominent recit ers of his t ime, t hree from Kufa and one
each from Mecca, Medina, and Basra and Damascus.[22] Lat er, t hree more recit at ions were
cannonized for t en. (The first seven readers named for a qiraa recit at ion died un/readers of
t he recit at ions lived in t he second and t hird cent ury of Islam. (Their deat h dat es span from
118 AH t o 229 AH).

Each recit er recit ed t o t wo narrat ors whose narrat ions are known as riwaya (t ransmissions)
and named aft er it s primary narrat or (rawi, singular of riwaya).[Note 9] Each rawi has turuq
(t ransmission lines) wit h more variant s creat ed by not able st udent s of t he mast er who
recit ed t hem and named aft er t he st udent of t he mast er. Passed down from Turuq are wujuh:
t he wajh of so-and-so from t he tariq of so-and-so. There are about t went y riwayat and
eight y turuq.[3]
In t he 1730s, Quran t ranslat or George Sale not ed seven principal edit ions of t he Quran, "t wo
of which were published and used at Medina, a t hird at Mecca, a fourt h at Cufa, a fift h at
Basra, a sixt h in Syria, and a sevent h called t he common edit ion " He st at es t hat "t he chief
disagreement bet ween t heir several edit ions of t he Koran, consist s in t he division and
number of t he verses."[24]

Reciting

Some of t he prominent recit ers and scholars in Islamic hist ory who worked wit h Qiraʼat as an
Ilm al-Din" (Islamic science) are:[5]

Abu Ubaid al-Qasim bin Salam (774 - 838 CE) was t he first t o develop a recorded science for
t ajwid (a set of rules for t he correct pronunciat ion of t he let t ers wit h all t heir qualit ies and
applying t he various t radit ional met hods of recit at ion), giving t he rules of t ajwid names and
put t ing it int o writ ing in his book called al-Qiraat. He wrot e about 25 recit ers, including t he 7
mut awat ir recit ers.[25] He made t he recit at ion, t ransmit t ed t hrough recit ers of every
generat ion, a science wit h defined rules, t erms, and enunciat ion.[26][27]

Abu Bakr Ibn Mujāhid (859 - 936 CE) wrot e a book called Kitab al-Sab’ fil-qirā’āt. He is t he first
t o limit t he number of recit ers t o t he seven known. Some scholars, such as Ibn al-Jazari, t ook
t his list of seven from Ibn Mujahid and added t hree ot her recit ers (Abu Ja’far from Madinah,
Ya’qub from Basrah, and Khalaf from Kufa) t o form t he canonical list of t en.[25][2]

Imam Al-Shat ibi (1320 - 1388 CE) wrot e a poem out lining t he t wo most famous ways passed
down from each of seven st rong imams, known as ash-Shatibiyyah. In it , he document ed t he
rules of recit at ion of Naafi’, Ibn Kat heer, Abu ‘Amr, Ibn ‘Aamir, ‘Aasim, al-Kisaa’i, and Hamzah. It
is 1173 lines long and a major reference for t he seven qira’aat .[28]

Ibn al-Jazari (1350 - 1429 CE) wrot e t wo large poems about Qira'at and t ajwid. One was
Durrat Al-Maa'nia (Arabic: ‫الدرة المعنية‬‎) , in t he readings of t hree major recit ers, added t o t he
seven in t he Shat ibiyyah, making it t en. The ot her is Tayyibat An-Nashr (Arabic: ‫طيبة النشر‬‎),
which is 1014 lines on t he t en major recit ers in great det ail, of which he also wrot e a
comment ary.

The readings

Criteria for Categorization

All accept ed qira'at (according t o t he Yaqeen Inst it ut e for Islamic Research) follow t hree
basic rules:
 1. Conformit y t o t he consonant al skelet on of t he Ut hmānic codex.

2. Consist ency wit h Arabic grammar.

3. Aut hent ic chain of t ransmission.

The qira'at t hat do not meet t hese condit ions are called shaadhdh (anomalous/irregular/odd).
The ot her recit at ions report ed from companions t hat differ from t he Ut hmānic codex may
represent an abrogat ed or abandoned ḥarf, or a recit at ion cont aining word alt erat ions for
comment ary or for facilit at ion for a learner. It is not permissible t o recit e t he shaadhdh
narrat ions in prayer, but t hey can be st udied academically.[2]

The seven qira'at

According t o Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley and Quran eLearning, "t he seven qira’at of ibn
Mujahid" are mutawatir ("a t ransmission which has independent chains of aut horit ies so wide
as t o rule out t he possibilit y of any error and on which t here is consensus").[3][29]
The seven readers and their transmitters
Qari (reader) Rawi (transmitter)

Full
Name Born Died Details Name Born Died Full name Details
name

220 Abu Musa,

120 AH 'Isa Ibn Client of
Qalun
AH (835 Mina al- Bani Zuhrah
Persian CE)[11] Zarqi
wit h
Ibn 'Abd
root s
ar-
from
169 Rahman
Isfahan. Is
Nafi‘ al- 70 AH Ibn Abi
commonly
Madani AH (785 Na'im,
confused
CE)[11] Abu
wit h Nafi'
Ruwaym 197
t he 'Ut hman Egypt ian;
al-Layt hi 110 AH
mawla of Warsh Ibn Sa'id al- client of
AH (812
Ibn Umar. Qut bi Quraysh
CE)[11]

Ahmad Ibn
Muhammad
250
Ibn
170 AH
Al-Bazzi 'Abdillah, Persian
'Abdullah, AH (864
120 Abu al-
Ibn Abu CE)[11]
45 AH Hasan al-
Kat hir al- Ma'bad Persian
AH (738 Buzzi
Makki al-'At t ar
CE)[11] Muhammad
al-Dari 291
Ibn 'Abd ar- Meccan and
195 AH
Qunbul Rahman, al- Makhzumi
AH (904
Makhzumi, (by loyalt y)
CE)[11]
Abu 'Amr
Abu 'Amr 68 154 Zuban Al-Duri 150 246 Abu 'Amr, Grammarian
Ibn al- AH AH Ibn al- AH AH Hafs Ibn blind
'Ala' (770 'Ala' at - (860 'Umar Ibn
[11] [11]
CE) Tamimi CE) 'Abd al-
al- 'Aziz al-
Mazini, Baghdadi
al-Basri Abu
Shu'ayb,
Salih Ibn
261
Ziyad Ibn
AH
Al-Susi ? 'Abdillah
(874
Ibn Isma'il
CE)[11]
Ibn al-
Jarud ar-
Riqqi

Abu al-
Walid,
Hisham ibn
245
'Abdullah 'Ammar Ibn
153 AH
Ibn 'Amir Hisham Nusayr Ibn
AH (859
Ibn Yazid Maysarah
118 CE)[11]
Ibn Amir Ibn al-Salami
AH
ad- 8 AH Tamim al-
(736
Dimashqi Ibn Dimashqi
CE)[11]
Rabi'ah Abu 'Amr,
al- 242 'Abdullah
Yahsibi Ibn 173 AH Ibn Ahmad
Dhakwan AH (856 al-Qurayshi
CE)[11] al-
Dimashqi

Aasim ? 127 Abu Bakr, Persian Abu Bakr,

ibn Abi AH 'Aasim ('Asadi by 193 Shu'bah Ibn
al-Najud (745 Ibn Abi loyalt y) 95 AH 'Ayyash Ibn Nahshali (by
Shu'bah
CE)[11] al-Najud AH (809 Salim al- loyalt y)
al-'Asadi CE)[11] Kufi an-
Nahshali

Hafs 90 180 Abu 'Amr,

 AH AH Hafs Ibn
(796 Sulayman
CE)[11] Ibn al-
Mughirah
Ibn Abi
Dawud al-
Asadi al-
Kufi

Abu
229
Abu Muhammad
150 AH
'Imarah, Khalaf al-Asadi al-
156 AH (844
Hamzah Hamzah Persian Bazzar al-
80 AH CE)[11]
az- Ibn (Taymi by Baghdadi
AH (773
Zaiyyat Habib al- loyalt y) 220 Abu 'Isa,
CE)[11]
Zayyat AH Khallad Ibn
Khallad ? Quraishi
al-Taymi (835 Khalid al-
CE)[11] Baghdadi

Abu al-
240
Harit h, al-
AH
Al-Layt h ? Layt h Ibn
(854
Abu al- Khalid al-
189 CE)[11]
Hasan, Persian Baghdadi
119 AH
Al-Kisa'i 'Ali Ibn (Asadi by Abu 'Amr,
AH (804
Hamzah loyalt y) 246 Hafs Ibn
CE)[11] Transmit t e
al-Asadi 150 AH 'Umar Ibn
Al-Duri of Abu 'Amr
AH (860 'Abd al-
(see above)
CE) 'Aziz al-
Baghdadi

"The Three after the Seven"

Bewley not es a furt her t hree Qiraat , (somet imes known as "t he t hree aft er t he seven"), t hat
provide addit ional variant s.[30] These t hree -- named aft er Abu Jafar, Ya'qub and Khalaf --
were added t o t he canonical seven cent uries lat er by ibn al-Jazari (d.1429 CE) t hough t hey
were popular since t he t ime of t he seven.[31] They are Mashhur (lit erally “famous”, “well-
known”. "t hese are slight ly less wide in t heir t ransmission, but st ill so wide as t o make error
highly unlikely").[3][29]
The t hree Mashhur Qiraat added t o t he seven are:
The three readers and their transmitters
Qari (reader) Rawi (transmitter)

Name Born Died Full name Details Name Born Died Full name Details

Abu al- Madani

'Isa Ibn 160
? Harit h al- by
Wardan AH
Madani st yle
Yazid Ibn al- Abu ar-
Abu 130 Qa'qa' al- Rabi',
?
Ja'far AH Makhzumi al- Sulayman
Ibn 170
Madani ? Ibn Muslim
Jummaz AH
Ibn
Jummaz
al-Madani

Abu
'Abdillah,
238 Muhammad
Ruways ?
AH Ibn al-
Abu Muhammad,
Mut awakkil
Ya'qub Ibn Ishaq
Ya'qub Client of al-Basri
117 205 Ibn Zayd Ibn
al- t he Abu al-
AH AH 'Abdillah Ibn Abi
Yamani Hadramis Hasan,
Ishaq al-
Rawh Ibn Hudhali
Hadrami al-Basri 234
Rawh ? 'Abd al- by
AH
Mu'min, al- loyalt y
Basri al-
Hudhali

Khalaf 150 229 Abu Muhammad Transmit t er Abu Ya'qub,

AH AH al-Asadi al- of Hamza Ishaq Ibn
Bazzar al- (see above) 286 Ibrahim Ibn
Ishaq ?
Baghdadi AH 'Ut hman al-
Maruzi al-
Baghdadi

Idris 189 292 Abu al-

AH AH Hasan, Idris
Ibn 'Abd al-
Karim al-
 Haddad al-
Baghdadi

Other modes of recitation

In addit ion t o t he t en "recognized" or "canonical modes"[2][6] There are four ot her modes of
recit at ion – Ibn Muhaysin, al-Yazeedi, al-Hasan and al-A‘mash—but at least according t o one
source (t he Saudi Salafi sit e "Islam Quest ion and Answer"), t hese last four recit at ions are
"odd" (shaadhdh) -- in t he judgement of "t he correct , favoured view, which is what we learned
from most of our shaykhs"—and so are not recognized[6] and not considered canonical.

Hafs ‘an ‘Asim

One qira'a t hat has reached overwhelming popularit y is t he Hafs ‘an ‘Asim (i.e., t he mode of
ʿĀṣim ibn Abī al-Najūd (d. 127 AH) according t o his st udent Ḥafs ibn Sulaymān (d. 180 AH)),[2]
specifically t he st andard Egypt ian edit ion of t he Qur’an first published on 10 July 1924 in
Cairo. It s publicat ion has been called a "t errific success", and t he edit ion has been described
as one "now widely seen as t he official t ext of t he Qur’an", so popular among bot h Sunni and
Shi'a t hat t he common belief among less well-informed Muslims is "t hat t he Qur’an has a
single, unambiguous reading", namely t he 1924 Cairo version.[32] (A belief held, or at least
suggest ed, even such scholars as t he famous revivalist Abul A'la Maududi -- "not even t he
most scept ical person has any reason t o doubt t hat t he Qur’än as we know it t oday is
ident ical wit h t he Qur’än which Muhammad (peace be on him) set before t he world" -- and t he
Orient alist A.J. Arberry -- "t he Koran as print ed in t he t went iet h cent ury is ident ical wit h t he
Koran as aut horized by ‘Ut hmän more t han 1300 years ago" -- bot h of whom make no ment ion
of Qira'at and use t he singular form in describing t he Quran.)[13]
Anot her source st at es t hat
"for all pract ical purposes", it is t he one Quranic version in "general use" in t he Muslim world
t oday.[15][Note 10]

Among t he reasons given for t he overwhelming popularit y of Hafs an Asim is t hat it is easy
t o recit e and t hat Allah has chosen it t o be widespread (Qat ari Minist ry of Awqaf and Islamic
Affairs).[35] Ingrid Mat t son credit s mass-produced print ing press mushaf wit h increasing t he
availabilit y of t he writ t en Quran, but also wit h making one version widespread (not
specifically Hafs 'an 'Asim) at t he expense of diversit y of qira'at .[36]

Gabriel Said Reynolds emphasizes t hat t he goal of t he Egypt ian government in publishing t he
edit ion was not t o delegit imize t he ot her qira’at , but t o eliminat e variat ions found in Qur’anic
t ext s used in st at e schools, and t o do t his t hey chose t o preserve one of t he fourt een qira’at
“readings”, namely t hat of Hafs (d. 180/796) ‘an ‘Asim (d. 127/745).
Variations among readings
Examples of differences between readings

Most of t he differences bet ween t he various readings involve consonant /diacrit ical marks
(I‘jām) and marks (Ḥarakāt) indicat ing ot her vocalizat ions -- short vowels, nunizat ion, glot t al
st ops, long consonant s. Differences in t he rasm or "skelet on" of t he writ ing are more scarce,
since canonical readings were required t o comply wit h at least one of t he regional Ut hmanic
copies[37] (which had a small number of differences).

According t o one st udy (by Christ opher Melchert ) based on a sample of t he t en

qira'at /readings, t he most common variant s (ignoring cert ain ext remely common
pronunciat ion issues) are non-dialect al vowel differences (31%), dialect al vowel differences
(24%), and consonant al dot t ing differences (16%).[37] (Ot her academic works in English have
become available t hat list and cat egorise t he variant s in t he main seven canonical readings.
Two not able and open access works are t hose of Nasser[38] and Abu Fayyad.)[39]

The first set of examples below compares t he most widespread reading t oday of Hafs from
Asim wit h t hat of Warsh from Nafi, which is widely read in Nort h Africa. All have differences in
t he consonant al/diacrit ical marking (and vowel markings), but only one adds a
consonant /word t o t he rasm: "then it is what " v. "it is what ", where a "fa" consonant let t er is
added t o t he verse.

Ḥafs ʿan ʿĀṣim and Warš ʿan Nāfiʿ

 ‫رواية ورش‬ ‫رواية حفص عن‬
Ḥafs Warsh verse
‫عن نافع‬ ‫عاصم‬

Al-Baqara
‫َي ْع َم ُل وَن‬ ‫َت ْع َم ُل وَن‬ you do they do
2:85

they do not come

‫َم ا َت َن َّز ُل‬ ‫َم ا ُن َن ِّز ُل‬ We do not send down... Al-Ḥijr 15:8
down...

Maryam
‫ِل َي َه َب‬ ‫َأِل َه َب‬ t hat I may best ow t hat He may best ow
19:19[40]

Al-Anbiyā'
‫ُق ل‬ ‫َق اَل‬ he said Say!
21:4

Al-Aḥzāb
‫َكِث يًر ا‬ ‫َكِب يًر ا‬ mighty multitudinous
33:68

Al-Shura
‫ِب َم ا‬ ‫َف ِب َم ا‬ then it is what it is what
42:30

Al-Fat ḥ
‫ُن ْد ِخ ْلُه‬ ‫ُي ْد ِخ ْلُه‬ He makes him ent er We make him ent er
48:17[41][42]

who are t he slaves of t he who are with t he al-Zukhruf

‫ِع نَد‬ ‫ِع َٰب ُد‬
Beneficent Beneficent 43:19

While t he change of voice or pronouns in t hese verse may seem confusing, it is very common
in t he Quran[43][44] and found even in t he same verse.[45] (It is known as iltifāt.)

Q.2:85 t he "you" in Hafs refers t o t he act ions of more t han one person and t he "They" in
Warsh is also referring t o t he act ions of more t han one person.

Q.15:8 "We" refers t o God in Hafs and t he "They" in Warsh refers t o what is not being sent
down by God (The Angels).

Q.19:19 (li-ʾahaba v. li-yahaba) is a well known difference, bot h for t he t heological int erest
in t he alt ernat ive pronouns said t o have been ut t ered by t he angel, and for requiring unusual
ort hography.[40]

Q.48:17, t he "He" in Hafs is referring t o God and t he "We" in Warsh is also referring t o God,
t his is due t o t he fact t hat God refers t o Himself in bot h t he singular form and plural form
by using t he royal "We".

Q.43:19 shows an example of a consonant al dot t ing difference t hat gives a different root
word, in t his case ʿibādu v. ʿinda.
The second set of examples below compares t he ot her canonical readings wit h t hat of Ḥafs
ʿan ʿĀṣim. These are not nearly as widely read t oday, t hough all are available in print and
st udied for recit at ion.

Other canonical readings

Ḥafs Other reading Ḥafs Other reading verse

[Abū ʿAmr] and (wash) your feet and (wash) your feet Al-Māʾidah
‫َو َأ ْر ُج َل ُكْم‬
‫َو َأ ْر ُج ِل ُكْم‬ [accusative] [genitive] 5:6

[Moses] said, "You have [Moses] said, "I have al-Isrāʼ

‫َع ِلْم َت‬ [al-Kisāʾī] ‫َع ِلْم ُت‬
already known already known 17:102

Maryam
‫ُت َٰس ِقْط‬ [Yaʿqūb] ‫َي َّٰس َق ْط‬ [the tree] will drop [the trunk] will drop
19:25

He said, "I saw what they He said, "I saw what you
‫َي ْب ُص ُر و۟ا‬ [Ḥamza] ‫َت ْب ُص ُر و۟ا‬ Ṭā Hā 20:96
did not see did not see

[Ibn ʿĀmir] Al-Anbiyā'

‫ُف ِت َح ْت‬ has been opened has been opened wide
‫]ُف ِّت َح ْت‬ 21:96

‫َن ْط ِو ى‬ [Abū Ǧaʿfar] Al-Anbiyā'

We will fold t he heaven will be folded t he heaven
‫ٱلَّس َم آَء‬ ‫ُت ْط َو ى ٱلَّس َم آُء‬ 21:104

Al-Hashr
‫ُج ُد ٍۭر‬ [Ibn Kaṯīr] ‫ِج َد اٍۭر‬ from behind walls from behind a wall
59:14

Q.5:6 The variant grammat ical cases (wa-arjulakum and wa-arjulikum) were adopt ed for
different exeget ical views by Sunni and Shīʿi scholars, such t hat in wudu t he feet were
eit her t o be washed or rubbed, respect ively.[46] The reading of Abū ʿAmr was shared by Ibn
Kaṯīr, Šuʿba ʿan ʿĀṣim and Ḥamza.

Q.17:102 and Q20:96 are examples of verbal prefix or suffix variant s (t he lat t er also read by
al-Kisāʾī).

Q.19:25 has a not eably large number of readings for t his word (four canonical readings wit h
different subject or verb form, and several non-canonical).[47][48]

Q.21:104 is an example of act ive-passive variant s.

Q.21.96 is an example of a verb form variant , wit h Ibn ʿĀmir reading t he more int ensive verb
form II.

Q59.14 is an example of singular-plural variant s (also read by Abū ʿAmr).

Qira'at and Ahruf

Difference between them

Alt hough bot h Qira'at (recit at ions) and Ahruf (st yles) refer t o variant s of t he Quran, t hey are
not t he same. Ahmad 'Ali al Imam (and Ammar Khat ib and Nazir Khan) not es t hree general
explanat ions, described by Ibn al-Jazari, of what happened t o t he Ahruf.[49] One group of
scholars, exemplified by Ibn Hazm, held t hat Ut hman preserved all seven ahruf. Anot her group,
exemplified by Al-Tabari, held t hat Ut hman preserved only one of t he seven, unifying t he
ummah under it .[Note 11] Finally, Ibn al-Jazari held what he said was t he majorit y view, which is
t hat t he ort hography of t he Ut hmanic copies accommodat ed a number of ahruf -- “some of
t he differences of t he aḥruf, not all of t hem”.[55] {{#t ag:ref|According t o Ammar Khat ib and
Nazir Khan, "Makkī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 437 AH),[56] Ibn al-Jazarī (d. 833 AH),[57] Ibn Ḥajar (d. 852
AH) and ot her scholars explained t hat what remained aft er t he ʿUt hmānic compilat ion were
t he differences from t he ot her aḥruf t hat could st ill be accommodat ed by t he skelet al t ext
of t he ʿUt hmānic codices;Ibn Ḥajar cit es Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAmmār al-Mahdawī (d. 430 AH) who
st at es, 'The most correct posit ion which is upheld by t he expert s is t hat what is recit ed now
are some of [t he differences] of t he seven ḥurūf which were permit t ed t o be recit ed and not
all of t hem.'[58]

Scholars also differ on t he ext ent t o which t he ahruf reflect ed t he different dialect s of t he
Arabs or differences in act ual wording.[9]

The seven qira'at readings which are current ly not able were select ed by Abu Bakr Ibn Mujahid
(died 324 AH, 936 CE) from prominent recit ers of his t ime, t hree from Kufa and one each from
Mecca, Medina, and Basra and Damascus.[22] IslamQA websit e not es t hat while t he number
seven is associat ed wit h bot h qira'at and ahruf, t he claim t hat t here are seven qira’at (al-
qiraa’aat al-saba’) comes not from t he Qur’an or Sunnah but from t he "ijt ihaad [independent
reasoning] of Ibn Mujaahid", who may have been t empt ed t o arrive at t hat number by t he fact
t hat were seven ahruf.[9]

Taking t he second version of t he hist ory of t he ahruf described above, Bilal Philips writ es
t hat Caliph 'Ut hman eliminat ed six of t he seven ahruf about half way t hrough his reign, when
confusion developed in t he out lying provinces about t he Quran's recit at ion. Some Arab t ribes
boast ed about t he superiorit y of t heir ahruf, and rivalries began; new Muslims also began
combining t he forms of recit at ion out of ignorance. Caliph 'Ut hman decided t o make official
copies of t he Quran according t o t he writ ing convent ions of t he Quraysh and send t hem wit h
t he Quranic recit ers t o t he Islamic cent res. His decision was approved by As-Sahaabah (t he
Companions of t he Prophet ), and all unofficial copies of t he Quran were ordered dest royed;
Ut hman carried out t he order, dist ribut ing official copies and dest roying unofficial copies, so
t hat t he Quran began t o be read in one harf, t he same one in which it is writ t en and recit ed
t hroughout world t oday.[10]

Philips writ es t hat Qira'at is primarily a met hod of pronunciat ion used in recit at ions of t he
Quran. These met hods are different from t he seven forms, or modes (ahruf), in which t he
Quran was revealed. The met hods have been t raced back t o Muhammad t hrough a number of
Sahaabah who were not ed for t heir Quranic recit at ions; t hey recit ed t he Quran t o Muhammad
(or in his presence), and received his approval. These Sahaabah included:

Ubayy ibn Ka'b

Ali Ibn Abi Talib

Zayd ibn Thabit

Abdullah ibn Masud

Abu Darda

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari

Many of t he ot her Sahaabah learned from t hem; mast er Quran comment at or Ibn 'Abbaas
learned from Ubayy and Zayd.[59]

According t o Philips, among t he Successor (aka Tabi'in) generat ion of Muslims were many
scholars who learned t he met hods of recit at ion from t he Sahaabah and t aught t hem t o
ot hers. Cent res of Quranic recit at ion developed in al-Madeenah, Makkah, Kufa, Basrah and
Syria, leading t o t he development of Quranic recit at ion as a science. By t he mid-eight h
cent ury CE, a large number of scholars were considered specialist s in t he field of recit at ion.
Most of t heir met hods were aut hent icat ed by chains of reliable narrat ors, going back t o
Muhammad. The met hods which were support ed by a large number of reliable narrat ors (i.e.
readers or qāriʾūn) on each level of t heir chain were called mutawaatir, and were considered
t he most accurat e. Met hods in which t he number of narrat ors were few (or only one) on any
level of t he chain were known as shaadhdh. Some scholars of t he following period began t he
pract ice of designat ing a set number of individual scholars from t he previous period as t he
most not ewort hy and accurat e. The number seven became popular by t he mid-10t h cent ury,
since it coincided wit h t he number of dialect s in which t he Quran was revealed[60] (a
reference t o Ahruf ).

Anot her (more vague) different iat ion bet ween Qira'at (recit at ions) and Ahruf (st yles) offered
by Ammar Khat ib and Nazir Khan is "... t he seven aḥruf are all t he cat egories of variat ion t o
which t he differences found wit hin qirāʾāt correspond. In ot her words, t hey represent a menu
of ingredient s from which each qirāʾah select s it s profile."[2]
Scriptural basis for seven Ahruf

While different ahruf or variant s of t he Quran are not ment ioned in t he Quran, hadit h do
ment ion t hem. According t o Bismika Allahuma, proof of t he seven ahruf is found in many
hadit h, "so much so t hat it reaches t he level of mut awaat ir." One scholar, Jalaal ad-Deen as-
Suyoot ee, claims t hat t went y-one t radit ions of Companions of t he Prophet st at e "t hat t he
Qur’aan was revealed in seven ahruf".[61] One famous hadit h (report ed in t he Muwatta of Malik
ibn Anas) has "Umar Ibn al-Khat t ab manhandling Hisham Ibn Hakim Ibn Hizam aft er what he
(Umar) t hinks is an incorrect reading of t he Quran by Hisham. When Umar hauls Hisham t o t he
Prophet for chast isement ," where Hisham and Umar each recit e for Muhammad, Umar is
surprised t o hear t he Prophet pronounce, "It was revealed t hus", aft er each reading.
Muhammad ends by saying: "It was revealed t hus; t his Quran has been revealed in seven Ahruf.
You can read it in any of t hem you find easy from among t hem."[62]

Disagreement

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (and ot hers) point out t hat Umar and Hisham belonged t o t he same
t ribe (t he Quraysh), and members of t he same t ribe and would not have used different
pronunciat ion. Support ers of t he t heory reply t hat Hisham may have been t aught t he Quran by
a Companion of t he Prophet from a different t ribe. Nevert heless, Ghamidi quest ions t he
hadit h which claim "variant readings", on t he basis of Quranic verses ([Quran 87:6-7 (https://www.pers
eus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0006%3Asura%3D87%3Averse%3D6-7) ], [Quran 75:16-19

(https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.0006%3Asura%3D75%3Averse%3D16-1

9) ]
), t he Quran was compiled during Muhammad's lifet ime and quest ions t he hadit h which
report it s compilat ion during Ut hman's reign.[63] Since most of t hese narrat ions are report ed
by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Imam Layt h Ibn Sa'd wrot e t o Imam Malik:[63][64]

And when we would meet Ibn Shihab, there would arise a

difference of opinion in many issues. When any one of us would
ask him in writing about some issue, he, in spite of being so
learned, would give three very different answers, and he would
not even be aware of what he had already said. It is because of
this that I have left him – something which you did not like.

Abu 'Ubayd Qasim Ibn Sallam (died 224 AH) report edly select ed t went y-five readings in his
book. The seven readings which are current ly not able were select ed by Abu Bakr Ibn Mujahid
(died 324 AH, 936 CE) at t he end of t he t hird cent ury. It is generally accept ed t hat alt hough
t heir number cannot be ascert ained, every reading is Quran which has been report ed t hrough a
chain of narrat ion and is linguist ically correct . Some readings are regarded as mutawatir, but
t heir chains of narrat ion indicat e t hat t hey are ahad (isolat e) and t heir narrat ors are suspect
in t he eyes of rijal aut horit ies.[63]

Questions and difficulties

According t o scholars Ammar Khat ib and Nazir Khan, "one aspect of t he Qur’an" t hat aft er
cent uries of Islamic scholarship "cont inues t o ast ound and puzzle researchers has been t he
fact t hat Qur’anic verses are recit ed in diverse ‘modes of recit at ion’ (qirāʾāt )". They call t he
issue of why t he Qur’an has different recit at ions and where t hey came from, "burning
quest ions".[2]

In a 2020 int erview, conservat ive Islamic scholar Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi st at ed t hat "every
single st udent of knowledge ... who st udies ulm of Quran" knows "t hat t he most difficult
t opics are ahruf and qira’at ",[12] so vexing t hat even "t he most advanced of our scholars, t hey
are not quit e fully cert ain how t o solve all of it and answer quest ions in t here",[65]
and so
sensit ive t hat it "should never be brought up in public” and is "not somet hing you discuss
among t he masses".[66] Qadhi quot es a hadit h where a ṣaḥābah of t he Prophet (Ubayy ibn
Ka'b) is report ed t o have said: “'in my heart a doubt came t hat I hadn’t had about Islam since
t he days of jahil'" and goes on t o implore list eners, "t his is not a joke brot hers and sist ers. The
issue of Ahruf and Qiraat has caused confusion t o somebody who t he prophet said if you
want t o list en t o t he Quran direct ly list en t o Ubay. …."[67]

Developing view of divine status

Professor Shady Nasser of Harvard Universit y is t he aut hor of books and papers on t he
canonizat ion process of t he Qur'an. Nasser has explored examples of prominent early
scholars and grammarians who regarded some variant s t hat were lat er considered canonical
t o be wrong (not just wrongly t ransmit t ed). In part icular, he gives examples of such views
from t he t ime short ly before canonizat ion expressed by Al-Tabari,[68] t he grammarian Al-
Farraʼ,[69] and Ibn Mujahid in t he very work in which he select ed t he 7 readings (Kitab al-Sab’a
fil-qirā’āt,[70] part icularly his "crit ical remarks [...] against Ibn ʿĀmir, Ḥamza, and some canonical
Rāwīs such as Qunbul".[71] In one summary he st at es in reference t o cert ain crit ics and
examples t hat "The early Muslim communit y did not uncondit ionally accept all t hese
Readings; t he Readings of Ḥamza, al-Kisāʾī, and Ibn ʿĀmir were always disparaged, crit icized,
and somet imes ridiculed."[72]

Cont rast ing wit h t he view of early scholars t hat t he readings included human int erpret at ion
and errors, Nasser writ es, "This posit ion changed drast ically in t he lat er periods, especially
aft er t he 5t h/11t h cent ury where t he canonical Readings st art ed t o be t reat ed as divine
revelat ion, i.e. every single variant reading in t he seven and t en eponymous Readings was
revealed by God t o Muhammad."[73]

Disagreement on mutawatir transmission from the Prophet

Doct rine holds t hat t he readings t hat make up each of t he canonical Qira'at can be t raced by
a chain of t ransmission (like hadit h) back t o t he Prophet Muhammad, and even t hat t hey were
t ransmit t ed by chains so numerous t hat t heir aut hent icit y is beyond doubt (mut awat ir). In
t heory, evidence of t he canonical Qira'at should be found among t he oldest Quranic
manuscript s.

However, according t o Mort eza Karimi-Nia of t he Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundat ion.

It must be noted that the seven variant readings attributed to the

Seven Readers, which have been prevalent since the fourth/tenth
century, are only rarely evident in the Qurʾānic manuscripts of the
first two Islamic centuries. In these manuscripts, instead, one can
find either the above-mentioned regional differences (as between
Mecca, Medina, Kufa, Basra, or Damascus) or differences in lettering
and dotting, which do not necessarily reflect the canonical variants
of the Seven Readers but can be traced back to the readings of one of
the Prophet’s Companions or Followers."[74]

The view of some scholars t hat t he differences, not just t he agreement , bet ween t he
canonical qira'at were t ransmit t ed mut awat ir was a t opic of disagreement among scholars.
Shady Nasser not es t hat "all t he Eponymous Readings were t ransmit t ed via single st rands of
t ransmissions (āḥād) bet ween t he Prophet and t he seven Readers, which rendered t he
t awāt ur of t hese Readings quest ionable and problemat ic." He observes t hat qira'at manuals
were oft en silent on t he isnad (chain of t ransmission) bet ween t he eponymous reader and
t he Prophet , document ing inst ead t he formal isnads from t he manual aut hor t o t he
eponymous reader. Like Ibn Mujahid, oft en t hey separat ely included various biographical
account s connect ing t he reading back t o t he Prophet , while lat er manuals developed more
sophist icat ed isnads.[75] Nasser concludes t hat "t he dominant and st rongest opinion among
t he Muslim scholars holds t o t he non-t awāt ur of t he canonical Readings".[76]

Struggles of the Qurrāʾ

The writ ings of Ibn Mujahid give a great deal of insight int o t he communit y of t he Qurrāʾ
(Arabic: “recit ers”). In his book on Ibn Mujahid's Kitab al-Sab’a, Shady Nasser makes many
observat ions on t he difficult ies t hat t he eponymous readers and t heir t ransmit t ers are
t herein report ed t o have experienced, while emphasising t hat t hey were "driven by sincere
piet y and admirat ion for t he Qurʾānic revelat ion" and "went t o ext reme measures t o preserve,
perform and st abilize t he t ext ".[77] For example, when precise informat ion was missing on
part of a reading, "t he Qurrāʾ resort ed t o qiyās (analogy)", as did Ibn Mujahid himself in
document ing t he readings t ransmit t ed t o him.[78] In ot her cases, canonical t ransmit t ers such
as Shu'ba said he "did not memorize" how his t eacher 'Asim read cert ain words, or Ibn Mujahid
had conflict ing or missing informat ion.[79] Account s report incident s of "ambivalence and
indecisiveness" by readers t hemselves such as Abu 'Amr, 'Asim and Nafi.[80], while Ibn Mujahid
oft en lacked cert ain informat ion on Ibn Amir's reading[81] Nasser also not es examples
recorded by Ibn Mujahid of readers such as Abu 'Amr, al Kisa'i, Nafi, and t he t ransmit t ers of
'Asim, Hafs and Shu'ba, in cert ain cases "ret ract ing a reading and adopt ing a new one", or
Shu'ba recount ing t hat he "became skept ical" of his t eacher 'Asim's reading of a cert ain word
and adopt ed inst ead t hat of a non-canonical Kufan reader (al-A'mash).[82] He not es t he case
of ibn Dhakwan finding one reading for a word in his book/not ebook, and recalling somet hing
different in his memory.[83] Nasser observes t hat "when in doubt , t he Qurrāʾ oft en referred t o
writ t en records and personal copies of t he Qurʾān", somet imes request ing t o see t he copy
belonging t o someone else.[84]

Arabic dialect of the Qur'an

Cont rary t o popular concept ions, t he Qur'an was not composed in Classical Arabic. Linguist
and Quranic manuscript expert Dr. Marijn van Put t en has writ t en a number of papers on t he
Arabic evident in t he Qur'anic consonant al t ext (QCT). Van Put t en brings int ernal linguist ic
argument s (int ernal rhymes) t o show t hat t his dialect had lost t he hamza (except at t he end
of words spoken in t he canonical readings wit h a final alif ), not just in t he ort hography of t he
writ t en t ext , as is well est ablished, but even in t he original spoken performance of t he Qur'an.
He also not es Chaim Rabin's (d. 1996) observat ion of "several st at ement s by medieval Arabic
scholars t hat many import ant Hijazis, including t he prophet , would not pronounce t he hamza"
and quot es his point t hat "t he most celebrat ed feat ure of t he Hijaz dialect is t he
disappearance of t he hamza, or glot t al st op". The canonical readings on t he ot her hand use
hamza much more widely and have considerable differences in it s usage.[85] In anot her paper
van Put t en and Professor Phillip St okes argue, using various t ypes of int ernal evidence and
support ed by early manuscript s and inscript ions of early dialect s found in Arabia, t hat unlike
t he dialect s found in t he canonical readings, t he spoken language behind t he QCT "possessed
a funct ional but reduced case syst em, in which cases marked by long vowels were ret ained,
whereas t hose marked by short vowels were most ly lost ".
[86]
Van Put t en also reconst ruct s
t he spoken dialect represent ed by t he QCT t o have t reat ed nouns ending wit h feminine -at
as dipt ot es (wit hout nunat ion) rat her t han t he t ript ot ic feminine endings spoken in Qur'an
recit at ions t oday.[87]

Misunderstanding

Using "qiraʼat"/"recit at ions" t o describe Quranic variant s may sound as t hough different
recit ers are reading from t he same t ext (or recit ing based on t he same t ext ) but wit h
different "prolongat ion, int onat ion, and pronunciat ion of words";[2] or if t heir spoken words are
different it 's because t hey have t he same consonant s but different vowel markings (see
ort hography diagram above). (Ammar Khat ib and Nazir Khan, for example, t alk of t he "basis of
t he qirāʾāt " being "words t hat can be read in mult iple ways" rat her t han different words or
word forms used in t he same verse.)[2]
However, not only do t he writ t en vowel markings and
writ t en consonant diacrit ical marks differ bet ween Qiraʼat , t here are also occasional small but
"subst ant ial" differences in t he "skelet on" of t he script (rasm, see Examples of differences
bet ween readings) t hat Ut hman report edly st andardized.

At least one crit ic, Charles Adams, has raised t he quest ion of whet her t he t erm "recit at ions"
is used because t he idea of a variant of t he Quran "goes against t he doct rinal posit ion"[88]
t hat t he Quran is prot ect ed from any change.[89][90]

Rationale

According t o Oliver Leaman, "t he origin" of t he differences of qira'at "lies in t he fact t hat t he
linguist ic syst em of t he Quran incorporat es t he most familiar Arabic dialect s and vernacular
forms in use at t he t ime of t he Revelat ion."[1] According t o Csaba Okvát h, "Different
recit at ions [different qira'at] t ake int o account dialect al feat ures of Arabic language ..."
[20]

Similarly, t he Oxford Islamic St udies Online writ es t hat "according t o classical Muslim
sources", t he variat ions t hat crept up before Ut hman creat ed t he "official" Quran "dealt wit h
subt let ies of pronunciat ions and accent s (qirāʿāt) and not wit h t he t ext it self which was
t ransmit t ed and preserved in a cult ure wit h a st rong oral t radit ion."[91]

On t he ot her hand, Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley writ es t hat different qirāʿāt have "different
diacrit ical marks”, and t he differences "compliment ot her recit at ions and add t o t he meaning,
and are a source of exegesis."[21] Ammar Khat ib and Nazir Khan cont end t hat qirāʿāt
"const it ut e a unique feat ure of t he Qur’an t hat mult iplies it s eloquence and aest het ic
beaut y", and "in cert ain cases" t he differences in qirāʾāt "add nuances in meaning,
complement ing one anot her."[2]

Questions
Ot her report s of what t he Prophet said (as well as some scholarly comment ary) seem t o
cont radict t he presence of variant readings -- ahruf or qirāʾāt.[63]

Abu Abd Al-Rahman al-Sulami writ es, "The reading of Abu Bakr, Umar, Ut hman and Zayd ibn
Thabit and t hat of all t he Muhajirun and t he Ansar was t he same. They would read t he Quran
according t o t he Qira'at al-'ammah. This is t he same reading which was read out t wice by t he
Prophet t o Gabriel in t he year of his deat h. Zayd ibn Thabit was also present in t his reading
[called] t he 'Ardah-i akhirah. It was t his very reading t hat he t aught t he Quran t o people t ill
his deat h".[92] According t o Ibn Sirin, "The reading on which t he Quran was read out t o t he
prophet in t he year of his deat h is t he same according t o which people are reading t he Quran
t oday".[93]

Examining t he hadit h of Umar's surprise in finding out "t his Quran has been revealed in seven
Ahruf", Suyut i, a not ed 15t h-cent ury Islamic t heologian, concludes t he "best opinion" of t his
hadit h is t hat it is "mutashabihat", i.e. it s meaning "cannot be underst ood."[94]

Doubts
Codification time controversy

The qira'at are slight deviat ions from an original t ext t hat developed over t ime from
different pronunciat ions of different dialect s, according t o at least one version of ort hodox
hist ory. However, non-Muslim Islamic scholar Fred Donner argues (or argued as of 2008) t hat
t he large number of qira'at wit h variat ions in t he rasm (usually consonant s) "as well" as wit h
vowelling, st em from early "regional t radit ions" of Medina, Kufa, Basra, Syria, et c.,[95] and
suggest s a bet t er explanat ion for t he variant s may be not t hat t hey were making minor
evolut ions away from a uniform t ext , but t hat t here were originally different versions of t he
Quran t hat had not yet "cryst alized int o a single, immut able codified form ... wit hin one
generat ion of Muhammad".[95] Donner argues t hat t here is evidence for bot h t he hypot heses
t hat t he Quran was codified earlier t han t he st andard narrat ive and for codificat ion lat er,[95] as
Islamic doct rine t eaches.

Donner does agree however, wit h t he st andard narrat ive t hat despit e t he presence of "some
significant variant s" in t he qira'at lit erat ure, t here are not "long passages of ot herwise wholly
unknown t ext claiming t o be Quran, or t hat appear t o be used as Quran -- only variat ions
wit hin a t ext t hat is clearly recognizable as a version of a known Quranic passage".[96]
Revisionist hist orian Michael Cook also st at es t hat t he Quran "as we know it ", is "remarkably
uniform" in t he rasm.[97]
One example of how slight changes in let t ering in different Qiraat suggest ing t he possibilit y
of a major doct rinal impact on t he Quran is t he first word in t wo verses: Q.21:4 and 21:112. In
Hafs qiraa version t hat first word is "qāla, t ranslat ed as 'He (Muhammad, pbuh) said ...'". The
ort hography is different in t he t wo verses -- in Q.21:4 t he second let t er is a "plene" alif ‫قال‬, in
21:112 "dagger aliph" (i.e. a diacrit ical mark, so not part of t he rasm as a plene aliph is). But in
Warsh qiraa t he first word in t he verses is a different verb form, ‫ قل‬qul (t he imperat ive
'say!')[98] changing t he verse from t alking about what Muhammad said t o a command from
God.

Examining verse 21:112, Andrew Rippin st at es

"The very last verse (112) of sura 21 starts "He said [qāla], 'My Lord,
judge according to the truth. Our Lord is the All-Merciful' ". The
reference to "My Lord" and "Our Lord" in the text indicates that the
subject of "He said " cannot be God but is the reciter of the Qur’än,
in the first place understood to be Muhammad. Such a passage, in
fact, falls into a common form of Qur’änic speech found in passages
normally prefaced by the imperative "Say!" (qul).The significant
point here is that in the text of the Qur’ān, the word here translated
as "He said" is, in fact, more easily read as "Say!" due to the absence
of the long "a" marker (something which commonly happens in the
Qur’än, to be sure, but the word qäla is spelled this way only twice -
the other occasion being in Qur’än 21:4 and that occurs in some of
the traditions of the writing of the text). In the early Sana
manuscripts, the absence of the long "a" in the word qäla is a marker
of an entire set of early texts. But why should it be that this
particular passage should be read in the way that it is? It really
should read "Say!" to be parallel to the rest of the text. This opens
the possibility that there was a time when the Qur’än was
understood not as the word of God (as with "Say!") but the word of
Muhammad as the speaking prophet. It would appear that in the
process of editing the text, most passages were transformed from "He
said" to "Say!" in both interpretation and writing with the exception
of these two passages in Sura 21 which were not changed. This could
have occurred only because somebody was working on the basis of
the written text in the absence of a parallel oral tradition".[99]
i.e. t he verses in t he Hafs version may have been an edit ing oversight where in t he process of
convert ing t he Quran from "t he word of Muhammad as t he speaking prophet " t o "t he word of
God", dozens of 'Say!' [qul], were added or replaced "He said [qāla]", but a couple of qāäla were
missed.

Whether some differences in qira'at have meaning or originate in scribal errors

Medieval Islamic scholar (social scient ist , philosopher and hist orian) Ibn Khaldun argued t hat
mist akes in writ ing down or copying of t he Quran ("discrepancies" in "t he principles of
ort hography") were explained away by "incompet ent " Islamic scholars who claimed t hat t he
discrepancies were not errors "but have a reason", in hopes t hat t heir explanat ions "would
free t he men around Muhammad from t he suspicion of deficiency". Crit ic of Islam Ibn Warraq,
point s out t hat t wo examples Ibn Khaldun gives also come up as differences bet ween Hafs
and Warsh qira'at. In verse Q.27:21: (lä- adbahannahu [Hafs t ranslat ion by M. Ali], "where lä is
not be read as t he negat ive part icle; la-'aìbahannahu") "t hey explain t he addit ion of t he alif in
la-'adbahannahu 'I shall indeed slaught er him' as an indicat ion t hat t he slaught ering did not
t ake place (lä - adbahannahu)".[100][Note 12]

Similarly, in modern t imes some academics have regarded decript ions by Muslim scholars of
t he 40 or so differences in t he rasm (skelet on t ext ) of t he four copies of t he Ut hmanic
codex sent out t o Medina, Syria, and t he garrison t owns of Basra and Kufa, t o be scribal errors
in t hose copies, especially aft er Michael Cook (who expresses t his view) est ablished from
t hese descript ions t hat t hey form a st emma (t ree st ruct ure), widely considered t o prove a
writ t en copying process.[101] Van Put t en has not ed t hat t he canonical readers st rongly
t ended t o include t he differences found in t he codex given t o t heir region and adapt ed t heir
readings accordingly,[102][103] while Shady Nasser gives a somewhat more complex pict ure,
wit h a more comprehensive list of t he document ed differences and showing examples where
different readers from t he same t own somet imes seem t o have used codices from
elsewhere.[104]

See also

Ahruf

Ten recit at ions

Seven readers

Special recit at ions

Hizb Rat eb, in Sufism

Salka, in Sufism
 Sermon, in Christ ianit y

Torah reading and cant illat ion in Judaism

References

Habib Hassan Touma (1996). The Music of the Arabs, t rans. Laurie Schwart z. Port land,
Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-88-8.

Notes
1. for example, in Surat al-Baqara (1): "Dhalika'l-Kitabu la rayb" or "Dhalika'l-Kitabu la rayba fih" [3]

2. an example being "suddan" or "saddan" [3]

3. (due to different diacritical marks, for example, yaʼ or taʼ (turjaʼuna or yurjaʼuna) or a word having a
long consonant or not (a consonant will have a shadda making it long, or not have one).[3]

4. For example "fa-tabayyanu" or "fa-tathabbatu" in Q4.94[4]

5. According to one source (the Saudi Salafi site "Islam Question and Answer"), while there are four
other modes of recitation in addition to the ten recognized ones, these are "odd (shaadhdh),
according to scholarly consensus":

"The seven modes of recitation are mutawaatir according to consensus, as are the three others: the
recitations of Abu Ja‘far, Ya‘qoob and Khalaf, according to the more correct view. In fact the
correct, favoured view, which is what we learned from most of our shaykhs, is that the recitations
of the other four – Ibn Muhaysin, al-Yazeedi, al-Hasan and al-A‘mash, are odd (shaadhdh),
according to scholarly consensus."

The article then goes on to quote the medieval scholar An-Nawawi saying:

" it is not permissible to recite, in prayer or otherwise, according to an odd mode of recitation,
because that is not Qur’an."

The article separates the ten qira'at into "the seven": "The seven modes of recitation are mutawaatir
according to the four imams and other leading Sunni scholars";

and "the three others" which are also mutawaatir, though apparently not having the same level of
endorsement.[6]

6. Thus it is more accurate to identify a Qirāʼah of the Quran by saying "this is the riwaya of [insert
name of reciter]", rather than "this is [insert name of reciter]". An example being, "this is the riwaya
of Hafs", and not "this is Hafs" -- Hafs being the reading used by most of the Muslim world.[3]

7. most of the varieties are not commonly used but can be found on pdf with English translation at
quranflash.com -- https://app.quranflash.com/?en

8. about 95% according to Muslimprophets website.[14]

 9. There were two riwaya for each qira'a, but many more narrators who transmitted narrations from
the qira'at. This twitter link [23] gives a tree of fifteen narrators from one qira'a (Nafi‘ al-Madani,
shown as "Nāfiʕ" at the top center). The two riwaya -- Warsh (or Warš) and Qālūn -- are on the left
side mixed in with the other fifteen. Ibn Mujāhidat is at the bottom center of the tree, indicating he
was aware of all the transmitters but picked Warsh and Qālūn as the riwaya.

10. Some other versions with minor divergences, namely those of Warsh (d.197/812) ....circulate in the
northwestern regions of African.[33][34]

11. According to Ammar Khatib and Nazir Khan, "The opinion that the ʿUthmānic muṣḥaf selected one
ḥarf was also the view of al-Naḥḥās (d. 338 AH),[50] Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (d. 463 AH),[51] al-Abyārī (d.
616 AH),[52] Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH),[53] and many other scholars".[54]

12. Ibn Khaldün in The Muqaddimah:

"No attention should be paid in this connection to the assumption of certain

incompetent (scholars) that (the men around Muhammad) knew well the art of
writing and that the alleged discrepancies between their writing and the
principles of orthography are not discrepancies, as has been alleged, but have
a reason. For instance, they explain the addition of the alif in la-'adbahannahu
"I shall indeed slaughter him" as an indication that the slaughtering did not
take place (lä - adbahannahu). The addition of the yä' in bi-ayydin "with hands
(power),” [LI,47, see below at 29. LI,47] they explain as an indication that the
divine power is perfect. There are similar things based on nothing but purely
arbitrary assumptions. The only reason that caused them to (assume such
things) is their belief that (their explanations) would free the men around
Muhammad from the suspicion of deficiency, in the sense that they were not
able to write well."[100]

Citations
1. Kahteran, Nevad (2006). "Hafiz/Tahfiz/Hifz/Muhaffiz" (https://www.google.com/books/edition/The
_Qur_an/isDgI0-0Ip4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Qira%27at&pg=PA233&printsec=frontcover) . In
Leaman, Oliver (ed.). The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 233. Retrieved 4 July 2020.

2. Khatib, Ammar; Khan, Nazir (23 August 2019). "The Origins of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an"
(https://yaqeeninstitute.org/ammar-khatib/the-origins-of-the-variant-readings-of-the-quran/) .
Yaqueen Institute. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

3. The Seven Qira'at of the Qur'an by Aisha Bewley (https://bewley.virtualave.net/qira.html)

4. Younes, Munther (2019). Charging Steeds or Maidens Performing Good Deeds: In Search of the
Original Qur'an (https://books.google.com/books?id=eQuWDwAAQBAJ) . Routledge. p. 3.
ISBN 9781351055000. Retrieved 2 July 2020.

5. Salahi, Adil (16 July 2001). "Scholar Of Renown: Ibn Mujahid" (https://www.arabnews.com/node/21
3868) . Arab News. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
 6. "The seven modes of recitation are mutawaatir and it is not permissible to cast aspersions on them.
Question 178120" (https://islamqa.info/en/answers/178120/the-seven-modes-of-recitation-are-mut
awaatir-and-it-is-not-permissible-to-cast-aspersions-on-them) . Islam Question and Answer. 24
November 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2020.

7. "Basic Introduction to the 10 Recitations and 7 Ahruf" (https://idealmuslimah.com/rss-feed-news/1

41-tajweed-correct-recitation/introduction-to-the-10-recitations-7-ahruf/543-basic-introduction-to-th
e-10-recitations-and-7-ahruf.html) . Ideal Muslimah. Retrieved 15 March 2021.

8. Bursi, Adam (2018). "Connecting the Dots: Diacritics Scribal Culture, and the Quran" (https://zenod
o.org/record/3989900) . Journal of the International Qur'anic Studies Association. 3: 111.
doi:10.5913/jiqsa.3.2018.a005 (https://doi.org/10.5913%2Fjiqsa.3.2018.a005) . hdl:1874/389663
(https://hdl.handle.net/1874%2F389663) . JSTOR 10.5913/jiqsa.3.2018.a005 (https://www.jstor.o
rg/stable/10.5913/jiqsa.3.2018.a005) .

9. "The revelation of the Qur'aan in seven styles (ahruf, sing. harf). Question 5142" (https://islamqa.inf
o/en/answers/5142/the-revelation-of-the-quraan-in-seven-styles-ahruf-sing-harf) . Islam Question
and Answer. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2020.

10. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Tafseer Soorah Al-Hujuraat, 1990, Tawheed Publications, Riyadh, pp. 28-
29.

11. Shady Hekmat Nasser, Ibn Mujahid and the Canonization of the Seven Readings (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=Kx7i2Y56WuYC&pg=PA57&dq=aasim+qira%27ah&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=on
epage&q=aasim%20qira'ah&f=false) , p. 129. Taken from The Transmission of the Variant
Readings of the Qur'an: The Problem of Tawaatur and the Emergence of Shawaadhdh. Leiden: Brill
Publishers, 2012. ISBN 9789004240810

12. Yasir Qadhi (8 June 2020). "In the Hot Seat: Muḥammad Hijāb Interviews Dr. Yasir Qadhi" (https://w
ww.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dc1HJ8Uif4#t=81m45s) (Interview). Interviewed by Muḥammad
Hijāb. Event occurs at 1h21m45s. Retrieved 19 July 2020. "every single student of knowledge
knows who studies ulm of Quran that the most difficult topics are ahruf and qira’at and the
concept of ahruf and the reality of ahruf and the relationship of …… mushaf and the ahruf and the
preservation of ahruf, is it one? is it three? is it seven? and the relationship of the qira’at to the
ahruf ..."

13. Abul A`la Maududi, Towards Understanding Islam. International Islamic Federation of Student
Organizations Gary, Indiana , 1970. p.109

14. "Quran - Comparing Hafs & Warsh for 51 textual variants" (http://muslimprophets.com/article.php?
aid=64) . Muslim prophets. Retrieved 29 October 2020.

15. Böwering, "Recent Research on the Construction of the Quran", 2008: p.74

16. "Lawh Mahfuz" (http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1336) . Oxford Islamic

Studies. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

17. Cook, The Koran, 2000: pp. 72-73.

18. Donner, "Quran in Recent Scholarship", 2008: pp. 35-36.

19. "Claims that the Qur'aan has been distorted. #23487" (https://islamqa.info/en/answers/23487/clai
ms-that-the-quraan-has-been-distorted) . Islam Question and Answer. 5 June 2002. Retrieved
13 April 2021.

20. Okváth, Csaba (Winter 2014). "Ibn Mujahid and Canonical Recitations" (https://www.questia.com/li
brary/journal/1G1-397006772/ibn-mujahid-and-canonical-recitations) . Islamic Sciences. 12 (2).
Retrieved 22 July 2020.

21. Bewley, Aisha. "The Seven Qira'at of the Qur'an" (http://www.iium.edu.my/deed/articles/qiraat.ht

ml) . International Islamic University of Malaysia. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

22. Cook, The Koran, 2000: p. 73

23. Marijn "i before j" van Putten (27 May 2020). "Replying to @PhDniX" (https://twitter.com/PhDniX/st
atus/1265724937119170571/photo/1) . Twitter. Retrieved 6 April 2021.

24. Sale, George (1891). "Preliminary Discourse, section 3" (https://books.google.com/books?id=-GwwA

QAAMAAJ&q=%22two+of+which+were+published+and+used+at+Medina,+a+third+at+Mecca,+a+fo
urth+at+Cufa,+a+fifth+at+Basra,+a+sixth+in+Syria,+and+a+seventh+called+the+common+or+vulga
r+edition.%22&pg=PA45) . The Koran, Commonly Called the Alkoran of Mohammed. Frederick
Warne and Co. p. 45.

25. Ajaja, Abdurrazzak. " ‫القراءات‬ : The readings" (https://scientificsentence.net/newArabic/tajweed/inde

x.php?key=yes&Integer=the_10_readings) .

26. el-Masry, Shadee. The Science of Tajwid (https://myarkview.org/courses/322185/lectures/548143

1) . Safina Society. p. 8. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

27. "What is Tajweed?" (https://www.onlinequranteachers.com/what-is-tajweed/) . Online Quran

Teachers. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

28. "Ijazah in Ash-Shatibiyyah" (https://www.onlinequranteachers.com/course/ijazah-in-ash-shatibiyy

ah/) . Online Quran Teachers.

29. "Qiraat" (http://quranelearning.com/qiraat/) . Quran eLearning. Retrieved 15 July 2020.

30. See for example 19:25, 82:9, and 21:104 on corpuscoranicum.de Quran database

31. Various sized selections of qira'at were published over the centuries. Ibn Mihran (d. 991) was the
first to choose the same set of ten. Christopher Melchert (2008) The Relation of the Ten Readings
to One Another Journal of Qur'anic Studies Vol.10 (2) pp.73-87

32. Reynolds, "Quranic studies and its controversies", 2008: p. 2

33. QA. Welch, Kuran, EI2 5, 409

34. Böwering, "Recent Research on the Construction of the Quran", 2008: p.84

35. "Popularity of the recitation of Hafs from 'Aasim. Fatwa No: 118960" (https://www.islamweb.net/e
n/fatwa/118960/popularity-of-the-recitation-of-hafs-from-aasim) . Islamweb. 9 March 2009.
Retrieved 11 April 2020.
36. Mattson, Ingrid (2013). The Story of the Qur'an: Its History and Place in Muslim Life (https://books.
google.com/books?id=_-eUnDh_OWgC&q=recitation+of+Hafs+now+became+dominant&pg=PA12
9) . John Wiley & Sons. p. 129. ISBN 9780470673492. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

37. Melchert, Christopher (2008). "The Relation of the Ten Readings to One Another" (https://www.jstor.
org/stable/25728289) . Journal of Qur'anic Studies. 10 (2): 73–87. Retrieved 11 February 2021.

38. Appendix Comprehensive Table of Quranic Variants (https://brill.com/view/book/9789004412903/b

ack-1.xml) in Nasser, Shady, H. (2020). The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936). Leiden:
Brill. ISBN 9789004401976.

39. Abu Fayyad, Fawzi Ibrahim (1989). The Seven Readings of the Qur'an: A Critical Study of Their
Linguistic Differences (http://theses.gla.ac.uk/78058/) (PhD). University of Glasgow. Retrieved
11 February 2021.

40. While the difference cannot always be rendered with screen fonts, in order to comply with the
Uthmanic rasm, the readings of Warsh an Nafi and of Abu 'Amr were written using a superscript ya
over the alif, or by a red line between the lam-alif and ha to indicate that hamza should not be
pronounced, or by writing a ya in coloured ink. See the discussions in Puin, Gerd, R. (2011). "Vowel
letters and orth-epic writing in the Qur'an". In Reynolds, Gabriel Said (ed.). New Perspectives on the
Qur'an: The Qur'an in Its Historical Context 2 (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6dqoAgAAQBA
J&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=ahaba+%22yahaba%22+19+19&source=bl&ots=Wn2HD7RVXz&sig=A
CfU3U3PfxHhKBK9xyIsCSUgHAR5LrIF2g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwii2bCa5-LuAhVSY8AKHWY5D
FMQ6AEwDHoECA8QAg#v=onepage&q=ahaba%20%22yahaba%22%2019%2019&f=false) .
Routledge. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-234-56789-7. and p.15 in Dutton, Yasin (2000). "Red Dots, Green
Dots, Yellow Dots and Blue: Some Reflections on the Vocalisation of Early Qur'anic Manuscripts
(Part II)" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/25727969) . Journal of Qur'anic Studies. 2 (1): 1–24.
Retrieved 11 February 2021.

41. ‫ دمشق‬- ‫ دار المعرفة‬- ‫ رواية ورش عن نافع‬Warsh Reading, Dar Al Maarifah Damascus

42. ‫ المدينة‬- ‫ مجمع الملك فهد‬- ‫ رواية حفص عن عاصم‬Ḥafs Reading, King Fahd Complex Madinah

43. Bell, R.; Watt, W. M. (1977). Introduction to the Quran (https://www.scribd.com/document/6035704

8/Bell-s-Introduction-to-the-Quran-Revised-by-Montgomery-Watt) . Edinburgh. p. 66.

44. Dundes, Fables of the Ancients?, 2003: p.45-46

45. Cook, The Koran, 2000: p.135

46. Abdul-Raof, Hussein (2012). Theological approaches to Qur'anic exergesis. Routledge. p. 101.

47. "Corpus Coranicum" (https://corpuscoranicum.de/lesarten/index/sure/19/vers/25) . Corpus

Coranicum.de. Corpus Coranicum. Retrieved 12 April 2021.

48. Lane, William Edward (1968) [orig. pub. 1877]. An Arabic-English Lexicon (http://www.studyquran.o
rg/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000103.pdf) (PDF). Librairie du Liban. p. 1379. Retrieved 12 April
2021.
}}
49. al Imam, Ahmad 'Ali (2006). Variant Readings of the Quran: A critical study of their historical and
linguistic origins (https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Variant_Readings_of_the_Qur%CA%BCa
n/R2iYf0bvYGwC) . Virginia, USA: Institute of Islamic Thought. p. 42-43. ISBN 9781565644205.

50. al-Naḥḥās, al-Nāsikh wa-al-mansūkh, 2:405. Fa-arāda ʿUthmān an yakhtār min al-sabʿah ḥarfan
wāḥid wa huwa afṣaḥuhā.

51. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istidhkār (Damascus: Dar Qutaibah, 1993), 8:45.

52. ʿAlī ibn Ismaʿīl al-Abyārī, al-Taḥqīq wa-al-bayān fī sharḥ al-burhān fī uṣūl al-fiqh (Doha: Wizārat al-
Awqāf wa al-Shuʾūn al-Islāmīyah Qatar, 2013), 2:792.

53. Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Ṭuruq al-ḥukmīyah fī al-siyāsah al-sharʿīyah, (Mecca: Dār ʿĀlam al-Fawāʾid, 1428
AH), 1:47–48; Ibn al-Qayyim, Iʿlām al-muwaqqiʿīn (Dammam: Dār ibn al-Jawzī, 2002), 5:65.

54. See also Mannāʿ al-Qaṭṭān, Mabāḥith fī ʿulūm al-Qur’ān (Cairo: Maktabah Wahbah, 1995), 158.

55. Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-Bārī (Riyadh: Dār al-Ṭaybah, 2005), 11:195–96. He further explains that this was
a reason for the textual variants between ʿUthmānic codices, to increase the number of readings
that could be accommodated.

56. Makkī ibn Abī Ṭālib, al-Ibānah ʿan maʿānī al-qirāʾāt (Cairo: Dār Nahdah Misr, 1977), 34.

57. Ibn al-Jazarī, al-Nashr, 1:31. He writes, “As for whether ʿUthmānic codices encompass all the seven
aḥruf then this is a major topic . . . the position taken by the majority of the scholars from the
earlier and later generations and the Imams of the Muslims is that these codices encompass that
which the text can accommodate from the seven aḥruf.”

58. Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAmmār al-Mahdawī, Sharḥ al-hidāyah (Riyadh: Maktabah Rushd, 1995), 5.

59. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Tafseer Soorah Al-Hujuraat, 1990, Tawheed Publications, Riyadh,
pp. 29–30.

60. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, Tafseer Soorah Al-Hujuraat, 1990, Tawheed Publications, Riyadh, pp. 30.

61. BISMIKA ALLAHUMA TEAM (9 October 2005). "The Ahruf Of The Qur'aan" (https://www.bismikaalla
huma.org/quran/the-ahruf-of-the-quraan/) . BISMIKA ALLAHUMA Muslim Responses to Anti-Islam
Polemics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.

62. Malik Ibn Anas, Muwatta, vol. 1 (Egypt: Dar Ahya al-Turath, n.d.), p. 201, (no. 473).

63. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. Mizan, Principles of Understanding the Qu'ran (http://renaissance.com.pk/J
anQur2y7.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210102/http://renaissance.com.
pk/JanQur2y7.htm) 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Mawrid

64. Ibn Qayyim, I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in, vol. 3 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, n.d.), p. 96.

65. In the Hot Seat: Muḥammad Hijāb Interviews Dr. Yasir Qadhi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8
Dc1HJ8Uif4#t=84m17s) . YouTube, Yasir Qadhi, 8 June 2020, video at 1h24m17s

66. In the Hot Seat: Muḥammad Hijāb Interviews Dr. Yasir Qadhi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8
Dc1HJ8Uif4#t=89m29s) . YouTube, Yasir Qadhi, 8 June 2020, video at 1h29m29s
67. In the Hot Seat: Muḥammad Hijāb Interviews Dr. Yasir Qadhi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8
Dc1HJ8Uif4#t=82m21s) . YouTube, Yasir Qadhi, 8 June 2020, video at 1h22m21s

68. Nasser, Shady, H. (2012). The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qurʾān: The Problem of
Tawātur and the Emergence of Shawādhdh. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–47. ISBN 9789004240810.

69. ibid. p. 167

70. ibid. pp. 59-61

71. Nasser, Shady, H. (2020). The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936). Leiden: Brill. p. 89.
ISBN 9789004401976.

72. Nasser, Shady, H. (2012). The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qurʾān: The Problem of
Tawātur and the Emergence of Shawādhdh. Leiden: Brill. p. 111. ISBN 9789004240810.

73. ibid. p. 77

74. Morteza Karimi-Nia, A new document in the early history of the Qurʾān: Codex Mashhad, an
ʿUthmānic text of the Qurʾān in Ibn Masʿūd’s arrangement of Sūras, Journal of Islamic Manuscripts,
Volume 10 (2019) 3, pp. 292-326

75. Nasser, Shady, H. (2020). The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936). Leiden: Brill. pp. 110–
116. ISBN 9789004401976.

76. Nasser, Shady, H. (2012). The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qurʾān: The Problem of
Tawātur and the Emergence of Shawādhdh. Leiden: Brill. p. 116. ISBN 9789004240810.

77. Nasser, Shady, H. (2020). The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936). Leiden: Brill. p. 182.
ISBN 9789004401976.

78. ibid. p. 178

79. ibid. 178-180

80. ibid. p. 173

81. ibid. p. 174

82. ibid. p.175-176

83. ibid. p. 159

84. ibid. p.172

85. van Putten, Marijn (2018). "Hamzah in the Quranic Consonantal Text" (https://www.academia.edu/
35556452/Hamzah_in_the_Quranic_Consonantal_Text_Orientalia_87_1_2018_pp_93_120) .
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86. van Putten, Marijn; Stokes, Phillip (2018). "Case in the Qurˀānic Consonantal Text" (https://www.aca
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92. Zarkashi, al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1980), p. 237.

93. Suyuti, al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (Baydar: Manshurat al-Radi, 1343 AH), p. 177.

94. Suyuti, Tanwir al-Hawalik, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Dar al-Jayl, 1993), p. 199.

95. Donner, "Quran in Recent Scholarship", 2008: p.42

96. Donner, "Quran in Recent Scholarship", 2008: p.42-3

97. Cook, The Koran, 2000: p.119

98. cited in Ibn Warraq (February 2008). "Which Koran?" (https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.

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99. A. Rippin. Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices London: Routledge, 2nd Edition 2001,
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Sources
Qiraa'aat Warch & Hafs (ht t p://www.warchwahafs.com)

Islamic-Awareness.org (ht t p://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text /Qiraat /hafs.ht ml#3)

The seven Qira'at (ht t ps://web.archive.org/web/20060501195523/ht t p://ourworld.compus

erve.com/homepages/Abewley/Page6.ht ml)

‘Alawi Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Bilfaqih, Al-Qirâ'ât al-cashr al-Mutawâtir, 1994, Dâr al-
Muhâjir

Adrian Brocket t , "The Value of Hafs And Warsh Transmissions For The Text ual Hist ory Of
The Qur'an" in Andrew Rippin's (Ed.), Approaches of The History of Interpretation of The
Qur'an, 1988, Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 33.

Samuel Green, " The different Arabic versions of t he Quran Part 2: t he current sit uat ion (ht t
p://answering-islam.org/Green/seven.ht m)

Böwering, Gerhard (2008). "Recent Research on t he Const ruct ion of t he Quran". In Reynolds,
Gabriel Said (ed.). The Quran in its Historical Context. Rout ledge.

Reynolds, Gabriel Said (2008). "Int roduct ion, Quranic st udies and it s cont roversies". In
Reynolds, Gabriel Said (ed.). The Quran in its Historical Context (ht t p://www.islam-and-musli
ms.com/Quran-Hist orical-Cont ext .pdf ) (PDF). Rout ledge. pp. 1–26.

Cook, Michael (2000). The Koran : A Very Short Introduction (ht t ps://archive.org/det ails/kora
nveryshort i00cook) . Oxford Universit y Press. ISBN 0192853449. "The Koran : A Very
Short Int roduct ion."

The Origins of t he Variant Readings of t he Qur’an, Yaqeen Inst it ut e (ht t ps://yaqeeninst it ut

e.org/nazir-khan/t he-origins-of-t he-variant -readings-of-t he-quran/)

Further reading

Mot ivat ion and int erest in reading engagement (ht t ps://www.academia.edu/11796656/TH
E_ ROLE_ OF_ READING_ MOTIVATION_ AND_ INTEREST_ IN_ READING_ ENGAGEMENT_ OF_
QURANIC_ EXEGESIS_ READERS)

Gade, Anna M. Perfection Makes Practice: Learning, Emotion, and the Recited Qur'ân in
Indonesia. Honolulu: Universit y of Hawaii Press, 2004.

External links
 Readings of t he Quran (ht t ps://quran-archive.org/readings-of-t he-quran) , including a
biography of The Seven Readers, Quran Archive.

Online Quran Project Communit y Sit e (ht t ps://web.archive.org/web/20090131143540/ht t

p://communit y.al-quran.info/) .

Frequent Quest ions around qiraat (ht t p://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text /Qiraa

t /) about : t he different Qiraat (ht t p://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text /Qiraat /haf
s.ht ml) , including REFUTING The Claim of Differences in Quran (ht t p://www.islamic-aware
ness.org/Quran/Text /Qiraat /green.ht ml) and ot her useful informat ion [1] (ht t p://answerin
g-islam.org/Green/seven.ht m)

quran.com (ht t ps://quran.com/1) - By clicking Set t ings and select ing t he Bridges’
t ranslat ion by Fadel Soliman, words t hat have significant variant s among t he t en canonical
qira'at are highlight ed in red, t oget her wit h a foot not e list ing t he readers or t ransmit t ers
and an English t ranslat ion for each of t he variant readings

nquran.com (ht t ps://www.nquran.com/ar/index.php?group=mult i) - Compare variant

readings in Arabic among t he t en readers in each of t heir t wo canonical t ransmissions

corpuscoranicum.de (ht t ps://corpuscoranicum.de/lesart en/index/) - Compare variant

readings (including some non-canonical) in Lat in t ranscript ion, wit h t he main 7 canonical
readings as recorded by Abū ʿAmr ad-Dānī highlight ed in blue

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