THE VARIANT READINGS OF THE QUR'AN:

A CRITICAL STUDY OF THEIR

HISTORICAL AND LINGUISTIC

ORIGINS

Ahmad cAll Muhammad cAbd Allah

Submitted for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy
University of Edinburgh
July 1984
 ii

To the soul of my beloved father, the man who

filled me with his devotion to the Qur1an, and
enlightened me with his wisdom and wide know-
ledge in spreading the message of the Qur1an,
the ever preserved word of God:
"We have, without doubt,
Sent down the Message,
And We will assuredly
Guard it (from corruption).11
(S.XV,9)

The death of my father was a great loss to me,

as in his precious and spiritual company I
lived the most beautiful days of my life.
Indeed to me he was a father, a shaykh, an
excellent example for me to follow, a friend
and
~~~Jj Sl-'IA?J,3
J30jJl;j\3S~ ~ J3
 iii

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this thesis is entirely my own composition.

A.A.M. t Abd Allah

 iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication ii
Declaration iii
Acknowledgement vii
System of Transliteration ix
Abbreviations x
Abstract XV11
Introduction xix

Chapter 1
REVELATION OF THE QUR'AN IN SEVEN AHRUF 1
The meaning of seven ahruf
. in the ahad,th .
---
7
Meaning of ahruf in the Arabic Language 10

The interpretation of ISeven ahruf ' 12

Chapter 2
COMPILATION OF THE QUR'AN 32

Compilation of the Qur1an during the reigns of Abu

Bakr and CUthman 35

Methods adopted in this compilation 39

The materials of inscriptions of the Qur1an 43

The sending of the masahif to the provinces 45

The dating of the compilation of the Qur1an in the

reign of CUthman 49

The validity of Abu Bakr's compilation 54

The number of Qurra l

slain 58
-
The compilation and arrangement of verses in their suras 66
The problem of missing verses 69
The meaning of the term jam C al-Qur'an 73
 v

Theory of naskh 78
The Sh,c ite opinions on the alteration of the Qur'an 90

Chapter 3
THE DEVELOPMENT OF cUTHMANIC MASAHIF 103

The masahif and their relation to the ahruf 103

Orthography of the masahif 106

Chapter 4
THE cUTHMANIC MASAHIF AND THE PERSONAL CODICES OF THt
COMPANIONS AND SUCCESSORS 122
Differences between the masahif of the amsar 134

Chapter 5
THE LANGUAGE OF THE QUR'AN 140

Chapter 6
THE ORIGIN OF THE QIRA'AT 179
The development of the conditions for accepted readings 186
The kinds of readings 196
The successive ~nd anomalous readings 201
Definition of shadhdh 207
Development of the concept of shadhdh 210
The relationship between the Qira'at and the Qur'an 212
The compilation of Qira'at and the earliest compilers 213
 vi

Chapter 7
IKHTIYAR IN THE QIRA'AH AND ITS BASES 220
Refutation of free exercise of choice in selection
of readings 223
The CUthmanic masahif and the problem of grammatical
or orthographical errors 249

CONCLUSION 267

BIBLIOGRAPHY 274
 vii

ACKNOvJLEDGEMENT

Thanks are indeed to God Almighty vJorthy of all praise.

liThe one who does not thank people, does not thank God."
Hence I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. ~1ichael

v. McDonald who has supervised this study with constant care and
patience. He has indeed spared no time in supporting this research
at all stages with his guidance, respect and kind encouragement.
In particular I have greatly benefited from diverse sources to
which he has directed me especially the European sources.
My acknowledgement would be incomplete without extending my
thanks to innumerable colleagues and friends who have helped me in
one way or another and who need not be mentioned by name here.
I am truly indebted to my family both direct and extended
J~-;'~ I~_::, ~j't 1<- -> ~---; ~~7<'
\" I,
who have always been an inexhaustiole source of hope throughout
---~--

my absence from home.

I should also like to express my sincere gratitude to the
Islamic University of Omdurman which has provided me with
financial support throughout the period.
Finally I would like to thank Miss I. Crawford the
Departmental Secretary and the staff of both the Departmental Libr~ry

and the inter library loan of the main library for their kind
services. My thanks are also due to Mrs Grace Young who has
typed this thesis with great care and accuracy.
 viii

Last and certainly not least my indebtedness ;s due to the

soul of my deceased honourable shaykh Muhammad
. Ibrahlm al-Tayyib
.
under whose supervision and guidance I committed to memory at
the earliest stage of life the holy Qur1an.
 ix

SYSTEM OF TRANSLITERATION
The system of transliteration adopted here is that recommended by
the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, with the
following slight modifications:
1. Tal marbutah is rendered II- ah ll

2. The alif of the definite article 1S always retained.

In passages from the Qurlan where the precise pronunciation
of the text is relevant to the discussion such features as i c rab,
-

idgham, etc. have also been indicated.

Transliterated forms of Arabic geographical terms have 1n
general been preferred to Anglicised forms, e.g. Makkah not Mecca,
with the exception of the bibliography.
 x

ABBREVIATIONS

Abu CUbayd, Fada'il al-Quran - Abu CUbayd, Fada'il al-Qur'an

wa-Macalimuh wa-~dabuh
al-Awa'il - al-cAskarl: al-Awa'il
al-Bahr al-Muhlt
. . - Abu Hayyan, Tafslr al-Bahr al-Muhlt
Bayan al-Khu'l, al-Bayan fl Tafslr al-Qur'an
al-Bidayah wa-al-Nihayah Ibn Kathlr, al-Bidayah wa-al-Nihayah
fl al-Tarlkh
al-Budur al-Zahirah - al-Qadl, al-Budur al-Zahirah fl al-Qira'at
al-cAshr al-t~utawatirah Min Tarigay
. al-Shatibiyyah
. wa-al-Durrl
Bulugh al-Amanl - al-Banna: Bulugh al-Aman, Min Asrar al-Fath
al-Rabbanl
Bukharl, al-Bukharl, al-Jami c al-Sah,h, or Sah,h al-Bukharl
- -
- al-Zarkashi, al-Burhan fi- C -
Ulum -
al-Qur'an
Concluding Essay - Jeffery, Concluding Essay on the Materials
for the History of the Text of the Qur1an
Dayf, al-cAsr al-Jahill ~ayf, Tarlkh al-Adab al-cArabl, al-cAsr
al-Jahili
Dhawg al-Halawah al-Ghamarl, Dhawg al-Halawah bi-Bayan Imtina c
Naskh al-Tilawah
Dirasat fl Tar~kh al-Khatt al-cArabl - al-Munajjid~Dirasat fl

Tarikh al-Khatt al-cArab, Mundh Bidayatih Ila Nihayat al-cAsr

al-Umawl

E.!. 1 , E.I. 2 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1st and 2nd edition.

 xi

Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu C Fatawa Shaykh ai-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah

--~------------~--------------~~~

Fath al-Bar, Ibn Hajar al- CAsqalanl, Fath ai-Bari bi-sharh

Sahih al-Bukhar,

al-Fihrist - al-Nad,m, Kitab al-Fihrist

FUck, al-CArabiyyah FUck, al-CArabiyyah Dirasat Fl al-Lahajat
wa-al-Asal,b
Funun al-Afnan Ibn al-Jawzi, Funun al-Afnan fi cUyun cUlum al-Qur'an

Ghara'ib al-Qur'an al-Nisaburl, Tafslr Ghara'ib al-Qur'an

wa-Ragha'ib al-Furqan
Ghayat ai-Nihayah - Ibn al-Jazari, Ghayat al-Nihayah fi
Tabaqat al-Qurra' Dhaw, al-Dirayah
•
c
Ghayth al-Naf C al-Safaqis" Ghayth al-Naf c f, al-Qira'at al-Sab
-
al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak CAla- al-Sahihayn
-

Ibanah, al-Qaysl, al-Ibanah cAn Macani al-Qira'at

Idah Ibn al-Anbar" .
Kitab Idah. al-waqf wa-al-Ibtida' fi
Kitab Allah cAzza \~a-jall
- - - c-
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir - Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al- Azim
- al-Ma c-ani-
Ibraz Abu Shamah: Ibraz al-Macanl Min Hirz al-Amanl
al- C Iqd al-Farid
- Ibn cAbd Rabbih, al-CIqd al-Farid
al-Iqtirab al-Suyutl, al-Iqtirah fl Usul al-Na~~

Irshad al-Sari al-Qastallani, Irshad al-Sarl bi-Sharh. Sahih

-
..
al-Bukhari
-C-
al-Isti ab ..
Ithaf - al-Dimyat" Ithaf fudala' al-Bashar bi-Qira'at al-ArbaCat
cAshar
 xii

Itgan al-Suyutl, al-Itqan fl cUlum al-Qur'an

al-Kalimat al-Hisan al-Mut,Ci, al-Kalimat al-Hisan fi
-
al-~uruf al-Sab Cah wa-Jam C al-Qur'an
-

a l-Kami 1 Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil f, al-Tar,kh

Kanz al-Ma C-ani- al-Jacburi, Kanz al-Macani fl Sharh Hirz
al-Aman, wa-Wajh al-Tahanl
Kashf al-Zunun - HajJl Khallfah, Kashf al-Zunun cAn Asam,
al-Kutub wa-al-Funun
al-Kashshaf - al-Zamakhshari, al-Kashshaf cAn ~aqa'iq Ghawamid
C - - -
al-Tanzil wa Uyun al-Aqawil f; Hujuh al-Ta'wil
Kitab al-Sabcah Ibn Mujahid, Kitab al-Sabcah fl al-Qira'at
Kitab al-Zlnah al-Razi, Kitab al-Zinah f, al-Kalimat al-Islamiyyah
al-CArabiyyah
Khiz~nat al-Adab al-Khatlb al-Baghdadl, Khiz~nat al-Adab
.
wa-Lubb Lubab Lisan al-cArab
al-Kurdl, Tarikh al-Qur'an al-Kurdl, Tarlkh al-Qur'an al-Karlm
wa-Ghara'ib Rasmih wa Hukmih

Lane Lane, Madd al-Qamus, Arabic-English Lexicon

Lata'if, al-Qastallani, Lata'if al-Isharat li-Funun al-Qira'at
. . --_.--------------------------------
Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-cArab
- - - - - -
Mabani Anon., ed. Jeffery, Kitab al-Mabani fi Na~m al-Ma c-ani-
See Jeffery, Muqaddimatan fi cUlum al-Qur'an
~1ac al-nasahif, -al-Nur, Yusuf Ibrahim, ~1ac al-f·1asahif

al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya fl Tafslr al-Qur'an al-Karlm

-
Goldziher, (Die Richtungen der Islamischen Koranauslegung),
al-Hadhahib al-Islamiyya fl Tafslr al-Qur'an al-Karlm
Trans. by cAl; Hasan cAbd al-Qadir
 xiii

Madh~hib al-Tafsir al-Isl~mi - Goldziher, (Die Richtungen der

Islamischen Koranauslegung), Madh~hib al-Tafsir al-Islami,
Trans. by cAbd al-Hallm al-Najj~r .
.
Madrasat al-Kufah - al-Makhzuml, Madrasat al-Kufah wa-Manhajuha
fl Dir~sat al-Lughah wa-al-Nahw
.
- -
Mafatih ~l-Ghayb - al-R~z', fvlafatlh al-Ghayb
Manahil
Maratib al-NahwiYYln - al-Halabl, Maratib al-NahwiYYln
Macrifat al-Qurr~' al-Kib~r - al-Dhahabl, Macrifat al-Qurr~'
al-Kib~r cAl~ al-Tabaqat wa-al-Acsar
.- .-
~ - - - -
al-Masahif - Ibn Abl Dawud, Kitab ..
al-Masahif

~la teri a 1s - Jeffery, ~1ateri a1s for the Hi story of the Text of the Qur' an

al-Muhadhdhab, Muhaysin, al-Muhadhdhab fl al-Qir~'~t al-cAshr

wa-Tawjihuha Min Lughat al-cArab
al-Muharrar al-Wajiz - Abu Shamah, al-Murshid al-Wajiz Ila
c U1um TataCallaq bi-al-Kitab al-cAzlz
al-Muhkam - al-D~nl, al-Muhkam f; Naqt al-Masahif

al-Muhtasib - Ibn Jinnl, al-Muhtasib f, TabYln Wujuh Shawadhdh

- - - - C -
al-Qira'at wa-al-I~~~ Anha

MuCjam Ma IstaCjam, al-Bakrl, MuCjam Ma IstaCjam Min Asma' al-Bilad

- C
wa-al-Mawadi
.
Mukhtasar - Ibn Khalawayh, al-Mukhtasar fi Shawadhdh al-Qir~'at

Munjid Ibn al-Jazarl, Munjid al-Muqri 'In wa-Murshi~ al-Talib,n

 xiv

Muqaddimatan ed. Jeffery, Muqaddimatan fi cUlum al-Qur'an

al-Muqni C - al-Danl, al-Muqni C fi Rasm Masahif al-Amsar

Mushkil Athar - al-Tahawl, Mushkil al-Athar

Muslim
.
Muslim, Sahlh
. . Muslim, or al-Jamic al-Sahlh
Musnad Ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad
al-Mustasfa al-Ghazzali, al-Mustasfa Min c Ilm al-Usul

al-Muzhir - al-Suyutl, al-Muzhir fi al-Lughah wa-Anwaciha

al-Naqd al-Tahlili al-Ghamrawl, al-Nagd al-Ta~lili li-Kitab

fi al-Adab al-Jahili
al-Nasa'i al-Nasa'i, Sunan al-Nasa'i, al-Mujtaba
Nashr - Ibn al-Jazari, al-Nashr fi al-Qira'at al-cAshr
al-Naskh fi al-Qur'an al-Karlm - Abu Zayd: al-Naskh fl al-Qur'an
al-Karlm, Dirasah Tashrl Ciyyah Tarikhiyyah Nagdiyyah
Nihayah, Ibn al-Athir, al-Nihaya~ ff Gharlb al-Hadith wa-al-Athar
Nukat al-Intisar
.- - Ibn al-Baqillani, Nukat al-Intisar li-Nagl
Masahif al-Amsar
.

al-Qira'at al-Mashhurah -
Ibn Hazm,al-Qira'at al-Mashhurah fl
- - ':c -
al-Amsar
. al-Atiyah Maji ~ al-Tawatur

Qurtubi

Al-Rawd al-Unuf - al-Suhayli, al-Rawd. al-Unuf fi Sharh. al-Sirah

al-Nabawiyyah li-Ibn Hisham
al-Riyad al-Mustatabah - al- C-Amiri:
-
al-Riyad al-Mustatabah fi

.
Jumlat Man Rawa fi al-Sahlhayn min al-Sahabah
.
 xv

Ruhal - t~a C-ani- al-Alusl, Ruh al-Macani fi Tafsir al-Qur'an

C '7 C ,- . '7
al- AZlm
. ~4-al-Sab al-Mathanl
a l-Sahi
. . b, Ibn ZakarJyya, al-Sahi
. . b,
Sharh al-Sunnah al-Baghawi, Sharh al-Sunnah

al-Shifa l
, al-Qadi cIyad , al-Shifa l
bi-la crif Huquq al-Mustafa
• t ••

S,rat Ibn Hisham - Ibn Hisham" al-Sirah al··Nabawiyyah

Sirat Ibn Ish~ - Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Ibn Ishaq
•
al-Qalqashandi, Sub~
. al-Acsha fl SinaCat al-Insha
Sunan Abi Dawud - Abu Dawud al-Sijistani~Sunan Abl Dawud
Sunan Ibn Majah - Ibn Majah, Sunan Ibn Majah
Tabaqat al-Huffaz, al-Suyutl, Tabaqat al-Huffaz

Tabar" Tafslr - al-Tabar" Jami c al-Bayan cAn Ta ' wl1 al-Quran

Tadhkirat al-Huffaz al-Dhahabl, Tadhkirat al-Huffaz

Tafsir al-Khams Mi'at ~yah - Muqatil, Tafslr al-Khams Mi lat

Ayah Min al-Qur'an Fl al-Amr wa-al-Nahy wa-al-Halal
wa-al-Haram
.
Tafsir al-Manar - . Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Haklm
Rida,
Tafsir al-Maraghi al-Maraghl, Tafsir al-Maraghl
Tafsir al-Qummi al-Qumm"
- al-Qummi-
Tafsir
Tarikh al-Tabari al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa-al-Muluk
C-- c-- -- c--
Tarikh al-Ya qubi, al-Ya qubi, Tarikh al-Ya gubi
Tartib al-Musnad - al-Banna, al-Fath al-Rabbani li-Tartib
Musnad Ahmad
. b. Hanbal
. al-Shaybani
al-Tatawwur al-Nahwi Bergstraesser; al-Tatawwur al-Nahwi
l,i-al-Lughah al-CArabiyyah
 ,.Xv'

Ta 'Wll Ibn Qutaybah, Ta'wll Mushkil al-Qur'~n

Thimar al-Qulub, al-Th~alibl, Thimar-al-Qulub f, al-Mud~f wa-al-

~lansub

al-Tamh,d Ibn al-Baqillani, al-Tamhld fi al-Radd cA1a

al-MuCattilah Wa-al-Rafidah Wa-al-Khawarij Wa-al-
c •.
r~u tazi 1ah.

al-Tiby~n al-Nawawl, al-Tibyan fl ~dab ~amalat al-Qur'an

al-Tusl, al-Tiby~n al-Tusi, al-Tibyan fl Tafslr al-Qur'an
al-W~qidl, Maghazl - al-Waqidl, Kitab al-Maghazl
 x vii

ABSTRACT
The present study attempts to investigate the nature of the seven
a~ruf in which the Qurlan has been revealed and the reason for the

variations in readings among the Qurra l of the Qurlan.

In the first chapter we study the revelation of the Qurlan ln
seven ahruf and conclude that they mean seven linguistical ways of
recitation. The discussion in the following chapter deals with the
compilation of the Qurlan during the lifetime of the Prophet and the
preservation of the Qurlan in the memories of the companions as well
as in written form, the compilation during the time of Abu Bakr and
the further compilation during the time of c Uthman.
-

The problem of naskh is discussed to demonstrate the completeness

and trustworthiness of the Qurlan and that there are no verses missing
or which used to be read and were abrogated by Naskh al-Tilawah
either with or without hukm. The following third and fourth chapters
deal with the CUthmanic masahif and their relation to the seven ahruf.
The most acceptable two opinions among the scholars are that they
accommodate all or certain ahruf which correspond with the orthography

..
of the masahif and that these masahif include what is transmitted by
tawatur and avoid ahad readings which belong to certain personal
codices and are transmitted to us in unauthentic chains.
The language of the Qurlan and whether it includes one, several
or all the dialects of the Arabs is discussed in Chapter 5, and it is
concluded that the language of the Qurlan represents the common spoken
 xvi;;

literary language of the Arabs which is based on all their dialects

with a predominance of Qurashi dialect features.
In Chapter 6 the origin of the Qira'at is examined and
conditions governing accepted readings are studied. The final
chapter studies ikhtiyar, i.e. the selection of one reading rather
than an other and the rules governing the Qurra' who select a
reading. It is shown that the Qurra' do not have a free hand in
this and that any reading should be subject to the correspondence
with riwayah, the orthography of the masahif and the Arabic language.
• •
These readings may differ in meaning but do not contradict each other.
In the conclusion we review briefly the issues discussed in the
seven chapters of this thesis.
 xix

INTRODUCTION
From the earliest years of my life I have been aware of the
phenomenon of variation in reading among the Qurra' of the Qur'an
because of the existence of three readings which dominate in the

.. for one of these readings, (al-Durl cAn Abl cA~r)

Sudan, the mushaf
having been published for the first time in the Sudan in 1978.
I have been concerned here to investigate the reasons behind
these variations and the origins of the Qira'at. Thus I have
studied the nature of the seven ahruf in which the Qur'an has been
revealed to conclude that they mean seven linguistical variations
reflecting various dialects of the Arabs in ways of recitation of
the Qur'an. The ahad,th which substantiate the revelation of the
Qur'an in seven ahruf are found to be sound and succeSSlve (mutawatir).
The following chapters study the status of the Qur'an and its
preservation in memorles as well as in written records during the
lifetime of the Prophet and the compilation of Abu Bakr and the
further compilation of CUthman which dominated the amsar, when copies
were sent accompanied by distinguished Qurra', while the personal

..
codices which did not correspond with the CUthmanic masahif
c -
disappeared and ceased to exist. The development of the Uthmanic
masahif is studied down to the printed masahif of our present day,
..
and it has been concluded that these readings represent the received
text of the Qur'an without alteration. We shall discuss various
 xx

issues 1n a critical way refuting many episodes and allegations

_-.;..u~

concerning the history of the text of the Qur'an and the masahif
to demonstrate the completeness and trustworthiness of the Qur'an.
Furthermore the relation between the CUthmanic masahif and the
seven ahruf is studied and as a result it is concluded that the
masahif, which include what is transmitted by tawatur, accommodate
either all or a certain unspecified number of the ahruf which
correspond with the orthography of the CUthmanic masahif.
The question of the language of the Qur'an is investigated in
ancient sources as well as in modern linguistical studies. As a
result the text of the Qur'an 1S seen to reflect the influence of
various dialects of the Arabs. The views of the scholars differed
in identifying the most fluent dialects of the Arabs according to
their criteria for fluency. In this connection an attempt is made
to distinguish between lughah and lahjah in ancient sources and
modern studies.
Indeed the language of the Qur'an represents the common spoken
literary language of the Arabs,which is based on all their dialects,
with a predominance of Qurash, features.
The origins of the Qira'at go back to the teaching of the
Prophet, although the phenomenon of variations in readings is
noticed only after the Hijrah in Madlnah due to the increase of the
number of Muslims belonging to various tribes, this being in order
to facilitate the reading of the Qur'an among them. In this respect

we find that whenever the companions differed in reading among

 xxi

themselves they used to support their reading by referring it to

the teachings of the Prophet. This method is followed by the
following generation. The conditions for the accepted reading
are studied with their development. Thus the readings which
correspond with the three conditions for an accepted reading or
which lack one or more of them are studied together with the
.~Classification of the kinds of readings.
The forebear~
...
of the Qira'at and the effect of Ibn Mujahid's
~...,...

al-Sabcah on the following generation are discussed, together with

a survey of books composed on the subject of the Qira'at.
The Ikhtiyar in reading among the qualified Qurra' of the Qur'an
lS governed by the conditions for the accepted readings. Thus they
have no free hand in their selection and the theory of reading the
Qur'an in accordance with the meaning is shown to be groundless.

/ The orthography
~ - of the masahif
-~ . .
is intended to preserve the
sound transmitted and authentic reading but never to initiate or
create a reading. Certain accepted readings are objected to by
some philologists and grammarians; some examples are studied to
conclude that they are sound and accepted readings on the grounds
of their sound transmission, fluency and correspondence with various
Arab dialects.
In addition it is emphasised that there are no grammatical or
orthographical errors in the CUthmanic masahif.
Moreover, the sound accepted readings, although they may differ
ln meaning, never contradict each other. In the conclusion the main
issues discussed in the seven chapters of this thesis are briefly

reviewed.
 x~ii

In the present study we have relied upon various standard

books in manuscript and printed form on Qira'at and the sciences of
the Qur1an (c Ulum al-Qur'an), Tafslr, Had,th, history, grammar and
.
Arabic studies.
In the Qira'at and the sciences of the Qur1an we have mainly
benefited from Abu CUbaydah's Fada'il al-Qur'an, Ibn Mujahid's
•
Kitab al-Sabcah, al-Dan,' s al-Tayslr fl al-Qira'at al-Sab c , al-Muqni C
f, Rasm Masahif
. . al-Amsar
. and al-Muhkam
. f, Naqt.al-Masahif,
, .

Ibn al-Baqillan,' s Nukat al-Inti~ar, Makkl Ibn Abl Talib

. al-Qaysl's
al-Ibanah cAn Macanl al-Qira'at and al-Kashf cAn Wujuh al··Qira'at
al-Sab c , Ibn al-Jazar"s al-Nashr and Munjid al-Muqri'ln,
al-Qastallanl's
. Lata'if
. al-Isharat, al-Zarkashl's al-Burhan and
----------------
al-Suyu~,'s al-Itqan.

In fact they are most used in discussions about the meaning of

the seven ahruf and their relation to the CUthmanic masahif, the
personal codices and their end the origins of Qira'at.
In the field of Tafsir we have used the books of al-Tabarl,
.
al-Zamakhsharl, al-Razl, al-Qurtubl,
. Abu Hayyan
. and Ibn Kathir,
in interpretation of certain verses which are read in various ways
and support of certain accepted readings and grammatical arguments
concerning certain other readings.
As regards the substantiation of revelation of the Qur1an ln
-
seven ahruf, compilation of the Qur1an, the arrangement of suras and
.
verses and the problem of Naskh, we have benefited from the standard
books on the literature of Hadlth, mainly from Bukharl, Muslim and

.
. ' , al-Musnad and the four al-Sunan.
other canonical works, al-Muwatta
 xxi j i

We have only used the authentic ahadlth which are sound in

their transmission and context. Furthermore certain ahadlth although
.
sound from the point of view of their asanld, are not accepted
because on the matter of the Qurlan,taw~tur is always required.
In the commentaries on ahadlth
. we most benefited from Ibn Hajar
.
al-CAsqalanl's Fath al-Barl and al-Baghawl's Sharh al-Sunnah .
.
In this connection we have also used al-Tabarl's Tarlkh,
.
Ibn al-Athlr's al-Kamil and Ibn Kath,r's al-Bidayah, particularly
in questions and issues relating to the compilation of the Qurlan.
Finally as regards the language of the Qurlan, and the problem of
fluent and most fluent of Arab dialects, many primary sources are

. .
used such as Slbawayh's al-Kitab, Ibn Faris ' al-Sahibl, Ibn Jinni's
al-Khasa'is
. and .al-Suyuti
. IS al-Muzhir and al-Iqtirah.
.
Use of modern studies has also been made and we have consulted
various books on different topics, written in different languages
such as al-Alusl's Tafslr, al-Zurqanl's Manahil al-cIrfan,
Hammudah's al-Qira'at wa-al-Lahajat and a number of works entitled
Tarlkh al-Qur'an composed by Rustvfadunl, al-Zinjanl, al-Kurdl, al-Ibyarl, and
Shahln, al-Nur's Mac al-Masahif, Noldeke's,Beschichte Des Qurlan, and
Jeffery's Materials for the History of the Text of the Qurlan.

In fact the primary sources are mainly used in support of the

views discussed with reference to certain modern works.
Although many books have been read in this field reference has
been made only to those cited. The bibliography shows the books

used in the present study.

 xxiv

The importance of this topic in the ancient and modern

studies lies in the fact that it concerns the Qurl~n which is the
main source of belief and law and the eternal word of God to the
believers.
In particular there is no work in any Western language devoted
wholly to the question of Qira'at, despite the great contribution
made by Western scholars like Gustavus Fluegel, Otto Pretzl,
G. Bergstraesser and Arthur Jeffery ln publishing texts on Qir~'~t.

In the writings of modern Arab scholars some like those of

Hammudah and al-Zurqani are very helpful, though they only deal
with certain aspects of the problem, or are devoted generally to
the sciences of the Qur1an rather than the Qir~'at. Thus although
what has been written in the field is very extensive, as the
bibliography shows, there is still need of critical studies.
In the present work we have attempted to study comprehensively
and critically the questions relating to our limited topic of the
variant readings of the Qurl~n and their historical and linguistic
origins. It is hoped that this thesis will make some contribution
to our knowledge of the sciences of the Qur1an which still deserves
a great deal of elucidation.
 CHAPTER 1

REVELATION OF THE QUR'AN IN SEVEN AHRUF

CHAPTER 1

REVELATION OF THE QUR'AN IN SEVEN ARRUF

.
The text of the Qur'an has allowed from the earliest time several
equally valid ways of recitation. Sever~ ah~d~th, which are often
V
quoted in support of this practice, will be discussed here with a
view to finding out how and why variant readings existed and also
understanding some of the implications of the texts. The following
had,th is a good indication of the existence of these various ways
of recitation:
"it is narrated by CAbd Allah b. cAbbas that the prophet
peace be upon him said 'Gabriel recited the Qur'an to me
in one ~~rf. Then I requested him (to read it in another
ahruf)and continued asking him to recite in other harf
ti 11 he ul timate ly reci ted it in seven ahruf. ,Ill
Variousahadi'th' offer some indication of the existence of
arguments and disagreements amongst the Companions on this subject,
whenever one of them found another reciting the Qur'an in a different
way from that which he had been taught. One such event took place
between c Umar b. al-Khattab and Hisham b. Hakim as illustrated in

the following ~a~ith:

1. Bukharl, vol.VI,pp.48l-482, Muslim, vol .1, p.561; Muslim added

"Ibn Shihab al-Zuhrl said: It has been narrated to me that these
seven harfs
. are in one meaning and do not differ concerning
Halal or Haramll. Tabarl~ Tafsir, vol.I, p.29, and al-Baghawl,
. . .
Sharh al-Sunnah, vol.IV, p.50l .
.
1
 It is narrated from cUmar b. al-Khattab. , he said:
"I heard Hisham b. ~akim reciting Surat al-Furqan during
the life time of Allah's Apostle and I listened to his
recitation and noticed that he recited in several
different ways which Allah's Apostle had not taught me.
I was about to jump over him during his prayer but I
controlled my temper and when he had completed his prayer
I put his upper garment around his neck and seized him
by it and said: "Who taught you this surah which I·
heard you reciting?" He said: "Allah's Apostle tauqht
it to me. II I said "You have told a lie, for Allah's
Apostle has taught it to me in a different way from
yours. II So I dragged him to Allah's Apostle and said
(to Allah's Apostle) "I heard this person reciting
-
Surat - in a way which you have not taught me!"
al-Furgan
On that Allah's Apostle said "Release him (0 cUmar )!
Recite 0 Hisham!" Then he recited in the same way as
I heard him reciting. Then Allah's Apostle said lilt was
revealed in this way" and added "Recite 0 cUmar!" I
recited it as he had taught me. Allah's Apostle then said:
It was revea 1ed in thi s "Jay.
II This Qur'an has been
revealed to be recited in seven ahruf,
. so recite of it
whichever is easier for you. 11111
It would appear from this had,th that the purpose of the revelation
of the Qur'an in seven ahruf is to facilitate recitation for Muslims,
and in fact there are many references in the ahadi
. th to the
revelation of the Qur'an in seven ahruf to make its recitation

easy for people.

1. Bukhar" vol.VI,pp.482-483, Tabar" Tafsir, vol.I, pp.24-25. See also

. c c - c-
the argument between Ubayy b. Ka band Abd Allah b. Mas ud,
and between cAmr b. al-cAs and another, Fath al-Bari, vol.IX,p.26.

2
 The following are some examples:
1. liThe Qur'an was sent down ln seven ahruf, so recite what
seems easy therefrom. III
2. liThe prophet peace be upon him met Gabriel and told him
"I have been sent to an illiterate people, among them are
the old woman, the aged shaykh, the servant and the
female servant, and the man who has never read a book."
Then he said to him "0 Muhammad the Qur'an has been
revealed in seven ahruf. II ;,2
3. "Verily this Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, so
3
reci te at 1i berty. .. ."
4. "Gabriel came to the prophet peace be upon him and said
"Allah has commanded you to recite to your people the
Qur1an in one harf."
. Upon this he said III ask for Allah's
pardon and forgiveness. My people are not capable of doing
,'t ,.. .114
5. In another hadlth "Make things easy for my people" or "~1ake
a f fa irs ea sy fo r my peo p1e . 5
II

The revelation of the Qur'an in seven ahruf for the Muslims in

order to make it easier for them is ~onfirmed by the following verse:
"And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy To
understand and remember ... " (S.LIV, 17).

1. Mu s 1i m, vo 1 . I I, p. 391 .
2. Related by Tirmidh, who says it is a good and sound hadlth. See
~ab19 al-Tirmidhl, vol.XIV, p.63, al-Baghawl, Sharh al-Sunnah,
vol.IV, p.508 and !abarl, T~fslr, vol .1, p.35.
3. Tabari, Tafsir, vol.I, p.46 .
.
4. Muslim, vol.II, p.391.
5. ibid., p.390.

3
 Many commentators point out that it was very difficult for
the Arabs who were - in most - an illiterate people with various
ways of pronunciation or dialects to be ordered or even asked to
abandon their own dialects and ways of recitation all at once.
This is because it was difficult to do so, and because people tried
to cling strongly to their dialects. l
The permission to recite the Qur1an ln seven ahruf was g1ven
after the Hijrah as is clear from the following hadlth .
.~ Ubayy b. Kacb reported that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be
~pon
.---
him) was near the Tank of
and said:
Ban~ Ghifar when Gabriel came to him
"Allah has commanded you to recite to your people the
Qur1an in one harf.1I Upon this he said: III ask from Allah pardon
and forgiveness. My people are not capable of doing it. 1I
He then
came for the second time and said: IIAllah has commanded you that you
should recite the Qur1an to your people in two ahruf.1I Upon this
he again said: III seek pardon and forgiveness from Allah, my people
would not be able to do SO.II He (Gabriel) came for the third time
and said: "Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur1an to your
people in three ahruf.1I Upon this he said: "I ask pardon and
.
forgiveness from Allah. My people would not be able to do 1"t . II

He then came to him for the fourth time and said: "Allah has

commanded you to recite the Qur1an to your people in seven ahruf, and
1I2
in whichever they would recite, they would be right.

1. Suyat~, Itgan, vol.I, p.136, Ibn ~ajar al-CAsqalanl, Fath al-Barl

vol.jX,p.22, Ibn al-Jazarl, Nashr, vol.I, p.22.
2. Musl im, vol.It, p.39l, "!"abari, Tafslr, vol. I, p.40.

4
 Adat Bani Ghifar which is translated as lithe Tank of Banu
Ghi fa r" is a place nea r Mad l' nah, bei ng a ttri buted to the Banu
Ghifar because they used to live around this tank. l
In another version it is stated that Gabriel met the prophet
near Ahjar al Mira,2 which is a place near Quba' in the countryside
around Mad1'nah. 3
This does not, however, mean that that part of the Qur1an which
which was revealed after the hijrah was the only part to be recited
in seven ahruf. This is shown by the previously mentioned argument
between cUmar and Hisham about different versions of Surat al-
Furqan which was revealed in Makkah. 4 Such arguments between the
companions were not acceptable, and so the prophet himself fo~b~~e

his companions to dispute about this matter and became angry whenever
he found some of them disputing because of differences in recitation.
Once he said:

1. Fath. al-Barl, vol .IX,p.28, al Qastall ani, Lata'if al-Isharat

vol.I, p.35, Tabari, Tafslr, vol.I, p.36, al-Bakri,
MuCjam MaIst~Cjam vol.I, p.164.
2. Related by Tirmidhl who says: lilt is good and sound hadith, see
Sahlh
. . . al-Tirmidhl, vol.IV,p.6l, Ahmad, . Musnad vol.V, p.132,
Baghawl, Sharb al-Sunnah, vol .IV,p.508, ~abarl, vol,!, p.35.
3. See Taba;--;, Tafslr, vol.I, pp.35-36. Mujahidsays it is Quba ' itself.
S2e Ibn al-Athlr, al-Nihayah, vol .1, p.203. al Bakrl in his
book Mu c j am Ma II s ta c jam vol.!, p. 117, was confused when he menti oned
it as in Makkah. In fact he thought Sujiyy al-Sabab was the
same place as ADjar a1-Mira'.
4. al-Suyutl, Itqan, vol.I, p.27.

5
 "Verily this Qurlan has been revealed to be recited in seven
ahruf,
. in every harf
. you recite you have done so correctly.
So don t argue si nce thi s may 1ead to kufr.
I III

There are somayahadlth about the revelation of the Qurlan

in seven ahruf that Abu CUbayd al-Qasim b. Sal lam (224/838) considered
them as successive (mutawatir) ahadith. 2 Despite this,Goldziher
.
attributes to him the opinion that these ahadlth
.. are shadhdh and
3
without an acceptable isnad, referring to the Alif Ba l of al-Balawl.
In fact however it is only one hadlth
. which is rejected by
Abu CUbayd, that which refers to the seven ahruf being revealed ln seven
different meanings (see pp.15-16 below). The other ahadith
. are
regarded as mutawatir, and he interprets them as referring to
seven dialects. 4
al-Suyutl (911~905) counted the names of the companions who
.
5
narrated these hadlths, and he found out that there were twenty of them.
.

1. Related by Ahmad,
. Musnad, vol.IV, pp.169-170, Tabari,
. vol .1, p.44,
Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.21, Ibn Kathlr: Fadalil al-Qurlan, p.65.
2.
.
Nashr,
--~'------------
vol.I, p.21, Itqan, vol.I, p.78. In fact this large
number of companions who narrated these hadlths must have been
the reason for Abu CUbaydls considering them as successive
hadlths (mutawatir), since this number of people found in the
generation of the companions do not exist among the successors.
Nevertheless it is a famous and good hadith,
. See al-Zurqanl
Manahil al-clrfan, vol.I, p.132.
3. Ma dha hi b a1- Ta f s 1r a1- I s 1am 1, p. 54, quo tin gal - Ba1awi, Ali f Ba I , Vo 1 . I , p. 2lC
4. See p.18 below.
5. Itgan, vol.I, p.13l; Suyu~l studied the work of Ibn al-Jazari and
added two to the nineteen which the latter had already collected.
See Nashr, vol.I, p.21.
6
 This fact is supported by another hadlth to the effect that
CUthman b. cAffan asked those present at the mosque of Madlnah if
anyone of them had ever heard the Prophet peace be upon him
saying: liThe Qur'an has been revealed to be recited in seven ahruf ll .
In response a huge number of them stood up and testified that they
had heard this had'~h. Consequently CUthman himself emphasised
l
this ~ad'th by stating that he testified with them.
Since it is established that all these ahruf are correct and
sound there was felt to be little point in disputing over them.
Hence it is forbidden to argue on this matter and it is not even
permitted to favour one harf as being better than the other. The
reason for this is that all the ahruf are sound and lilt has been
revealed in this wayll.2 Accordingly everyone should recite as
he has been taught.

The meaning of seven ahruf in the ahadith

There are many interpretations which attempt to clarify the exact

meani ng of the Ahruf menti oned in the ahadl th . Each group of
scholars tried to find out and establish the exact meaning according

to its own views.

.
1 . Nashr, vol.I, p. 21 , Ibn a l-Jazari says this hadith is related

by al-Hafiz Abu Yacla in his book al-Musnad a 1- Kabi r, Itqan,

. .
vo 1 . I, p.131.
2. Bukharl, vol. VI,p.482, Fath al-Bari, vol.IX, p.26.

7
 We will here discuss all the views g1ven on this matter and
then attempt to establish the meaning on the basis of the
available evidence.
First of all, however, we must discuss the meaning of the
expression IISevenll.
1. A group of scholars say the number IISeven ll mentioned in the
hadith 1S not intended as an exact number, but is a symbolic term
mean1ng a considerable number less than ten. Hence the number
seven denotes numerousness in the single figures just as seventy
means numerousness in tens and seven hundred means numerousness
in hundreds. For instance in the Qur ani c verse liThe pa rab l:e of those
I

who spend their substance in the way of God is that of a grain of

corn: it groweth Seven ears, and each ear hath a hundred grains.
God giveth manifold increase to whom He pleaseth. II (S. II ~261}. _-In another
"

verse IIHhether thou ask forgive~ss or not (their sin is

unforgi vab l'e) : _ If though, thou ask seventy times forgi veness, .
God will not forgive them". (S.IX,80).
There is also a had,th which says: IIEvery (good) deed of the
.
Son of Adam does will be multiplied, a good deed receiving a tenfold
to seven hundred reward II .'

1. Muslim (Arabic Text), vol.II, p.480; for the translation of the

.. vol.II, p.417 .
hadith see Mishkat al-Masablh,

8
 Ibn ~ajar al-CAsqalanl (852/1448) related this saying from
c -
Iya~ (544/1149) and his successors. 1
2. The majority maintained that the exact meaning of the expression
IISeven ll in the ~adith means precisely the odd 'number seven that
follows the number six and precedes eight in arithmetic. ' ... ~
In this
respect we can refer to the following Qur'anic verses in which the
number is meant to be the same, neither more nor less.
a. liTo it are seven Gates: for each of those Gates
Is a (special) class (Of sinners) assigned. (S.XV,44)
1I

b. II(Yet others) say they were seven, the dog being

the eighth. (S.XVIII,22)
1I

And in fact there is no reason for abandoning the exact meaning

of the number seven and making attempts to interpret it as a
metaphorical term, for there is no clear evidence to support this.
Moreover the hadlth itself makes clear in various versions that

the number seven is intended to be the exact number neither more nor
less. Among those versions are the following:
a. II
. . . And
he recited it in other ahruf till he ultimately
1I2
recited it in seven ahruf.

1. Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.23, Itqan, vol.I, p.13l; also al-Zarkashl

attributed it to certain scholars. See Burhan, vol.I, p.2l2.
Ibn al-Jazar, says in Nashr, vol.I, pp.25-26, lilt is said the
number seven does not mean the exact meaning. But it means here
the numerousness and simplicity.1I See also the Encyclopaedia of
Islam, 1, vol.II, p.1073. al-Rafi c, in his book ICjaz al-Qur'an,
p.70, A~mad cAdil Kamal in his book cUlum al-Qur'an, pp.85-86, and
cAbd al-Sabur Shahln in Tarlkh al-Qur'an have chosen this opinon .
.
2. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.482.
9
 b. II
Then I realised it has been ended in this number. lIl
c. The repeated asking for more ahruf between the Prophet and
Gabriel started from one harf to two, three, up to seven. 2
Thus the majority opinion of the scholars is that the number is
limited and confined to the number seven and we may be able to say,
after this discussion, that the number seven mentioned in all the
versions of this hadith is precisely the real and exact number known
to the people. The hadlth
. indicates that the Qurlan has been
revealed in seven ahruf, and the majority accepted this meaning of
"seven", but differed in explaining and identifying these seven
ahruf and giving examples.

Meaning of ahruf in the Arabic Language

•

The word ahruf is the plural of harf It is given several meanings

. .
in the Arabic lexicons;
1. The extremity, verge, border, margin, brink, brow, side or edge
of anything, as, for instance, the side of a river and of a ship or

boat. 3
In this respect we can refer to saying of Ibn cAbbas "People of
- c -
the book do not come to the women, except from the side (illa ala

harf)".4

1. Related by Nasali see Itqan, vol.I, pp.13l-132.

2. Muslim, vol.II,P·39l.
3. Q~m~s, volrII1,p.130, al-Nihayah fi Gharib al-~adith, vol.I, p.369,
Lisan al-cArab, vol. IX,p.4l, Lane, Book 1, Part II, p.SSO.
4. Lisan al-cArab, vol.IX,p.42.

10
 The word 'harf occurs in a Qur'~nic verse with the same meaning:

"There are among men some who serve God, as it were,

on the verge: if good befalls them, they are,
therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them,
they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and
the Hereafter: that is loss for all to see! (S.XXII, 11)
II

2. A letter of the alphabet, the letters being thus called because

they are the extremities of the word and the syllable.
Harf
. can be used to describe a she-camel, probably thin like
'---
alif in the Arabic alphabet, big or huge like the mountain. l
3. As a grammatical term, it means a particle, i.e. what is used to
express a meaning and is not a noun or a verb. Every other
2
definition of it is bad.
4. Mode or manner, or way, as, for instance, in reciting the
Qurl~n according to seven modes or manners of reading, whence such
phrases as "Fulan yaqra l bi-~arf Ibn Mas c-ud". (Such a one reads in
the manner of Ibn Mas c-ud.) 3
5. A dialect, an idiom or mode of expression, peculiar to certain
'Arabs ' . Accordingly the hadith "Nazal al-Qur'~n cala SabCat ahruf"

1. Qamus, vol.III, p.131, Lisan al-cArab, vol.IX, pp.41-42, Lane,

Book 1, Part II, p.550.
2. Qamus, vol.III, p.131, Lisan al-cArab, vol.IX, p.41, Lane,
Book 1, Part II, p.550.
3. Lis~n al-cArab, vol.IX, p.41, Lane I, II, p.550.

11
 would mean. liThe Qur1an has been revealed to seven dialects of
the dialects of the Arabs. II This interpretation is attributed to
Abu CUbayd, Abu a1- cAbbas (291/903), a1-Azhari (370/980), and
~-, ~

Ibn a1-Athir (606/120~.1 Ibn a1-Athir considered this

interpretation the best one. 2

The interpretation of IIS even Ahrufll

•

Most of the Scholars say that the number seven is really meant to be
the exact number, but differ in interpreting the meaning of the word
ahruf in the hadith, since as seen above ahruf is a common word which
has several meanlngs which can only be determined by context. 3
However the context of the ahadlth under discussion allows for more
than one interpretation, and as a result we find differing
interpretations of the ah~dith as a who1e. 4

r
This early difference of opinion produced many saylngs, all of
; I'
1/
which are repeated and overlap. Ibn Hibban (354/965) counted thirty
.~ .
five of them,5 while a1-Suyuti
. claimed that there were about forty
6
although he did not quote all of them.

1. Qamus, vol.III, p.13l, Lisan al-cArab, vol.IX, p.4l, Lane, I, II,

p.550.
2. Nihayah, vol.I, p.369, (see Chapter 5).
3. Manahil, vol.I, p.146.
4. Burhan, vo1.I, p.2l2.
5. Itgan, vo1.I, pp.173-176, Burhan, vol .1, p.2l2, Ibn Hibban
himself says: IIThese sayings resemble one another and are
possible, and other interpretations are possible See Itgan
ll
,

vol.I, p.176.
6. Itgan, vol.I, pp.13l-l41.

12
 A comprehensive study and comparison of all the views and
opinions expressed concerning this hadith
. allows us to summarise
and arrange them as follows:
1. They are ambiguous and their meaning cannot be known with
certainty, because the word ~arf has different meanings, a letter
of the alphabet, a word, a meaning, or a way.
This is the view of Ibn Sacdan al-Nahwl (231/845).1 This view has been
opposed on the ground that a common word can be known and fixed
according to the context. For instance, the word (cayn ) has more
than one meaning which can be realised and identified in the sentence,
in which it occurs, for example (Na~artu bi-al-cayn al-mujarradah) and
(Sharibt min cayn Zubaydah). The meaning is clear and it is not
ambiguous. In the first sentence the word (cayn ) means leye l and ln
the second sentence it means Iwater'. This is made clear by the use
of the word (Nazartu) (I have seen) in the first sentence and the
•
2
word (Sharibty) (I have drunk) in the second sentence.
2. The word harf may mean "ways of pronunciation" which was the Vlew
of al-Khalll b. A~mad,(170/786).3
This has been objected to because no word in the Qur1an can be
read in seven ways with the exception of very few words such as the
word "uff". Even if it j s argued that each word may read in one way or
two or three or more up to seven, there are many words which can be read
4
in more than seven ways.

1. Burhan, vol.I, p.2l3, Itqan, vol.!, p.13l.

2. Manahil, vol. I, p.165.
3. Burhan, vol.I, p.2l3.
4. Burhan, vol.I, p.2l3, Itqan, vol.I, p.132.

13
 Most of the scholars, for example al-Tabari (310/922), are
opposed to this view and even al-Zarkashl (794/1391) considered it
the weakest one. l

.
However the seven ahruf, if the meaning of the word is to be
taken in this way, must not be regarded as being in any way connected
with the seven readings which are collected for the first time by
Ibn Mujahid (324/935),2 which did not exist in the life time of
the Prophet or even in the first century.
Indeed scholars of Qur'anic studies used to collect readings
regardless of number, and many more readings than the seven of
Ibn Mujahid existed. The first scholar known to have collected
readings in written form is Abu CUbayd al-Qasim b. Sal lam (224/838)
who is said to have given twenty five readings. 3
Later al-Tabarl (310/922) wrote a book called al-Jami c
•
fl-l-Qira'at which contained more than twenty readings. 4 This
L.---'"-_.

v/ work is no longer extant, although much of the material is incorporated

_:r;p.~H<--

into his Tafslr. Many scholars did not agree with Ibn Mujahid's
attempt to limit the number of readings to seven for the precise
reason that the following generation might think that these seven
readings were the same as the seven ahruf referred to in the hadlth. 5
Indeed a famous scholar in the field ofQur'anic readings, Abu Shamah (665/1267)

1. Burhan, vol.I, p.213.

2. Nashr, vol.I~ p.34.
3. ibid., pp.33-34.
4. ibid., p.34; more detail on this matter is available on pp.2l3/217.
5. Nashr, vol. I, p.36.

14
is quoted as having said. "No one thinks that these seven readings
are what is meant in the hadith except the ignorant".
3. Seven ki nds of meani ngs. Those who subscrihe to thi s opi ni on
--
differ in their interpretation. Some say, for example, that it
refers to command and prohibition, lawful and unlawful, muhkam and
mutashabih (that whose meaning is accepted and that which is
disputable) and parables (amthal).2
There is a ~adlth related by Hakim (405/l0l~ and al-8ayhaqi (458/1065)
in favour of thi s view: liThe Qur an has been revea 1ed from seven doors
I

according to seven ahruf,

. ...
restraining,
.....
'
commending, lawful, unlawful,
~.,....,~

muhkam, mutashabih and amthal. 3 However this had,th which ;s not

.
reported elsewhere is said by Ibn cAbd al-8arr (563/1070) not to be
authentic and definitely weak and not sound. 4 Furthermore al-8ayhaqi
himself who narrated this hadith
. mentioned that what is meant here by
the seven ahruf is the kinds of meaning in which the Qur1an has been
5
revealed, but that the other ahad~th refer to dialects.
Ibn al-Jazari (833/1429) raised a good reason for refuting this Vlew
k~ '. . . .-

which is that the Companions did not dispute and disagree with each other
about the interpretation of the verses but only about the ways of the
c - 6
recitation as happened between Umar and Hisham and others.

1 . Itgan, vo 1 . I , p.138.
2. Itqan, vol. I , pp.136-l38.
3. ; bi d. , p. 136.
4. Burhan, vo 1 . I, p. 21 6 .
5. Itqan, vol.I, p.137. This;s also the view of Abu Shamah,
Abu cAli al-Ahwazi, and Abu al-cAla ' al-Hamadani, see ibid., pp.17l-172.
6. Nashr, vol. I, p.25.

15
 Finally, it is impossible to recite the Qur1an as if all of
it is halal
. or baram or amthal. l
It is allowable to recite a verse ln several ways of recitation,
but not for a verse to be read in vari ous ways whi ch 1ead to
contradiction as would be the case with halal and haram. 2
4. Seven ways of recitation using synonyms, for example, Tacal,
aqbil, Cajjil, asri c .
Many scholars adopted this opinion 3 quoting their evidence
from the a~ad'th referring to the revelation of the Qur1an in
seven ahruf. It is narrated by Abu Bakrah that IIGabriel came to
the Prophet and said 110 Muhammad recite the Qur1an in one harf,"
and Mlkalll said "Ask for more ll
till he reached seven ahruf, each
.
effective and sufficient, provided you do not seal a verse of
punishment with mercy or a verse of mercy with punishment, like
your saylng: . Tacal, aqbil, halumma, idhhab, asri c , Cajjil .·,4
,
We can bring many arguments against this interpretation.
..y-"'..
First
of all, this hadith is meant to show that the ahruf in which the
Qur1an has been revealed are synonymous in one meaning, and secondly
to witness that there is no contradiction in these ahruf (i.e. they
do not seal a verse of punishment with mercy ... ).5

1 -I p. 1~.~.
1 . I t qan, vo., ,\ 7
2. ibid.
3. Itgan, vol.I, pp..134-l35. al-5uyu~, quoting from Ibn cAbd-al-Barr
attributes this to most of the scholars and specifically mentions
the names of Sufyan b. c Uyaynah, al-Tabari,
.
-
Ibn Wahb and - -
al-Tahawi.
. .
4. Related by Ahmad and Tabarani with a sound chain; there are other
versions whi~h give the same meaning. See Qurtubl, vol.l, p.42.
I tqa n , vol. I, p. 134.
5. Qurtubl, vol.I, p.42, Itqan, vol .1, p.134 quoting Ibn cAbd al-Barr .
.
16
 --'
Further, it is not within the discretion of individuals to
recite the Qur1an in their own way or to put one word or letter
instead of another, whether it changes the meaning or not. l One
should have heard the appropriate recitation from the prophet
himself directly ,or from him through his Companions and
successors.2, In this respect we may refer to the above-mentioned
argument between cUmar and Hisham where each one said "Allah's
Apostle has taught it me". 3
Moreover those who adopted this opinion agreed that this
permission was given in the beginning when most of the Arabs were
illiterate and that subsequently the other SlX a~ruf were abrogated,
so that there is only one harf available now. 4 We can contest ~»
this interpretation because it is still permissible to recite the
Qur1an in several ways, so that one can find an example of
synonyms in Surat al-~ujurat, where Fatabayyanu is also read
5
Fatathabbatu.
Thus we cannot claim that all variants of this type have been
abrogated or that such a temporary concession
...
with the aim of making
."' ....~~~~'

recitation eaSler for the first generation is implied by the term

harf. 6

1 . Qurtubi,
. vol.l, p.43, quoting al-Baqillanl.
'2. Fatb al-Barl, vol.IX,p.22.
3. Bukharl, vol.VI,p.483.
4. Qurtubf, vol.I, p.43, Itqan, vol.l, p.134-l35 .
. and al-Kisa'i while
5. XLIX, 6. The latter being the reading of Hamzah
• -
the former is read by the rest of the Qurra ' , see al-Qaysi, Kitab al-
Tabsirah, pp.480 and 68~ and al-Nashr, vol.II, pp.35l and 376 adding
Khaiaf to Harnzah
. and al-Kisa'f .
6. Manahil, vol.I, pp.68-69. 17
5. Seven of the dialects of the Arabs. The dialects of the Arabs
were of course more than seven, but the supporters of this view
maintain that what is meant are the seven most eloquent dialects. l
There is no agreement on identifying .these seven dialects and the
various versions differ greatly, although all are agreed in
including that of Quraysh. 2
Ibn Qutaybah (275/888~ attempted to prove that the Qurl~n was
-----pP6»;:;..;-.- -

revealed only in the dialect of Quraysh, quoting the Qur'~nic text

"We sent not an apostle except (to teach) in the language
Of his (own) people, in order to make (things) clear to
them. Now God leaves straying those whom He pleases and
guides whom He pleases: and He is Exalted in Power, Full
of Wisdom. (S.XIV, 4).
II

In his opinion these dialects should represent various branches of

3
Quraysh. al-Qastallanl
. (923/1517) maintains that Quraysh were neighbours
of the Kacbah, and that they were leaders for the tribes of the Arabs.
Then they used to choose the best of style and words from each dialect from
all the tribes who came to Makkah. 4 This view however appears to
be an attempt to confJ9-te_ two different ideas, i.e. that the ahruf
were dialects and that they were all variants of Qurashi Arabic. In
this respect there is a statement attributed to CUthman liThe Qur1an

1. Burhan, vol.I, pp.2l7-2l8, Itgan, vol.I, p.169. This view is

related by Abu CUbayd al-Qasim b. Sallam, Thaclab, Sijistanl, a1-
Qadi Abu Bakr, al-Azharl, a1-B~qillani, and Ibn CAtiyyah, see also
•
Ibn Abi Zakariyya, a1-Sahibi,
.. pp.4l-42.
2. Itgan, vo1.I, pp.135-l36, Nashr, vol.I, p.24, Burhan, vaLl,
pp.2l8-2l9. Qurtubl, vol.I, pp.44-45.
3. Itqan, vol.I, p.i35, where Abu cAli al-Ahwazl is also quoted.
4. Lata'if, vaLl, p.33.

18
has been revealed in the language of Quraysh". l The
m0 s t t hat t h i .s s tat e 111 e n t. can. me ani s t hat the
Qurlan is mainly in the dialect of Quraysh, since features from
other dialects are found, for example the retention of hamz which
__ - - - . ._ _ 1 " ~~

generally disappears in the language of ~ijaz.2 However many

accounts indicate that the Qurlan was not revealed solely in the
style of Quraysh. Although sometimes it comes in the style of
Quraysh it also comes in the style of other tribes of the Arabs
according to the most fluent and shortest ways of expression. For

1. Qurtubi, vol.I, p.44; there is another version attributed to c Umar

in which he wrote to CAbd Allah b. Mascud liThe Qurlan has
been revealed in the language of Quraysh, so do not recite to the
people in the dialect of Hudhayl". See also al-Qastallani,
Lata'if vol.I, p.33. In some versions of these sayings the name
of'Mudar appears instead of Quraysh, but Ibn cAbd Al-Barr says:
.
lithe authentic version is the first in which Quraysh was mentioned,
because it is sound and came through the people of Madlnah,
(Burhan, vol.!, pp.2l9-220). Also some features of the speech of
Mudar are anomalous and are not allowed in the recitation of the
.
Qurlan. For example, the Kashkashah of Qays, e.g. they turn
the fern. sing. 2nd person - Ki into Shi in the verse "Rabbuki
Ta~taki" to read "Rabb-ushi Tabtashi" (XIX, 24) and the tamtamah
of Tami'm, e.g. changing sin to tal so that in "al-Nas" it read
"al-Nat" (Qurtubi', vol.1, p.45, Burhan, vol.1, pp.2l9-220).
2. Qurtubi, vol.i, p.44 quoting Ibn cAbd al-Barr and al-Qa~, Ibn
•
al-Tayyib who says Allah Almighty says: We have made it a
.
Qurlan in Arabic (XLIII, 3. A.Y. Ali IS Translation, p.1342) and the
Almighty did not say "Qur lanan Qurashiyyan". No one claims that
only Quraysh is meant here because the name of Arab covers all
tribes. (Qur~ubi', vol. I, p.44.)

19
instance Ibn cAbbas did not understand the meaning of the word
Fatar till he heard two Bedouins talking about digging a well
using this verb. l It might be most reasonable to assume that the
Qur1an was revealed in the dialect of Quraysh and their neighbours
at the beginning of the revelation. Then the permission came later
on for all Arabs to recite the Qur1an in their own dialects which
they were used to, bearing in mind that these dialects were extremely
varied. Thus they were not ordered or even asked to abandon their
own dialects in favour of that of Quraysh, because it was difficult
to do so, and because people tried to cling strongly to their dialects.
And above all, this was for the sake of easiness in the recitation
,
and understanding of the Qur an. 2
This permission was not left to the individuals to change any
word to one of its synonyms in his dialects, but everyone should be
taught it directly from the prophet. 3 On the other hand, there are
no objections against this idea of the revelation of the Qur1an in
seven dialects because cUmar and Hisham, although both of them
belonged to Quraysh, differed in their recitation. It does not
seem reasonable to accept disagreement between two men who belonged
4
to one dialect unless that difference referred to something else.

1. Qurtubi, vol.l, p.45.

2. Nashr, vol.l, p.22, FatQ al-Bari, vol.IX,p.22.
In this respect the Encyclopaedia of Islam (1st ed.), Vol .11, p.1067
says: liThe language in which Mu~ammad delivered his revelation was
according to the most natural assumption the ~idjaz dialect of the
peop 1e of Mecca
II •

3. Itgan, vol.I, p.136.

c c -
4. Nashr, vol.l, p.24, Itgan, vol.I, p.136, al- Izz b. Abd al-Salam
objected to the interpretation of the seven a~ruf as seven dialects
(Khams Rasa'il Nadirah, p.64). See Hammudah,al-Qira'at wa-al-
Lahajat p.25.
20
 Later in his ICjaz al-Qur'an al-Rafi c , adopted this view of

. as seven dialects of the Arabs, but the

interpreting the seven ahruf
number seven in his opinion is a symbolic term meaning a considerable
number. He says: "These seven ahruf
. mean the dialects of the Arabs
to make it easy for each tribe to recite the Qur1an in their own way
as they were used to in their dialects". He claimed that - to
Arabs - . merely means "dialect".
the word harf But they began
after Islam - to use the word harf for a word read in other ways of
recitation, as, for instance, they say "Hadha {f harf Ibn Mascud"
meaning his reading. l
6. Seven varieties and differences in the readings.
The first scholar to make this suggestion is Ibn Qutaybah, who was
followed by the following generation with little or no modification.
Ibn Qutaybah states that he has studied the ways of the differences
ln readings and found them seven ways:
(1)
-.
A difference in the ICrab and vocalisation of the word
which does not alter its consonantal outline in the
orthography and does not alter its meaning, e.g.
hunna atharu/hunna athara. 2
. .
(2) A difference in the rCrab and the vocalisation of the word
which alters the meaning of the word but does not alter its
. - -c. - -c 3
consonanta r outll ne, e. g. rabbana ba 1 d/rabbuna ba ada.

1. rCjaz al-Qur1an, pp.70-7l. For more details see Chapter 5 below.

2. XI, 78.
3. XXXN, 19.

21
 (3) A difference in the ahruf of the word but not in its
c- -:-'-
I rab which alters its meaning and does not change its
consonantal outline, e.g. nunshizuha/nanshuruha. l
(4) A difference in the word which changes its consonantal
outline. . in the orthography and does not change its meaning,
e.'~. in kanat illa ~aYbatan/zaqyatan.2
(5) A difference in the word which changes its consonantal
outline and its meaning, e.g. wa-talhin mandud/wa-talCin
nadid. 3 --_.-------------------

(6) A difference in word order, e.g. wa-ja1at sakratu-l-

mawti bil-Qaqgi/Sakratu-l-oaqqi bi-l-Mawti.
4
~ .
(7) A difference in letters or augment, e.g. wa-ma camilathu/
wa-ma camilat.5
Ibn al-Jazarl's work agrees with Ibn Qutaybah in the ways in
which he explains the ahruf,
. except that he discusses them more
clearly in identifying and giving examples.
Abu-al-fadl al-Razl (630/1234 follows the same approach tothis question
as Ibn Qutaybah, but he puts the ways of differences in a different

order. For instance, his first and second types are included in the

1. I I, 259.
2. XXXVI, 29( 1 .
3. LVI, 29 &/ fbg'al-Jazarl approved this analysis of Ibn Qutaybah
except that he criticised it with respect to this example since
it has not relevance to the difference in reading; Ibn al-Jazari
says: "If he had used as an example in place of this bi-~anin/
bi-zanln (LXXX1, 24) the example would be valid. See Nashr, vol.I, p.28 .
.
4. L, 19.
5. XXXVI, 35.

22
fifth type of Ibn Qutaybah and Ibn al-Jazarl while the third in
al-Razl1s arrangement covers the first and second of the other two.
The sixth of al-Razl agrees with the fifth of the others, and
finally the seventh of al-Razl might possibly be included in the
first of Ibn Qutaybah and Ibn al-Jazarl, although in fact this last
\.~/r
suggestion of al-Razl should not be dismissed in this way, because
-...........'
of its significance, since al-Razl refers here to difference in
dialect concerned with absence or presence of Imalah, tafkhlm,
hamz, etc. Some scholars consider all differences to be a question
of differences of pronunciation of this type. 1
These are the differences between the scholars, who agree in
their general approach; for instance, Makki b. Abi Talib mentions that a
group of scholars adopted a view similar to that of Ibn Qutaybah, but
2
he only explains their interpretation.
The scholars who take this view are Ibn Qutaybah,3 Ibn a1-Jazarl,4
al-Razl,5 Makki b. Talib al-Qaysl (437/1045),6 the author of Kitab
.
a1-Mabani fi Nazm al-Ma cani 7 and Ibn al-Baqillanl (403/1012).8

1. Itgan, vol.I, p.133; a1-Rafi cl, in his book ICjaz a1-Qur 1an, p.70,
adopts this view. The work of the author of Kitab a1-Mabanl fi
Nazm al-Ma canl adopts the same view. See pp.22l-228,
.
Muqaddimatan fl cUlum al-Qur1an, ed. At Jeffery.
2. Ibanah, p.36.
3. Ta1wll Mushkil al-Qur1an, pp.28-30.
4. Nashr, vol.I, pp.26-27.
5. ibid., p.25, Fat~ al-Barl, vol.IX, p.29. Ibn ~ajar says here
lIal-Razl quoted Ibn Qutaybah and refined itll.
6. Ibanah, pp.37-42.
7. Mugaddimatan, pp.22l-228.
8. Nukat al-Intisar, pp.120-122 and Qurtubi, vol.I, pp.109-1l3 .
.
23
 The author of al-Bayan fi Tafs1r al-Qur'an l rejected all the
ahad,th of the revelation of the Qur'an in seven a~ruf simply on the
grounds that these ~ad'ths were not narrated through the Isnad of the
Ahl al-Bayt in line with his ShiC,te methodology. He states that
after the prophet~reference in religious affairs should be made only
to the Qur'an and the Ahl al-Bayt whom Allah Almighty has purified.
Hence no versions are valid if they differ from what is right ln
their view. Thus there is no need to speak about the Isnads of
these versions, this being the first reason to reject these versions
2
and not to consider them authentic at all.
Furthermore he claims that there are contradictions in these
versions. For instance permission to recite the Qur'an according
to one had,th in different ahruf was given gradually after many
requests, but in another had,th it was given all at once. In one
version Ubayy entered the mosque and saw a man reciting in a way
different from his, butin another version it is mentioned that Ubayy
was in the mosque and two men entered the mosque and recited in
3
different ways from each other.

1. al-Khu'i, al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, pp.177-l90.

2. ibid., p.177. He quotes from U~ul al-Kaf" vol.IV,pp.438-439,
Abu Jacfar's statement "The Qur'an has been revealed from One,
but the difference comes from the narrators". It is a 1so
stated (p.439) that Abu CAbd Allah was asked about people's
sayings that the Qur'an was revealed in seven abruf and he
replied "They lied and were enemies of Allah and it was
revealed in one barf from the One".
3. ibid.

24
 Finally he said that the reply was not related to the
question in the version relating to Ibn Mascud who is reported
as having differed with another person as to whether a certain
surah should be reckoned as having thirty five or thirty six verses.
cAli was beside the Prophet and answered liThe Apostle of Allah
commands you to recite as you have been taught". l
All in all, in his opinion, there is no reasonable meaning
for the revelation of the Qur1an ln seven ahruf and it is not
understandable. 2
This view has no firm ground to stand on. First of all it
is not agreed outside Sh,c ite circles that the Ahl al-Bayt are the only
references for the Islamic Sharicah and that the narrations of the
Ahl al-Sunnah including Abu Bakr, cUmar and CUthman, are invalid.
Al-Khu'i's approach would rule out a priori all discussions of the
ahruf, and from an objective academic point of view there is no
. '-./. --...--- ent ire
.
justification for denying the validity of the/hadith of the Ahl al-

Sunnah. It is clearly stated in the Qur1an:

"0 mankind! We created you from a single (pair)
of a male and a female, and made you into nations
and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that
ye may despise each other). Verily the most
honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is)
the most righteous of you ... " (S.XLIX, 13).
In any case the differences between the verSlons ln letters or
words do not affect the truth of the hadith, nor can contradicitions

refute an authentic hadith.

1. ibid., p.178.
2. ibid.
25
 Al-Khu'i himself falls into contradiction when he says:
"Hence we find that the narrators differ in some words of
al-Mutanabbi's poems but this difference does not invalidate the
existence of the qa~ldah or its successive transmission (tawatur)."
In the same way, the differences between the narrators in the
details of the Prophet's Hijrah do not contradict the Hijrah
itself or its tawatur.' If this is so, it is very difficult to
see why this principle should not also be applied to the question of
the ahruf. As for the objection that there is no relation between
the question and the answer (in the hadlth of C Abd Allah b. Mascud)
this can be answered quite simply by pointing out that the
Companions were learning the recitation and counting the verses,
- 2
because the prophet used to pause on the end of each verse (ayah)
and that this was part of the process of ~eaching. The Companions
used to study not more than ten verses at a time to recite and
"
prac t lce. 3

Naturally, having rejected the revelation of the Qur1an in

seven ahruf, he does not accept the interpretation of the hadith, but
simply uses opposing arguments in an attempt to discredit them all.
Despite this, however, he most s~rprisingly mentions that in his
opinion al-Raficl's opinion is closest to the truth, but rejects it,

1. Baya n, p. 158 "

2. This is confirmed by a sound hadlth related by Abu Dawud and

al-Hakim. See al-Albanl, Sifat Salat al-Nabiyy, p.70-7l.

3. Ibn Taymiyyah, Fatawa, vol.XIII, p.402, and Tartib al-Musrad,
vol. XVIII, p.9.

26
 c
because al-Rafi 1 interpreted "Seven" as a symbolic term, and for
other reasons. l However, he reduced Ibn Qutaybah's views to six.
In addition, he says there is a seventh way of reading the Qur'an
which is that upon which all scholars are agreed; he then goes on to say
that Ibn Qutaybah does not take this into account and that his seven
ways of difference are in fact eight. 2 Thus, in addition to
rejecting the premises of Ibn Qutaybah's argument he wishes to show
that his arguments are in any case fallacious.
Moreover, contrary to a 1- Khu ' l' s c1aim, the'a had1 th ha ve a

perfectly feasible meaning which is that of facilitating the

3
recitation and making it easier for the Muslims. The differences
of scholars in interpretingthese ahad1th do not affect the
authenti ci ty of tnese:a had, th: .4
However the ShiCite scholar AbuCAbd Allah al-Zinjanl in his book
Tar1kh al-Qur'an quoted the ~adith narrated by cUmar b. al-Khattab and
manyothen'ahad1th. 5 He chooses the view of al-Tabari as the best
interpretation, this referring to the seven ways of recitation using
synonyms. 6 Later he mentions that it might be possible to
interpret this had1th as referring to the differences in the

1. Bayan, pp.19l-l93.
2. I bid .-, p. 188 .
3. See pp.2-4 of this study.
4. For more information about the authenticity of these hadiths see
pp.6-7 of this study.
5. For the text of this ~ad'th and some others, see al-Zinjani, Tarikh
al-Qur'an pp.33-37 and pp.1-4 above.
6. al-Zinjan1, Tarlkh al-Qur'an, p.37.

27
recitation of the Qur1an, e.g. Imalah, Ishmam and Idgham as they have
been narrated by the seven readers. l Al-Zinjanl attributed this
view to al-Shahrastanl in his Tafslr. 2
In conclusion we can say that we have many sources and
references which support and witness the revelation of the Qur1an
in seven ahruf, which can be put in the following order:
1. The fact that many authentic and sound ahadlth indicate
precisely that the Qur1an has been revealed in seven
different ahruf. 3
2. The discussions and disputes among the Companions about
varieties and differences in recitation during the life-
time of the prophet, who himself taught them to recite
4
in many different ways from each other.
- c-
3. The disputes and quarrels among the successors (Tabi un)
during the time of the orthodox caliphs, particularly in
the time of CUthman.5
4. The many examples of differences in recitation which
exist in the books of Sunan like those of al-Bukharl,

1. ibid., and see pp.16-17 of this study.

2. This Tafsir is called Mafatib al al-Asrar wa Ma~abih al-Abrar which
al-Zinjanl says is a respected Tafsir. The author of this
Tafsir is Abua~Fath Muhammad
. . al-Shahrastani.
b. al-Qasim b. Ahmad
•
a theologian and jurist who was born in 477 A.H. and died in 548 A.H.
A manuscript copy of this work exists in the Majlis Library, Tehran.
See Tarikh al-Qur'an, p.36.
3. See pp.1-7 of this study.
4. ibid., pp.1-2,4-5.
5. See Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Ma~aoif, edt A. Jeffery, passim.

28
 Muslim, al-Tirmidhl and others. l Moreover in the books
of Tafslr like that of al-Tabar,2 and books on the
history of Qira'at and Masahif like that of Ibn Abl
-- 3 --'--
Dawud, there are found many different riwayat of the
readings of the Qur ' an. 4
5. The gurra ' , the readers of the Qurlan in different ways
of recitation, continuously, generation after generation,
memorised and taught to their students and followers the
qira'at, readings of the Qurlan in different ways
according to rules of riwayat and Isnad.
In the following chapters we will study these qira'at and the
conditions governing them and an attempt will be made to discover
whether any of them are not based on the Mushaf of CUthman, and
whether in this case they may be derived from the ahruf
. .
In conclusion, we may say that the scholars are virtually
unanimous that the Qurlan has been revealed in seven ahruf, in order
to facilitate the reading of the Qurlan. This apparently came after
the Hijrah,when various tribes who spoke a number of different
dialects embraced Islam, and found it difficult to abandon their own
dialects immediately.
Those who deny the authenticity of the a~adlth dealing with
objective. .
this subject do not seem to have anyfbasls for thelr arguments.

1. In each book there is a chapter or more on the Qira'at under

Tafslr and Fadalil al-Qur'an.
2. al-Tabarl, Jami c al-Bayan fl Tafsir al-Qur'an .
.
3. See also A. Jeffery, Material for the History of the Text of the
Qurlan, including Kitab al-Masahif,
. . passlm.
4. al-Qira'at Wa'l-Lahajat, p.5.

29
Finally although scholars disagree, as to the meanlng of the ahruf,
.
the most natural interpretation is that they refer to linguistic
variations in the manner of reciting the Qur1an. However it is
difficult to commit ourselves to any of the specific definitions
of these linguistic variations advanced by various scholars.

30
 CHAPTER 2

COMPILATION OF THE QUR'AN

CHAPTER 2

COMPILATION OF THE QUR'AN

The Prophet - peace be upon him - had scribes whom he used to
order to write down the revelation of the Qur'an on the materials l
which were available at that time.
It is stated that whenever he received verses or suras he
commanded one of his scribes immediately to record them and
instructed them to arrange them in their places in the suras of the
Qur'an. 2
There are many accounts which support this Vlew, the implication
of which is that every revealed verse was written down at the time
of its revelation, was put in a pre-ordained order and kept in a
safe place. 3
The scribes who took down the revelation were many; some of
them were assigned the task of recording the revelation on a
permanent basis, being given the title of 'Kat{b al-Wahy', while

1. These are said to have included palm stalks (c usub ), thin white
stones (likhaf), pieces of wood (alwa~) and shoulder bones (aktaf).
See Bukharl, vol.VI, pp.478 and 481, and for more detail on this
see pp.43-44-below.
2. Al-Baghawl, Shar~ al-Sunnah, vol.IV, p.522.
3. al-Bukharl, vol.VI, p.480

32
others were normally engaged on other secretarial duties and only
seem to have been brought in to take down the revelation very
occasionally.l

The scribes of the revelation whom the Prophet used to ask to

write down the verses and portions of the Qur1an he used to receive
were many and the number of the scribes who used to write for
him for secretarial duties was greater. 2
Certain scholars tried to count them using the sources available
to them; Ibn Kathlr counts twenty two,3 and recently we find the
number increased to thirty three 4 or about sixty.5 The most
famous among them are CUthman, cAll, Ubayy b. Kacb and Zayd b.
6
Thabit who is specially known as Katib al-~abiyy or K~tib al-Wa~y.7.
To ensure that the Qur1an would not be confused with his own
utterances, the Prophet is reported to have ordered his companions to
write nothing except the Qur1an; furthermore he commanded those who

1. Fath al-Bari, vol .IX, p~22, Kitab al-Wuzara ' wa'l-Kuttab, pp.12-14,
al-~i-dayahw.-al-Nihayah, V01~~p.339.3.55,al-CIgd al-Farld, vol.IV,
pp.245-247.
2. a1- Musna d , vo.
1 VI , P. , Kitab al-Masahif,
250 . __ p.3, al-Jahshiyari,
Kitab al-Wuzara' wil::al-Kuttab, pp.12-14, al-Bidayah wa-aOl-Nihayah,
vol.V,pp.339-355,_ Fatb al-Barl, vol.IX, p.22 and al- c Iqd al-Farid-

vol.IV, pp.245-254.
3. al-Bidayah wa'l-Nihayah, vol.V, pp.339-355.
4. Mac al-Masabif, pp.15-18.
----.--
5. Kuttab al-Nab~yy, Third ed., Beirut 1981.
6. Kitab al-Wuzara ' wa'l-Kuttab, p.12, al-Bidayah w~l-Nihayah,
vol.VII, p.145 and Fatb al-Barl, vol.IX, p.22.
7. Fath al-Bari, vol.IX, p.22.

33
 may have written down anything other than the Qur1an to efface it. l
As a result the entire revelation is said to have been gradually
secured, kept ln a written form and stored in the Prophet1s house. 2
A number of the companions were able to have their own codices
in addition to memorising the Qur 1an. 3 The most famous among them
who are said to have taught many others, are the following,
CUthman, cAll, Ubayy b. Kacb, Abu al-Darda l , Zayd b. Thabit,
cAbd Allah b. Mascud, Abu Musa al-Ash car1 4 Salim (the mawla of
Abu- ~udhayfah) and Mu c-adh b. Jabal. 5
Thus according to these accounts the Qur1an was memorised by
quite a good number of the companions and was all written down ln the
form which has come to us (i.e. the same verses and suras in the very
same order).6
Though the Qur1an was fully recorded, using all possible
writing materials, it was not written in the shape of a mushaf;
••
this was to be done later after the Prophet had passed away.
These records were known as lal-Kitab l , lithe bookll even before
it took the book form; for instance it is so described in the Qur1anic
verse (S.II,2) IIThis is the book in it is guidance sure, without doubt
to those who fea r God II .

1. al-Nasa1i, Fada1il
. al-Qur1an, p.72 and al-Khatlb al-Baghdadi,
TaqYld al-cTTm, pp.29~32.
2. _._---
Fath al-Barl, vol.IV, p.13, Sharb al-Sunnah, vol.V, pp.52l-522.
. . pp.50-88, al-I~abah f, TamYlz al-Sa~abah,
3. Kitab al-Masahif,
vol.II, p.489 and Materials, pp.20-238.
4. Manahil, vol.I, p.245.
5. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.487, adds these two names to the list given in
Manahil.
-
6. See for example al-Baghawi, Shar~ al-Sunnah, vol.IV, p.5l8.

34
 The Prophet is also reported as having said before his death:
III have left amongst you Muslims that which you will .not be"misguided if

you stick to it; the book of Allah ll

•
l

The reason for not compiling these records in an official

mu~~af during the time of the Prophet is explained by al··Baghawl, who
states that this was because the abrogation of some verses took
place during the period of the revelation of the Qurlan. When
there was no more abrogation and the revelation was sealed, the time
had come for the formal compilation to be carried out. 2
.r'
/'~
/ Burton ay-gues against this view on the basis of his rejection of the
.t#"~~~'to:f"""-"'"

two modes of mansukh al-tilawah~ However a stronger argument in its

favour would be the fact that it would be pointless to compile the Qurlan
into a bound mushaf until the process of revelation was completed.

Compilation of the Qu~lan during the reigns of Abu Bakr and CUthman

The companions and their followers relied on memorising the Qurlan,

teaching the young and newly converted Muslims the Qurlan, but in
addition they had their personal codices and manuscripts.
The Qurlan remained uncompiled in official book form until the
year 12 A.H. when seventy of the Huffaz
. were killed in Yamamah .
fighting against the self-proclaimed Prophet Musaylimah,4 the same

1. a l-Nawav/l, Sah;h t"7us l;m bi -Sharh al\,.Na\</awi , vol. VI I, p. 184 .

.
2. Sharh. al-Sunnah,vol.V, p.5l9 .
3. See The Collection of the Qur1an, Passim. For a further discussion
of this question, see also pp.78-90 below.
4. Qurtubl, vol .1, p.50. See pp.54-55 below for a further discussion
-.-
of the number killed.

35
number or forty Huffaz having been killed earlier ln the battle
of Bi 'r Mac~nah.l
cUmar came to Abu Bakr with the suggestion that the Qur1an
should be compiled in a single book as a safeguard against the loss
of some parts of the records or the death of the Huffaz.
Abu Bakr gave consideration to the matter, thought carefully
about it, and agreed with cUmar after some hesitation. He then
asked Zayd b. Thabit to take on the responsibility of compilation
Slnce he had the following qualifications,
1. he was the well known scribe of the revelation
(Katib al-Wahy
. al-MashhCr.).
-

2. he was a hafiz
. . of the Qur1an.
3. he had checked through the text with the Prophet after
the Prophet had reci ted it in the presence of Gabri e1
for the last time.
4. he was young, knowledgable, wise and reliable.
2
5. he was skilled at writing the Qur ' an.
Zayd was afraid of ~arrying out this task as he felt that he
could not do something the Prophet had not asked him to do. Abu Bakr
finally persuaded him, and he started the work by comparing the
Prophet's record with the memorised and written versions of those of
the huffaz who were available in Madlnah. He then wrote out the

1. Tarikh al-laba~f, vol .11, pp.545-549, al-W~qidr, Ma~hazr, vol.I,

pp.346-350" .. al-Kamil, vol.II, pp.17l-l72,and Bukharl, vol.V, pp.287-8.
2. Fath al-B~r', vol.IX, p.13 .
.

36
entire text in book form and presented the mushaf to Abu Bakr
who received it and kept it in his custody.'
The mushaf
.. remained with Abu Bakr until he died, then with
CUmar until the end of his life and then with Hafsah,
. . the daughter
of c Umar , and the wife of the Prophet, who was the executor of her
father, and was herself a Hafizah
. .
This was because cUmar had died before the installation of
the third Khalifa. 2 At this time disputes arose about the reading
of the Qur1an among the gurra l
and readers because some of the
companions and the followers were teaching students in the cities
they were sent to in versions which differed in various ways, and
also because the companions were reciting the Qur1an in the seven
ahruf they were permitted to use. By the time of CUthman disputes

,-
among the readers became so acute that they were accusing each other
of unbelief (kufr). Many complaints were brought before CUthman,
urging him to take urgent action before these disputes led to
fighting and division among the Muslims. Such disputes occurred
in many places, in Mad,nah itself,3 Kufah, Basrah, Syria and in the
military camps (ajnad). Hudhayfah
•
b. al-Yaman was in the battle
zones of Armenia and Azerbaijan and witnessed the disputes between
Muslims as to the reading of the Qur1an. He became very annoyed
at what he had witnessed and came hurriedly and in alarm to Madlnah

1. Bukharl, vol.VI. p.478.

2. Fato al-Bari, vol.IX, pp.10-16.
3. Tabar" Tafsir, vol.I, p.2l, Itqan, vol.I, p.102, al-Masahif, p.2l, and
al-Mugni C, p.8.

37
and suggested to CUthman a unified reading of the Qurlan. He
addressed him saying, "0 chief of the believers! Save this Ummah
before they differ about the Book as the Jews and the Christians did
before". l
Consequently CUthman called for the Muhajirun and Ansar and
consulted them, and they all agreed and encouraged him to unify the
- 2
reading of the Qurlan.
c -
Uthman sent a message to Hafsah saying: "Send us the manuscript
of the Qurlan, so that we may compile the Quranic materials ln perfect
copies and return the manuscript to you". Hafsah sent it to

al-Zubayr, Sac,d b. al-cAs and cAbd al-Rahman b. Harith

. b. Hisham
to write the manuscripts in perfect copies, CUthman said to the
Qura3hi men IIIf you disagree with Zayd b. Thabit on any point in
the Qurlan,write it in the dialect (lisan) of Quraysh as the Qurlan
was revealed in their tongue". 3 They did so and when they had
written many copies, cUthman returned the original manuscript to
Hafsah. 4
CUthman sent to every Muslim region one copy of what they had
copied, and ordered that all the other Quranic materials whether
S
written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt.

1. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.479.

2. a 1- Ka mil, Vo 1 . I I I, Pp. 111 - 11 2 .
3. For further discussion of this, see Ch.S.
4. Bukhari, vol.VI, p.479.
S. ibid.

38
 The companions, the learned men and the leading figures agreed
with CUthman and were happy about the decision he had made,
including cAl, who is reported to have confronted the rebels
against CUthman and said to them that CUthman burnt only the

. . which varied from the final revelation and preserved for

masahif
them that which was agreed upon l and that he did not do anything
without consultation and the consent of all companions, and
furthermore added that if he was in the place of CUthman he would
have done the same thing. 2
In fact Muslims in general admired c Uthman's
- action and agreed
to it unanimously with the exception of Ibn Mascud, because he
united them in one mushaf,
. . cleansed from any abrogated versions,
and freed it from any AQad reading or any interpretation which may
have been added to the text. 3

Methods adopted in this compilation

We may reasonably assume that the scribes made every possible
investigation into the text of the Qur1an in order to secure the
authenticity of the written form compared with memorised versions,
-
that they ensured that all the verses and suras they wrote down
were revised according to the final revelation, that they were

1. al-Bidayah wa-al-Nihayah, vol .VII, p.l?l.

2. al-Kamil vol.III, p.112. For a discussion
of the position of cAli in Sh,c ite sources, see below, pp.90-93.
3. Manahil, vol.I, pp.260-26l.

39
convinced that the text was as it had been recited by the Prophet
in the final revelation, and that there were no abrogated verses
ln the mu~~af {for example Surat al-Jumucah S.62, Ayah 9,where the
word '~\.9 is sometimes said to be read ~ ~~
but the authentic one is the first, the latter having been abrogated
in the final revelation).l
Thus the people agreed unanimously with CUthman Slnce his new
compilation was in accordance with the first compilation of
Abu Bakr. It is stated in a sound hadlth
. {riwayahsahlhah)that
.
the reading of Abu Bakr, cUmar , CUthman, cAll, Zayd b. Thabit,
the Muhajirun and the Ansar was the same, and was the common reading
which was taught to them after the final revelation. The Prophet
used to read the Qur'an with Gabriel once in every Ramadan, but in
•
the last Ramadan before he passed away he read it twice.
Zayd b. Thabit bore witness to this final revelation and read it
with the Prophet and wrote it down for him in this way.
Hence this reading was named the reading of Zayd b. Thabit
because he wrote it and read it to the Prophet and taught his
students what he had been taught. For this reason also he was in
2
charge of the compilation for the first compilation and the second one.

1. Manahil, vol.I, pp.257-260.

2. Sharh al-Sunnah, vol.V, pp.525-526. It is narrated to
CAbd Allah b. Mascud, also that he witnessed the final
revelation.

40
 The scribes of the compilation of CUthman were four, according
to Bukharl. l
Ibn Abl Dawud (316/928) narrates on the authority of
Mu~ammad b. Sirin (110/729) that the scribes whom CUthman instructed

to compile the Qur1an were twelve, being from the Muhajirun and the
Ansar, and that Ubayy b. Kacb was one of them. Ibn Slrln adds;
•
"Kuthayyir b. Aflah. told me - and he was one of the scribes - that
when they differed in writing something they used to postpone writing
it. I think that this postponing was to make sure that it corresponded
to the final revealed version". 2
It is said also that the scribes of this revelation were only
two, Zayd b. Thabit and Sac,d b. alcAs,
. for the reason that
Zayd was the best in writing and Sac,d was more eloquent in
. t'lone 3
pronuncla
Those who say that the scribes were twelve include scribes who
dictated and others who wrote, but do not mention all of their names.
al-CAsqalanl found out that nine of them are mentioned in various
4
places by Ibn Abi Dawud and gives a list of them. They are, in
addition to the four mentioned in Bukharl,5 Malik b. Abl-cAmir
(grandfather of Malik b. Anas), Kuthayyir b. Afla~, Ubayy b. Kacb,

1. vol.VI, p.479, see also p.38of this chapter and al-Kamil,

vo1.III, p.112.
2. Fath a1-Barl, vol.IX, p.19 and al-Masahif, pp.25-26.
3. Fath a1-Barl, vol.IX, p.19.
. .
4. ibid. and al-Masahif, pp.25-26.
5. vo1.VI, p.479, and see p.38 above.

41
 Ibn Abi Dawud states that
c -
Umar b. al-Khattab commanded that'no one should dictate in our

.
. f except those who belonged to Quraysh and Thaql f: 1
masahi
c - -
al- Asqalani argues that in fact there was no one from Thaqif
among the scribes, as they were either from Quraysh or the Ansar. 2
He tries to evaluate these views and suggests that it was at the
beginning of the compilation when Zayd and Sacld were the sole
scribes, but when help was needed to write out more copies to be
sent to the provinces, the other scribes were added. 3
Ibn Mascud is said to have been annoyed when he was not asked
to join the committee set up to compile the Qur1an, feeling that he
had been ignored or insulted. Ibn Mascud is quoted as having said
-
that he had been taught seventy suras, by the Prophet while
Zayd b. Thabit was a young boy playing with children. 4 As a result
Ibn Mascud is said to have refused to give his mushaf
.. back to
CUthman to be burnt, and to have told his students to follow him in
this. Ibn Abl Dawud states however that Ibn Mascud reviewed his
decision and gave his mushaf back to CUthman.5
-----.--
1. al-Masahif,
. . p.ll.
2. -Fath
. al-Barl, vol.IX, p.19.
3. ibid. For a modern attempt to establish the names of the other

Islamiyyah, p.59.
. .
scribes, see Mac al-Masahif, p.92 and Dirasat fi al-Thaqafah al-

4. al-Musnad, vol.V, p.325, Fath-al-Bari, vol.IX, p.19, Qurtubl,

-::--c- -.
vol.I, pp.52-52, and Ibn Sa d al-Tabaqat, vol.II, p.444.
5. al-Masahif, p.18, see also Qurtubl, vol.I, p.53,·p.52, andal-Tamhld
wa-l-B;.Y~ fl Maqtal al-Shahfd·CU"thman. Theauthor ~.1u~ammad b. Ya~ya b.
Abl Bakr adds "but the followers of Ibn Mascud did not agree with him
then Ibn Mascud asked CUthman for permission to return to Madlnah as he
did not wish to stay in Kufah. He was given permission and came to
Madlnah some months before he passed away".
42
 The reason for CUthman not including the name of Ibn Mascud
lS discussed by al-CAsqalani who points out that Ibn Mascud was not
in Madlnah at the time that CUthman appointed the committee. He
was in Kufah, while CUthman was in a hurry to take urgent action for
the compilation of the Qur1an in order to put an end to the disputes
which were taking place in different provinces. Furthermore, c Uthman
-

did nothing, except to reproduce the very same pages compiled by the
command of Abu Bakr in one mashaf, and Zayd b. Thabit was in charge
of compilation on both occasions, in the times of Abu Bakr and of
Thus Zayd had the privilege of being a scribe of the
revelation and the man who was in charge of the first compilation
and of the second. l

The materials of inscription of the Qur1an

The materials available at the time of the first compilation during

the lifetime of the Prophet are said to have included the following:
1. Palm stalks (c usub )
2. Thin white stones (likhaf)
3. Boa rds (a 1wa h)
4. Scapula bones (aktaf)
5. Saddles (aqtab)
6. Leather (adlm)
-c 2
7. Pieces of cloth (ri qa )

1. Fath al-Bari, vol.IX, p.19.

-. c-
2. Bukharl, vol.VI, pp.478-48l, Mifta~ al-Sa adah, vol.II, p.292 and
al-Muharrar al-Wajiz, vol.I, p.64 .
.
43
 8. Potsherds (khazaf)
9. Shells (sadaf)l
~

10. Ribs (a~lac) 2

11 . Parchment (ragg)3
When the compilation took place during the reign of Abu Bakr
the materials were not similar to those of the first compilation.
al-CAsgalanl states that Abu Bakr was the first one to compile
the Qur1an on paper 4 and ln one mushaf. He supports his view by
a version attributed to Ibn Shihab al-Zuhrl (124/741 ).S He points out that it
is not authentic that Zayd wrote for Abu Bakr on leather and palm
leaf stalks, and that he rewrote it for cUmar on paper. 6 He adds
that the correct verSlon is that the Qur1an was written on leather
and palm leaf stalks before the time of Abu Bakr and it was rewritten
on parchment during the reign of Abu Bakr. 7

1. al-Muharrar al-wajiz, vol.I, p.64.

2. Ibn al-Ba~illan~, al-Tamhld, p.222.
3. al-Awa'il, vol.I, p.214. The author interprets raqq as warag
which was parchment at the time. In this connection also it is
reported that individuals used to come with a waragah to the Prophet
who used to ask one of the scribes to write on it for him. See
al-Bayhaql, al-Sunan al-Kubra, vol.VI, p.16.
4. Clearly this is an anachronism, since even papyrus was not in
use at this period in Arabia. Presumably what is intended is
parchment.
5. Fathl»al-Bar1, vol.IX, p.16.
-.
6. ibid.
7. ibid.

44
 In a modern study it is argued that the oldest mushaf
ln existence is that found in the Mosque of cAmr b. al-cAs in Egypt.
It is written on parchment which seems to be the best thing for an
important thing like the Qur1an which is intended to have a long life. l
Although papyrus was of course available in Egypt which is not far
from Arabia, none of the old masahif which exist today use it. 2 Paper
..
was not known in the Islamic world before (134/751).3

The sending of the masahif to the provinces

• •

The number of masahif sent to the cities is not specified. In the

old sources no fixed number is mentioned. However al-Bukharl on
the authority of Anas b. Malik says IICUthman sent to every Muslim
province a copy of what they had copied" "Ila kull ufuq min
· ":' 114.
Afaq a1-Mus 1 lmln
Ibn Abl Dawud states that IICUthman sent a mushaf to every Muslim
6
batt1efield ll5 and IIhe distributed masahif to the people".
Likewise in many other primary or secondary sources no reference
is made to a particular number of masahif.
. .
Later on reference is made to four copies with or without
mentioning names of cities. Those who mentioned the number of

1. al-Zafzaf, al-Tacrlf bi ~-QUrlan wa-a1-Hadith, pp.84-85.

2. ibid.
3. al-Tha c-alibi,
- Thimar
- al-Qulub,
-
4. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.479.

.
5. al-Masahif,
. p.20.
6. ibid., p.12.

45
masahif differ in the names of the cities to which the masahif
• • . .
were sent.
- - c-
Ibrahim al-Nakha i (d.96/7l4) is quoted as supporting the view
-~ ....-~~~

that the number of masahif sent by CUthman was four. l

• •
Hamzah, one of the seven canonical readers, stated that his
•
mushaf was copied from the Kufan mushaf which was one of the four
masahif sent to the c1ties. 2
Abu cAmr al-Dani (444/1052) states that there were four copies of
which three were sent to Kufah, Basrah and Makkah, while the fourth
copy was kept in Madlnah in the custody of CUthman. al-Dani adds
that this is the opinion of the vast majority of scholars. 3
al-CAsqalanl adds one to the previous four stating that the famous saylng
is they are five. 4
According to Ibn al-Baqillanl they are five, a copy being sent
to Kufah, Basrah,
. Vaman and Bahrayn,
. while CUthman kept a copy for
himself. 5
He is followed by al-Qastallanl who opts for the number
. -----=-
c - - 6
mentioned by al- Asqalani.
Ibn cAshir argues that five masahif
. . were sent to Makkah,
Damascus (sham), Ba~rah, Kufah and Madinah, while CUthman kept a

1. al-Masahif, p.35.
..
2. ibid., p.34.
3. al-Mugni C, p.ll and al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.74.
4. Fath al-Bari, vol.IX, p.20 .
.
5. Nukat al-Intisar,
. p.359 .
6. Irshad al-Sarl, vol.VII, p.535.

46
sixth copy for himself which is known as a l-Imam l
lI
ll
•

al-Zurqanl tried to weigh the evidence for the existence of

copies five and S1X. He suggested that the scholars who counted them
as five did not count the personal copy of CUthman, and he
therefore supported the view which counted them as six. 2
Abu ~atim al-Sijistanl (d. 250/864). says: II
c Uthman
- sent seven

ma7a~if, keeping one in Mad'irnahand distributing the rest to Makkah,

Damascus, Yemen, Bahrayn,
. Basrah,and Kufah~
.
He was followed in this by Ibn cAsakir (d. 571/1175)4 and
Ibn Kathlr (d. 774/1372)5 except that the latter puts Egypt in the
place of Bahrayn
. .
I

In Fada'il al-Qur an he gives the list quoted above, but in

the 1a ter a 1- Bi dayah. ne ment ions Egypt in the place of Ba hrayn.
~l-Raficl in his book Tarlkh Adab al- cArab 6 supports this view,
choosing the names suggested by Ibn Kathir in his al-Bidayah.
Ibn al-Jazarl (d. 833/J429) opts for the number mentioned by
Abu Hatim,
. but adds that there was an eighth copy which was that
retained by CUthman himself which was known as al-Musha.f al-Imam. 7
..

1. Manahil al-clrfan, vol.I, p.403.

2. ibid.
3. al-Ma~ahif, p.34 and al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.73.
4. Tahdh,b Tarikh Dimashq, vol.I, p.44.
5. al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah,vol.III, p.216.
6. vol.II, pp.20-2l.
7. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.7.

47
 c - -
Finally, al-Ya qubi (284/897) counts nine copies adding two
places, Egypt and al-Jazirah, to the list given by Abu Hatim. l
In conclusion we may remark that the most reliable evidence
suggests that the number of masahif
. . was six. The reason for this
is that all of the scholarly works on Qira'at refer constantly

. .
to the masahif of Madlnah, Makkah, Damascus (Sham), Kufah and
Basrah 2
. and al-Mushaf
. . al-Imam, and never mention any other mushaf.
..
This is also supported by the fact thatCUthman is said to have
entrusted five Qurra with the masahif.
l
He appointed Zayd b. Thabit
to teach the people of Madlnah, and sent CAbd Allah b. al-Sa'ib
to Makkah, al-Mughirah b. Shihab to Sham, Abu cAbd al-Rahman
al-Sulam1 to Kufah and cAmir b. cAbd al-Qays to Basrah. 3
Then their students and followers taught the following
generations in the same way that they had been taught. 4 Thus there
seems to be no place for Egypt, BaQrayn, Yemen or a1-Jazirah since
there is not one piece of evidence pointing in these directions,
while the assumption that there were seven or more masahif
. . is less
likely.
The earliest reports which do not mention a fixed number of
cities can be interpreted in favour of the argument for five cities
since these were the main places in which textual disputes were
taking place at that time.

-
1. Tarikh al-Ya c qubi,
- -
vol.II, p.147l.
2. al-Muqni c , pp.98-l3l and Abu- cUbaydah,
--~-----------
pp.264-300.
.
3, Manahil, vol.I, pp.403-404 and Mac al-Masahif,
. pp.90-9l.
4. Manahil, vol.I, pp.403-404.

48
 ..
The addition of a sixth mushaf may be reasonable in that it
takes into account CUthman's personal copy. This is supported
by the fact that when CUthman was killed his personal mushaf was
before him and he was reading. l There are very early references
for the mushaf of CUthman which is known as al-Imam. Abu CUbayd
al-Qasim b. Sal lam quotes from this mushaf and mentions that he
2
has seen it. Ibn al-Jazarl also is reported to have seen this
mushaf. 3
Moreover the mushaf of Madlnah is different from that of
CUthman himself. In this respect al-Shatibl states that Nafi c
used to quote the mushaf of Madlnah while Ab~ CUbayd used to quote
that of CUthman.4

The dating of the compilation of the Qur'an in the reign of CUthman

In all ahadith which mention the compilation of the Qur'an in the

time of CUthman, there is no trace of any suggested date other than
that the event took place after Hudhayfah
. had witnessed the dispute
5
among the Qurra' in the battlezone of Armenia.

1. a1-Tamh, d ~/a-a l-Bayan, pp. 138-139.

2. Abu CUbaydah, Fa~a' i 1 a l-Qur an, pp. 264-300 and Ma ca a l-Ma~a~i f, p. 89.
I

3. f1a Ca al-Masahlf,
- •
p.89.
4. Kitab CAgli~t~trab al-Qa:a'id, p.12 and ~aca al-Masahif, p.89.
5. Tab a r i, Ta f sir , vol. 1,- -p p . 59- 61 .
Bukharl, vol.VI, p.481,
.
and Kitab a1-Masahif, . pp.11-26.

49
 al-Tabari is the first who suggests a fixed date for this
event. He states that it was in ~4/644)~ al-CAsqalanl opted for
this opinion and tried to support it by other reports. He says;
IIThis event took place in the year twenty five of the Hijrah.in the
third or second year of CUthman's installation as Khallfah/l~
He quotes Ibn Ab, Dawud on the authority of Muscab b. Sacd b. Abi
Waqqa~, as saying that /lCUthman preached and said 0 People, only
fifteen years elapsed since the Prophet passed away and you differ
in the recitation of the Qur'an 3 al-CAsqalanl argues that the
ll
•

installation of CUthman took place after cUmar's death at the end

.
of Dhu'l-Hijjan,in the year twenty three of the Hijrah,i.e. twelve
years and nine months after the death of the Prophet, and that if
this is so then the compilation must have taken place two years
and three months after his installation. He adds that in another
version it is given as thirteen years instead of fifteen: 4 he
compares the two views and concludes that the event must have taken
place one year after the installation of CUthman which can be taken
as the end of the twenty fourth or the beginning of the twenty fifth
year of the Hijrah: However both versions quoted by al- CAsqalani
- -

are said not to be authentic. 6 Indeed, if they were sound,

- ~kh a 1- Ta barl,
1 . Tarl . v01 . IV , P. 246', he also mentions another verSlon
.
which suggests the year 26 A.H.
2. Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.ll.
- .
3. ibid.
4. ibid.
5. ibid. In this he was followed by al-Qa~tallani, Irshad al-Sarl
vol.VII, p.534, al-Suyutl,
. Itgan, vol.I, p.llO .
6. al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.59.

50
the scholars would have accepted his opinion unanimously, and no
other suggestions would have been brought into the discussion.
C
al- Asqalanl also says "It is claimed by some of our contemporaries
that the event took place in the year thirty of the Hijrah", but he
does not quote any reference or glve any evidence. l
The contemporary whom he quotes as suggesting the year thirty
of the Hijrah is Ibn al-Jazarl, who fixed this year in his book
al-Nashr fi- al-Qira'at
- -
al- c Ashr. * In fact Ibn al-Athir
-
who is
earlier than Ibn al-Jazarl mentions the same date, although he does
not give any reference to support his view. 2 He is followed in
this by some other scholars. 3 Some scholars mention both dates
4
without opting for either of them.

--.
In some western scholars' view the event took place in (33/653)
according to their dating of the conquest of Armenia, Hence the
compilation of the Qur'an would have taken place at that time,S
There is one fact, however which stands against this view, which is
that Ibn Mascud, who is reported to have refused to give his mushaf ..
back to CUthman and to have told his students not to hand their
masahif over to be burnt,6 is said to have died at the end of the
..
1. Fa th, vo 1 . I X, p. 17 .
•
2. a 1- Kamil , vol. I I I, pp. 111-112.
3. For example Abu al-Fida', al-Mukhta 7ar fl Tarlkh al-Bashar, vol.I,
p.167, Muhammad b. Yahya b. Abl Bakr, al-Tamhld wa-al-Bayan, p.50.
o •

4. For example, Lata'if al-Isharat, vol.I, p.58.

5. Brockelmann, Hi~tory of the Islamic Peoples, p.64.

..
6. al-Masahif, pp.13-18.

* Vol.I, p.7.
year (32/652),1 or in 33 A.H. 2 The following scholars agree
that Ibn Mascud died at Madlnah in (32 A.H.). They are:
al-Tabar,,3 al-Baladhurl (279/892),4 al- cAmiri,5 Ibn Qutaybah,6
•
al-Dhahabl,7 and Ibn cAbd al-Barr. 8 If this date is correct the
above dating for the compilation must be too late, and these events
must have taken place earlier. However, since this compilation
has been connected with the conquest of Armenia in which Hudhayfah
.
b. al-Yaman was present, the narrations differed in dating the event.
In fact there were many campaigns of conquest in Armenia, and
Hudhayfah himself participated in three of them. 9 The first date
mentioned, as narrated by Abu Mikhnaf, is 24 A.H. 10 Then
al-Tabari states that Hudhayfah was directed to the conquest of
•

1. Ghayat al-Nihayah, vol .1, p.459.

2. al-Isabah, vol .11, p.369, Tahdhlb al-Tahdhlb, vol.VI, p.28.
al-CAsqalanl attributes to Abu NuCaym and others the year 32 A.H.,
and the year 33 A.H. to Ya~ya b. Bukayr, see Tahdhib al-Tahdh,h,
as above.
3. Tarikh al-Tabari,
. vol.IV, p.308 .
4. Ansab al-Ashraf, vol.I, p.526.
5. al-Riyad. al-Mustataba,
. pp.190-192.
6. al-Macarif, p.109.
7. Tarikh al-Islam, vol.II, p.104.
8. al-Ist,C ab , vol.II, p.324.
9. Tarikh al-Tabari,
. vol.IV, p.307 .
10. ibid.,
al-Tabarl then adds that it is narrated by others that the event
was'in 26 A.H. Ibn al-Athlr states that it was in 25 A.H.,
al-Kamil, vol.III, p.83.

52
al-Bab (Oarband) as a help to cAbd al-Rahman
. b. Rabica in the year
(30/650).1 al-Tabari
. who mentions some small details here and
in other places does not mention anything about the masahif. However
Ibn al-Athlr states that Hudhayfah,when
. he returned after this
conquest, told CUthman what he had witnessed in the battlefield
among the Qurra ' . Consequently CUthman consulted the companions
who agreed with him to compile the Qur ' an. 2 Two years later
(32/650) ~udhayfah'wa-s
-
in that region leading the people of Kufah. 3

In conclusion the first narration of Abu Mikhnaf does not seem to be

authentic, for al-Baladhurl (279/892) on one occasion quotes it, but in his
opinion it is not the best one. The other versions he gives do not
suggest any fixed date,4 although they correspond with the events
detailed in the conquest of the year (30/650), as mentioned in other
sources. 5
Leaving aside the issues raised by the death of Ibn Mascud in
the year 32 A.H. it is reasonable to opt for the opinion that the event
of the compilation took place in the year (30/650)' which is suggested
- 6
by Ibn al-Athir and supported by Ibn al-Jazari-7 and followed by some
other scholars. 8

1. Tarlkh al-_Tabarl, yolo IV, p.28'.

2. a 1- Kami 1, ~o 1 . I I I, pp. 111-112.
3. Tarlkh al-Tabarl,
. vol.IV, pp.306-307~ al-Kamil, vol.III, pp.131-133 .
4. Fut~h al-Buld~n, pp.277-288.
5. Tarlkh al-Tabarl,
. vol.IV, pp.306-307, al-Kamil, vol.III, pp.131-133 .
6. a 1- Kami 1 , vol. I I I, pp. 111 - 112.
7. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.7.
8. See p.52 above.

53
The validity of Abu Bakr's compilation
Some scholars argue that cUmar was the first who compiled the Qur1an.
In support of this they quote an account given by Ibn Sacd (230/244).1 It
lS reported also that cUmar asked about a verse, and when he was
informed that it has been preserved in the memory of a certain man
who was killed on the day of Yamamah,he ordered the Qur1an to be
compiled in one mushaf. 2 He asked every person who had learned
...
anything from the Prophet to bring it, and he would not accept
anything except when two witnesses testified to it. 3 Furthermore
it is argued that if Abu Bakr had participated in the process of the
compilation it would have become an official mushaf for the state,
which it was not, since if it were it would not have been transferred
to Hafsah1oaughterof
. . cUmar , but would have passed into the custody of
CUthman.4
In addition, it is said that Abu Bakr did not live after the
Battle of Yamamah for more than fifteen months, which, it is argued,
was not enough time for a great task like that of the compilation of
the Qur1an. Moreover among the Qurra l
killed in this occasion,
l
there was not such a considerable number of great Qurra that it
might be feared that some parts of the Qur1an would be lost by their
death. 5

1. al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol.III, p.2.

- .
2. Itgan, vol.I, p.166.
3. ibid.
4. Concluding EssaX, p.14, cAbd al.,.Qadir; riazrah cAmmah (1 Tarikh
al-Fiqh al-Islami, pp.90-91.
5. Concluding Essay, pp.14-15.

54
 Furthermore the Qur'an was committed to writing during the
lifetime of the Prophet l as discussed above.
However, in answer to these arguments it could be said that
the role of cUmar was to suggest the compiling of the Qur'an in
one book to Abu Bakr and to assist him in this. According to
the had,th discussed above he persuaded both Abu Bakr and
Zayd b. Thabit and supervised the work of compilation. The

.
mushaf
. then came into cUmar's custody after his installation and
remained with him until his death, when it was then transferred

..
to his daughter Hafsahbecause she was his executor. This does not
mean that it was a personal copy belonging to cUmar himself, because
he died before the installation of the succeeding Khalifah.
The time-scale is quite reasonable for the compilation of the
Qur'an, especially if we take into account the fact that Zayd was
experienced in the compilation of the Qur'an as he used to write down
the revelation for the Prophet, and because many people rallied round -~;:-

to help him in the task, which he carried out with the assistance of
the companions who had memorised the Qur'an. 2
Furthermore the lists of Qurra' killed at the Battle of Yamamah
do indeed include many learned men like Salim the Mawla of Abu
Hudhayfah,Thabit
. b. Qays b. al-Shammas, Zayd b. al-Khattab, Abu
DijatK~hS;mak b. Kharshah:-and many others. 3 Ibn Kathir counted over
fifty of them. 4
cAbd al-Oadir,
1 . / Nazrah cA~mah ri Tarikh a l-Fi qh a 1- I sl ami, pp. 90-91 .
-.
2. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.477.
3. al-Bidayah wa-al-Ni hayah, vol. VI, pp.334-340.
4. ibid. See also p.76 below.

55
 Even if their number were not so great, the fact remains that
there was still fear of missing more learned Qurr~', since there
would be further battles which would inevitably cause the death of
others, while there was always the danger that the younger Qurr~1

might fail to preserve some part of the revelation.

Moreover, even though the Qur1an may have existed in written
form during the lifetime of the Prophet, this would not have allayed
the fear, since it was not compiled in a book form, but was written
on a variety of materials. l
Finally the riwaya~ofIbn Sa cd2 and al-SuyGtl 3 do not contradict
that of al-Bukh~r,4 which is attributed to Abu Bakr, if we consider
that cUmar was the one who suggested it to Abu Bakr, and that he used
to help Zayd b. Thabit and supervise the compilation. 5

l. al-Burhan f, cUlum al-Qur'an, vo 1 . I , p.238.

2. al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vo 1 . I I I , p.2.
-.
3. Itgan, vol.I, p .166.
4. Bukhar1, vol.VI, pp.476-477.
5. ibid. Ibn Abu Dawud in his a~i-Masahif, p.6, states that
. .
Abu Bakr appointed cUmar and Zayd b. Thabit to compile the
Qur1an and told them to sit in front of the mosque and to write
down what two witnesses testified to be part of the Qur1an. This
version is said not to be authentic ( I tgan , vo 1 . I , .
p.1E;7);. Jeffery in his ,Concluding s s ay , . p. 14- •
E
argues that this contradiction indicates that Abu Bakr did not
compile any official mushaf, but according to the authentic
tradition of Bukh~rl, as we have seen, the suggestion came from
cUmar who persuaded Abu Bakr.

56
Dating of the compilation during Abu Bakr's reign
The compilation of the Qur1an during the reign of Abu Bakr took
place after the battle of Ya~amah.l This is said to have been in
11 A.H. 2 Ibn Kathlr quotes Ibn Qani c as having said that it was
at the end of this year.3 This date is supported by Ibn Hazm
. who
states that the conquest of Yamamah was seven months and six days
later after the installation of Abu Bakr. 4 Some other scholars
mention that it was in 12 A.H. Ibn Kathlr attributes this date to
a group of biographers and chroniclers. 5 He tries to reconcile
these opinions by suggesting that the conquest began in 11 A.H., and
ended in 12 A.H.~ but finally opts for the year 12 A.H .. as this
date, according to him, is the most widely accepted. 7
In the light of the above discussion it seems difficult to
accept the argument of some researchers who throw doubts on the
---::: ~

compilation of Abu Bakr on the grounds that there is no agreement on

the date of the day of Yamamab,i.e. whether it was in the 11th or
12th year of the Hijrah~

1. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.477.

2. Tarikh al-Tabarl, vol.III, pp.28l-30l .
•
3. al-Bidayah wa-al-Nihayah, vol. VI, p.326.
4. Jumal Futuh. al-Islam, p.34l .
5. al-Bidayah wa-al-Nihayah, vol.VI, p.226.
6. ibid.
7. ibid., p.332.
8. Concluding Essay_, p.14.

57
 The number of Qurra/ slain
The number of slain is estimated to be between six hundred l and seven
hundred Muslims. 2 al-Tabari
. states that among them were over three
hundred men of the Muhajirun and Ansar,3 while Ibn Kathlr quotes
Khallfah b. Khayya~ (240/854) as having said that the total of Muslims
slain was four hundred and fifty men, among them fifty from the
Muhajirun and Ansar. 4
In the opinion of some scholars all seven hundred men were Qurra/,
while others consider the number seventy to be correct. 5 However it is
certain that a considerable number of Qurra' were slain at Yamamah.
As cUmar is reported to have said "Casualties were heavy among the
Qurra' of the Qur'an on the day of the Battle of Yamamah". 6
Before leaving the subject of the compilations of Abu Bakr and
CUthman we should consider the view of Burton that neither of these
c()mp~Jat1.9~ns took place. 7 This view is based on the opinion that neither
C, of these events are logically necessary in order to account for the

)(~
Q~\ I
"
existence of the mushaf as we have it today. However to maintain this
theory in practice means to deny the validity of such an imm~e number
Of accounts to the contra ry that Burton s vi ew is sure ly ~!].tenab 1e. In

l
I

addition the account given here which is based on a consideration of

the sources provides a logical and inherently reasonable account of a
_,.;;aIIf:~

historical process.

- -
1. Tarikh - vol.III, p.296 .
al-Tabari,
.
2. Qurtubl,
•
vol.I, p.50 .
3. Tarikh al-Tabarl, vol.III, p.296.
4. al-Bidayahwa-al-Nihaya~,vol.VI, p.340.
5. Qurtubl, vol. I, p.50.
6. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.477.
7. Burton, The Collection of the Qur/an, p.239.

58
The arrangement of the suras
-
The suras of the Qur1an were not arranged chronologically as they
were revealed. They were arranged differently; for instance
surah II was revealed in Mad~nah after the Hijrah while surat al-CAlag
(XLVI) was the first surah revealed in Makkah. l If the arrangement

.. were chronological, surat al-CAlag would have been the

of the mushaf
first surah in the mushaf. There are also some verses revealed
in Mad~nah which were put in Makkan suras. 2 However all scholars
agree unanimously that the verses were arranged and put in their
order according to the revelation. 3
There is an argument among the scholars as to whether the
"
suras were arranged according to the revelation (tawqlf) or by the
endeavour of the companions (ijtihad).
Some scholars argue that the suras were arranged by the
companions, because of the different arrangements of their personal
- cAli- was arranged
.
masahif.
. It is said that the mushaf
.. of
chronologically, while the mushaf
. . of Ibn Mascud began with al-Bagarah,
then al-Nisa ' , then Al cImran, etc. 4
Others say that ijtihad took place only in limited areas. They
mean by this that the Qur1an in its arrangement is divided into four
categories according to the length of the suras, i.e. al-Tiwal,
.
al-Mi'ln, al-Mathanl and al-Mufassal,5 and in their opinion ijtihad
..
was only in the arrangement of the suras of each category, while all
. 6
agreed about the order and contents of these f our categorles.

1. al-Zuhrl, Kitab Tanz,l al-Qur'an, p.23.

2. Itqan, vol.I, pp.38-47, Qurtubl, vol.I, p.6l and Ibn Taymiyyah,
Daqa'ig al-Tafslr, vol.I, p:13.
3. More discussion will be forthcoming in pp.66-69 in this chapter.
4. Qurtubl, vol.I, p.59, al-Burhan, vol.I, p.256, Itgan, vol.I, p.176,
Asrar Tart,b al-Qur'an, p.68.
5. Itqan, vol.I, pp.179-l80.
6. al-Burhan, vol.I, p.237 and Itgan, vol.I, p.176.
59
 -
Others are of the opinion that all suras were arranged according
to the revelation, except for the one case of suras VII and IX. In
this they rely on the following ~adith: CUthman was asked why
surat a1-Tawbah 'is put after surat a1-Anfa1, and why there is no
basma1ah between them. He replied that it was because their theme
is one, and because the Prophet passed away without informing them
where to put the basmalah. 1
This opinion has been refuted on the grounds that there are
many evidences which indicate that the arrangement of the suras is
according to revelation without a single exception. Here are
some of them as they have been reported in books of the sunan.
a. A delegation came to the Prophet in Madlnah, and one of them,
Abu Aws reported the Prophet as having said "I did not want to come
without completing the parts of the Qur1an I recite dai1 y".
They asked the companions "How do you divide the Qur1an for
the recitation"?
-
They replied "We divide them three suras, five
suras, seven suras, nine suras, eleven suras, thirteen suras, and
- 2
the part of a1-Mufassa1 from S.XXXVIII (Qaf) to the end.
..
b. Zayd b. Thabit the scribe of the revelation said: "We were
compiling and arranging the Qur1an from the fragments, in front of
A11ah ' s Apost1e". 3

1. a1-Musnad, vo1.I, pp.398-399.

- -
2. Tartlb Musnad Ahmad b. Hanba1, vo1.XVIII, p.29~ Sunan Abi Dawud,
• • 7-
vo1.II, pp.114-116.
3. a1-Hakim, vo1.II, p.229, a1-Murshid, pp.44 and 61, Itqan, vo1.I,
.
p.172, c.f. Tartib Musnad, vo1.XVIII, p.30.

60
c. The basmalah was a sign for the sealing of the suras. It
1S stated by Ibn cAbbas that the Prophet used not to know that a
surahhadbeen sealed until the revelation came to him with IIIn
the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful ll
; when it was
revealed he knew that the surah was sealed. l
-
al-Nlsaburl (828/1424) in his Tafsir reports that whenever
------~---

the Prophet recei ved a sura h-he used to as k the scri be to put it in
its place. 2
In the light of the above the compilation during the reign of
Abu Bakr can only have consisted of compiling it in one book, not
of arranging the suras. 3 The same thing applies to the compilation
As Ibn al-Baqillanl puts it,
liThe whole Qur1an, whose compilation and writing Allah
commanded, excluding the abrogated verses, ;s what ;s
contained in this mushaf [of CUthman). It is the same
arrangement and style revealed to the Prophet in the
very same manner of verses and suras with no difference
in word order, and the Umma h-has recei ved from the
Prophet the arrangement of every verse and surah,and
their places, as they have received the recitation
of the Qur an. 114
I

Referring to (S.LXXXV, 17) lilt is for us to collect it and to

promulgate it". Ibn Hazm concludes that the Qur1an ln all
arrangements of its letters, words, verses and suras is as

1. Sunan Abl Dawud, vol.I, p.291, al-Hakim,

. vol.I, p.231, ShJr~~-
Sunnah, vol.IV, p.522 and al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.35.
2. Ghara'ib al-Qur'an wa-Ragha';-b~al-Furqan, vol.I, p.32.
3. Sharh al-Sunnah,vol.IV, po502.
o

4. al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.45, Itgan, vol.I, p.175.

61
revealed by Allah to his Prophet who taught the people accordingly.
Thus there is no one who can change anything. l
Some scholars say that the arrangement of the suras of the
Qur1an ln the mushaf
.. has features which prove that it is tawqif:
First: the arrangement according to the beginning of the suras
with letters like al-Hawamlm, (seven suras begin with Hamlm
.
(S.XL to S.XLVI)).
Second: the agreement of the begi nni ng of a surahwi th the end of
its predecessor,
..-.-
.-----~
for example the end of
...,-
surah~Iand the beginning of
surah II.
Third: al-Wazn fl a1-Lafz,
. (similarities of verse endings or
fawa~il), i.e. the end of surahCXI (masad)and the beginning of surah
CXII which ends in Ahad.
-'-
Fourth: the similarity between suras in general like a1-Duha XCIII
and a1-Inshirah (XCIV).2
The differences between the masahif of the companions are
explained as being due to the fact that they were personal copies.
If it so happened that during the absence of one of them a surah
or more was revealed he would write it whenever it seemed convenient
to him. 3

..
We do not know about any of these masahif through an authentic
chain, and nothing which is said about them should be accepted as a
fact. Various contradictory accounts are given of the order of suras

1. Ibn Hazm, a1-Ihkam fl Usul a1-Ahkam, vo1.IV, p.93.

2. a1-Burhan, vol :1,
p.260: Asrar T~lb al-Qur'an, p.l1.
3. Muqaddimatan p.32 and Manahil, vo1.I, pp.248-249.

62
 - 1
in various masahif, but in any case they do not correspond to
the version of the final revelation. 2
c -
Finally the ~adith which ascribes to Uthman the arrangement
of suras VIII and IX is said to be not authentic, and has been
criticised on the two levels_of its chain and its text. The chain
includes a narrator, Yazld al-Farisl, who is unknown and is regarded
as weak by Bukharl and Tirmidhl. 3 The text (matn) of the hadlth
is in contradiction to the authentic reports.
Ahmad Shakir argues that "This hadlth is very weak and, in fact
• ~,;~:,,",c~"- _ _._ _

has no basis in its isnad. In addition its text throws doubts on the
basmalah at the beginning of suras as though CUthman had added to it or
omitted some part of it as he liked, veneration be to him." 4
Muhammad
. Rashld Rida
. adopted the same opinion before Shakir,
stating that "a had,th narrated just by a single man is not accepted as
regards the arrangement of the Qur1an, for which successive narration
1S necessary" 5 Elsewhere he says "An account narrated by a man like
this, which is unique to him, is not sound and should not be accepted
- 6
for the arrangement of the Qur1an which is transmitted with tawatur",
and says that it is impossible that all suras were arranged except thesetw(

1. al-Fihrist, pp.29-30.
2. Qurtubl,
. vol.I, p.60 .
3. Bulugh al-Amanl, vol .XVIII, p.155.

4. Musnad, vol.I, pp.329-330.

5. al-Manar, vol.IX, p.585, and Musnad vol .1, p.330.
6. H~shiyahon Fada'il al-Qur)an, p.12 and Musnad, vol.I, p.330.

63
 -
suras . All authori ti es sta-te thatthe. Prophet and hi s compani ons used to
recite suras of the Qur1an in their order in and out of the prayers. 1
Rashld Rida refers to the tradition liThe Prophet used to recite
the whole Qur1an to Gabriel and Gabriel to him during Ramadan once
every year, but in the last Ramadan before the Prophet passed away he
recited it twice to Gabriel and Gabriel to him",2 and argues that the
order of these two suras must have been well known at that time. 3
It is an accepted principle in the science of hadlth
. that "An isolated
hadith
. is not accepted if it contradicts the verdict of reason and the
- ..• "4
verdict of the Qur1an
Furthermore, Malik (179/795) is reported to have said that liThe
Qur1an was but compiled according to the revelation, as they (the
companions) heard it from the Prophet". 5 al-Qur~ubi (671/1272) argues
that the arrangement of suras as a written document is tawglf, but the
readers are allowed to recite differently from the order of the mushaf. 6

1. al-Manar, vol.IX, p.585. It might be added that individual suras

-
are repeatedly referred to by name in the ~adlth. Thus a cursory
inspection of a single chapter of a single source (Sunan Ibn Majah,
vol.II, pp.120-139) reveals no less than twenty six such references.
2. Bukharl, vol.VI, pp.485-486.
3. Fada i 1 a l-Qur an, p. 12.
I I

-. - - - c -
4. al-Khatib
•
, al-Kifayah fi Ilm al-Riwayah, p.432 .
5. Ibn Kathlr"Fada'il al-Qur'an, p.25.
-.
6. Qurtubl, al-Jami c Li Ahkam al-Qur'an, vol.I, p.53.
• •

64
 Furthermore al-Qurtubl concludes that the order of suras is like that
of verses; all have come to us from the Prophet as they were
revealed to him from Allah. If someone were to change the order
of any surah, it would be like changing the structure of the verses,
letters, and words.'

al-~arith al-~~~asibl (243/857) is reported to have said that the

compilation of the Qur1an is not an invented matter for the Prophet
used to command his companions to write it down. But it was written
on various materials, (riqa C, pieces of cloth), (aktaf, shoulder-blades)
and (c usub , palm branches stripped of their leaves).
Abu Bakr simply ordered it to be rewritten and to be assembled in
one place. Different writings were found in the house of the Prophet
(peace be upon him) containing the Qur'an. These were arranged and
tied together by a cord in order to ensure that none of it was lost. 2
al-Suy~tl "devoted a whole book to this subject, called
•
Tanasuq al-Durar fi- Tanasub
- -
al-Suwar 3 in which the subject is treated
thoroughly and studied linguistically and rhetorically4 to prove the
""\

succession of the verses and s~ras through all the hundred and fourteen
s~ras of the Qur'an.

1. al-Jami c Li Ahkam al-Qur'an, vol.I, p.60.

-----------.------~---
2. al-Burhan fl cUlum al-Qur'an, vol.I, p.238.
3. Published with different title Asrar Tartlb al-Qur'an, edited by
cAbd al-Qadir Abmad cAta ', second edition, Cairo 1398-1978. He also
composed a short treatise on this subject entitled Mara~id al-"Ma~alic
fi Tanasub al-Maqati C wa-al-Ma~alic, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin,
MS.Sl12, pp.114-117.
4. See for instance, Hi}azl,
. . al-MawQ~Ciyyakfi al-Qur'an al-
al-Wahdah
Karlm, and al-Qasim, al-ICjaz al-Bayanl fl Tartlb Ayatal ... Qur'an
a l-Karlm wa-Suwari h.
65
The compilation and arrangement of verses in their suras

The order of verses in the different suras is agreed to have been

ordained by revelation and was not left to the Prophet himself or his
. 1
companlons.
This can be supported by certain pieces of evidence.
Ibn al-Zubayr said to CUthman: "This verse which is in Surat
al-Bagarah Those who die and leave wives behind ... without turning
them out has been abrogated by another verse. Why then do you
c Uthman
- said "Leave it (where it is) 0
write it (in the Qur1an)?"
son of my brother for I will not shift anything of it (i.e. the Qur'an)
from its original position.1I 2
-
The suras used to be revealed on specific occasions and the
verses came as an answer to a question or inquiry, and Gabriel used
to tell the Prophet where to put them. 3 The Prophet is reported to

have sa i d Gabri e1 came to me and commanded me to put this verse

II

here in this surah"(S.XVI, 9) "God commands justice, the doing of

good and liberality to kith and kin ...

II

Ibn cAbbas is reported to have said that the last verse revealed

in the Qur1an is (S.II, 281) "And fear the day when ye shall be
brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what is earned

and none shall be dealt with unjustlyll. Then Gabriel said to the

1. Itqan, vol.I, p.l?2, Mui~ The Coran, p.3? says there were indeed
recognised suras or chapters.
2. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.46.
3. Qurtubi, vol. I, p.60.

66
Prophet, "put it after verse 280 of al-Bagarah"(S.II).l
cUmar is reported to have said III have not asked the Prophet
about anything more than I asked him about al-Kalalah2to the extent
that he pointed his finger to my chest and said to me "Be satisfied
with the verse revealed in summer, which is in the end of surat al-Nisa 'llil

(S,IV). 3
A certain person asked the Prophet which verse he would like to
bring good to him and his people and was told liThe end of surat al-
Bagara~,for it is one of the treasures of God's mercy from under His
Throne which He gave to His people, and there is no good in this
world and the next which it does not include 4 ll
•

The Prophet used to teach his companions the Qur1an, and, if

he became busy, he used to ask one of his learned companions to teach
the Qur1an. cUbadah-b. a l-Sami tis reported to ha ve sa i d "When the
Prophet became busy and someone migrated to him he used to ask one of
- 5
us to teach him the Qur1an.
The Prophet also used to send teachers to the far cities and
places to teach the Qur1an. On one occasion, IIHe sent Mucadh and
6
Abu Musa to Yemen and commanded them to teach the people the Qur ' an".

1. al-Mabani, p.4l, Qurtubl, vol.I, pp.60-6l.

~. i.e. one who dies without leaving a son or a father. See Qurtubi,
, vol.V. pp.76-78 and vol.V], pp.28-29.
3. Musnad, vol.I, p.23l, Itgan, vol.I, p.173.
4. Mishkat al-Masablh (English Trans.), vol.II, p.458.
--------------- ---.
5. Tartib al-Musnad, vol.XVIII, p.9.
6. ibid., p.8.

67
 One of the Followers lS reported to have said
"The companions who used to teach them the Qurlan
said that they used to learn the Qurlan from the
Prophet, ten verses, and they used not to learn
another unit of ten verses before they understood
their meaning and fulfilled their requirments."l
However the Qurlan itself 'indicates that' each
sura'", has.. its own' i nferna:l " arrangement.. Thus it chal-
1enged the Arabs in the Makkan peri od: (S. XI, 13) "Or they may say,
"He forged it." Say, "Bri ng ye then ten s -uras forged, 1ike unto it,
and call (to your aid) whomsoever ye can, other than God. If ye
speak the truth.""
The challenge of the Qurlan continued in the Madinan period
"And if ye are in doubt as to what we have revealed from
time to time to our servant, then produce a Sura like
thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers
(if there are any) besides God, if your (doubts) are
true," (S.II, 23).
-
The Prophet also used to recite suras in the prayers among his
companions, which indicates that they have a fixed revealed order
(tawql f). Furthermore, al~Suyut' points out, it would have been
impossible for the companions to arrange the verses in an order
different from the one they used to hear the Prophet use in his
- 2
recitation, which is a strong argument for tawqif. al-Suyuti

1. Tart,b al-Musnad, vol.XVIII, p.g.

2. Itqan, vol.I, p.174.

68
 C
quotes Ibn ~ajar al- Asqalanl, Makkl b. Abl Talib al-Qaysl,
Ibn al-Baqillani, Malik b. Anas, al-Bayhaql and Ibn al-Hassar
as supporting him on the succession of verses in the different
-
suras. 1

The problem of missing verses

Zayd b. Thabit is quoted as saying of the compilation of Abu Bakr,
"I started looking for the Qurlan and collecting it
from (what was written on) palm stalks, thin white
stones and also from the men who knew it by heart,
till I found the last verse of surat al-Tawbah
(repentance) with Abu Khuzaymah al-Ansari
. and I did
not find it with anybody other than him. The verse
is "now hath come unto you an Apostle from amongst
yourselves: it grieves
_
him that ye should perish
0
...
(till the end of Baralah) (S.IX, 128-129)."11'-
It seems that Abu Khuzaymahwas the only one who had kept this
verse in a written form, for there were many Qurra l who had committed
the whole Qurlan to memory.3 For instance, when Zayd b. Thabit had
reached the end of verse 127 of surah rx, "... Then they turn as; de:
God hath turned their hearts (from the light) for they are a people
that understood not", Ubayy b. Kacb informed him that the Prophet
had taught him two verses after that and recited the verses
(S.IX,128-129)

1. Itqan, vo1.I, pp.172-176.

2. Bukharl, vo1.VI, .. p.478. The translation of the verses has been
taken from Yusuf cAll.
3. Fath a1-Bari, vo1.IX, p.16 and Itqan, vo1.I, p.10l.
-.

69
 "Now hath come unto you an Apostle from amongst
yourselves: it grieves him that ye should perish:
ardently
........,.,.
anxious is he over you: to the believers
is he most kind and merciful. But if they turn
away, say: "God sufficeth me: there is no god but
He, on Him is my trust, He the lord of the
Throne (of Glory) Supreme. lill

Ubayy added that this was the last verse of the Qur1an to be
revealed. l
In another version it is reported that Zayd said:
"A verse from surat al-Ahzab
. was missed by me when we
copied the Qur'an and I used to hear Allahls Apostle
peace be upon him reciting it. So we searched for
it and found it wi th Khuzaymah b. Thabi t a l-Ansarl
.
(that verse was) (XXXIII, 23) "Among the believers
are men who have been true in their covenant with
God. Zayd says: "We then added it to its surah
II

112
.
ln the Mushaf."
.
The same theory which was advanced with respect to the missing
verses of al-Tawbah' can be applied here, with the addition that
Zayd himself had committed this verse to memory, as clearly stated
by him in this account.

1. al-Masahif, p.9, Muqaddimatan, p.35.

..
2. Fath al-Bari, vol.IX, p.ll, Bukharl, vol.VI, pp.479-480 and
-.
Mishkat al-Masabih, vol.II, p.470, English Translation by
James Robson.

70
 It has been argued that this episode of the missing verse of
---
Surat al-A~zab took place during the second compilation of CUthman.l
Nevertheless Ibn Kathlr has no hesitation in asserting authoritatively
that the missing of the verse 23 of S.XXXIII definitely occurred
during the first compilation of Abu Bakr, because it is confirmed
by another version of the same tradition which is regarded as
authentic. 2
There is a version narrated by Ibn Abl Dawud 3 in which
Khuzaymah ~. Thabit came with these two verses from the end of
Surat al-Tawbah,and cUmar said that if they had been three verses he
would have made them a surah. Then he suggested that he should decide
on a surah and annex them to it. Consequently they were put at the
end of S.IX. 4 This version however is said not to be authentic, for
it has three problems in its isnad, and the text (matn) contradicts
successive and sound reports which state that the Prophet taught his
---
companions the Qur'an, and the order of verses and suras. In
addition this version states that Abu Khuzaymah put the two verses at
the end of Surat al-Tawba~,though it is agreed unanimously that he was
not one of the scribes who participated in the compilation of the
Qur'an. 5 Indeed Ibn Abl Dawud himself narrates in the same book,

1. Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.21.

2. Fada'il
-. al-Qur'an, p.15.
3. c.f. Musnad, vol.III, pp.163-164.
4. al-Masahif, p.30, Ibn Abl Dawud in another verSlon related this event
.-.-
to CUthman, see p.31, who suggested to seal with these two verses
the last revealed sOrab.
5. al-Banna, Bulugh al-Amanl, vol.XVIII, p.173. A~mad Shak~r has,also
refuted this version on the grounds that it ;s munkar shadhdh ln
contradiction to the Mutawatir. See Musnad, vol .111, pp.163-l64.

71
 indeed on the same page, another version which contradicts the
above, which states that Ubayy b. Kacb reported that when they
compiled the Qur1an, the scribes thought that verse 127 of S.IX was
the end of the surah. Then he informed them, "The Prophet taught
me two verses after this "verily hath come unto you an Apostle ... ""l
In support of the latter hadlth,
. there is a hadlth
. in al-Musnad
on the authority of al-Bara ' who is reported to have said "The
last surah revealed completely to the Prophet is Surat Bara1ah (S.IX)".2
Thus it is a fact that the end of this surah was as well known to the
companions as the beginning and the body of the surah. Nevertheless
Ubayy is reported to have said that those two verses were the last
3
revealed verses. It was revealed exactly in the year 9 A.H.,
and the Prophet sent cAll with this surah to recite it and read it
in congregation of the Hajj at Makkah. 4
•
Furthermore, a l-Na sa i (303/915) in hi s Fada il a l-·Qur an reported
I I I

the had,th narrated by Zayd b. Thabit about the compilation of the

Qur1an during the time of Abu Bakr, and it is notable that he did not
mention the missing of two verses of Surat al-·Tawbah. 5 Ibn Hazm (456/1(63)

1 . S.IX, 128-129, al-Masahif, al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.56, Tarti b al-

.-.-
Musnad, vol.XVIII, p.173. The author of Bulugh a1-Ama ni, vo 1 . XV I II ,
pp.54-55 and pp.173-l74 accepts this version as a sound hadi th
accepted to al-~akim.
2. Tartlb al-Musnad, vol.XVIII, p.54.
3. ibid., p.174. The report is regarded as sound. See pp.174-175 of
Bulugh al-Amanl.
4. Tart,b al-Musnad, vol.XVIII, pp.156-l58.
5. Faga1il al-Qur'an, p.63.
72
accepts the validity of the hadlth of Zayd that he found the two
verses with Khuzaymah, but emphasises that this refers only to
the written form, as it had been memorised by Zayd himself. l
According to al-Qur~ubi they were substantiated by Khuzaymah alone
but with the consensus of the companions. 2 Ibn al-Baqillanl on
the other hand refutes the validity of this addition to the hadlth
completely and stated that the Qur1an was recorded in written form
without any exception. 3
In the 1i ght of a 11 the above accounts, the conc 1us i on is that the
verses were arranged and put systematically in their order without
any single exception.

The meaning of the term jamC al-Qur'an

The word jamaCa in the phrase'~amaca al-Qur'~rl'has two meanlngs.

One of these is lito memorise", which occurs in the Qur1an with this
sense in the phrase "Inna Ca1ayna jamCahu wa-qur ' anahu". 4 The
expression Jami c al-Qur'an and its plural Jumma c al-Qur'~n, are
likewise used to mean a man or people who commit the whole book to
their memories. Thus CAbd Allah b. cAmr is reported to have said
"jamaCtu al-Qur'an fa-qara'tu bi-hi fl kulli laylah ... IIS meaning,

1. Ibn Hazm,
. al-Ihkam
. fl Usul
. al-Ahkam,
. vol.VI, p.832.
. Tafs;r, vol.I, p.S6 .
2. Qurtubi,
-.
3. Nukat al-Intisar, p.33l .
4. S.LXXV, 17.
S. al-Nasa'l, Fad~'il al-Qur'an, p.10l.

73
"I have committed the Qur1an to memory and recite the (whole)
Qur1an every night ... " In this respect Ibn S1rln is reported as
having said that CUthman memorised the Qur1an during the lifetime
of the Prophet, i.e. "Jamaca CUthman al··Qur'an cala cahd Rasul
Allah salla Allah Calayh wa sallam, yaqulu: hafizahu". l
. .
The other meaning of the word jamaCa is lito collect and write
downll. We find this in such expressions as "Abu Bakr Awwal man
jamaCa al-Qur'an bayn al-laW~aynll,2 meaning that he compiled the
Qur1an in a written form, as a book (between two boards).
The companions who committed the whole Qur1an to memory were
quite a good number. 3
-- ---
In the course of our study we have come
across more than thirty of them. 4 In addition, the companions
who had memorised some parts and suras of the Qur1an were in their
- _". ..-I""

S
hundreds or indeed innumerable.
There were many reasons for the companions to memorise the
whole Qur1an during the lifetime of the Prophet, for instance, the
6
excellence of the language of the Qur1an for the Arabs and the use of

1. al-Baladhurl, Ansab al-Ashraf, Part IV, vol.I, p.489.

2. Kitab al-Masahif, p.S.
c .-.-- -
3. Ma rifat al-Qurra ' al-Kibar, pp.29-39. Itqan, vol.I, pp.201-204.
4. These are those whom we know by name; we have no precise
information about anonymous Qurra ' , although on one occasion
seventy of them :are said to have been killed, as early as
S A.H. See Bukharl, vol.V. pp 287-288.
S. Itqan, vol.I, p.200.
6. Ibn al-Baqillanl, ICjaz al-Qur'an, pp.33-S0.

74
the Qur1an for prayers and private and collective recitations. l
The Qur1an was also for them a book of sharlcah, (lavJ),
and social, business and state affairs.
The Prophet urged them to recite the Qur1an collectively and
privately, especially in night prayers during the month of Ramadan,
.
and to memorise some verses, suras or the whole Qur ' an. 2 The
person who has memorised the Qur1an is highly honoured and has a good
position in society, and he will be rewarded and given rewards ln
the hereafter. 3
In addition the Arab's memory, as Muir puts it, was possessed
of a marvellous tenacity.4 Some companions went to the extreme
of completing the recitation of the whole book in one night, but
when the Prophet was informed, he asked them not to seal the Qur1an
in less than a week or three days.5
On the other hand Anas b. Mali.k is reported as having said that
only four persons committed the Qur1an to memory at the time of the
Prophet. 6 Although many interpretations of this statement have been
offered, the only reasonable one is that he meant amongst his tribe
of Khazraj, since he was boasting of their achievements compared to
-
the other branch of the Ansar, i.e. Aws . 7
•

1. Sharh. al-Sunnah, vol.IV, Pf1.l9-3l andal-Nasa'l, vol.II, pp.120-l39 .

2. Sharh.. al-Sunnah, vol.IV, pp.427-499 .
3. ibid., pp.427-436.
4. The Coran, p.38.
5. al-Musnad, vol.X, p.43 and al-Nasa'i, Fada'il al-Qur'an, pp.10l-103.
6. Bukharl, vol.VI,p.488.
7. Nukat al-Intisar, pp.70-76, Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, pp.46-54.
~';"':"':':'-=--';:':'-'---. - -.

75
 c
Thus Jumma al-Qur'an are those who have memorised the Qur1an
and recite it by heart. The words HUffaz and Qurra l
have exactly
.
the same meanlng. 1

2
Shaban maintains that the Qurra l
refer to Ahl al-Qura
(villagers) rather than readers of the Qur1an. However this hypothesis
seems to be groundless since it is clear from the context of all
standard references whether late or early that it is readers who are
being referred to. Furthermore no lexicographical source gives
l
gurra as a derivation from the word qaryah; the only accepted form
is garawiyyun.
However the Prophet used to have scribes who took down the
revelation to aid memorisation, and as mentioned above they were
quite a good number. 3

The words sahifah

.. andmushaf and their origins
••

The word sahlfah,

.. pl. suhuf
. .
and saha'if as al-Jawharl states, means
a book, as it is found in the Qur1an (S.LXXXVII, 18-19) "And this is
in the book of earliest (Revelations) the book of Abraham and Moses".
It means the books revealed to them. 4

1. al-Baghawi in his book Shar~ al-Sunnah, vol.IV, p.428. says:

"Kull Shay'in JamaCtahu fa-qad qara'tahu".
2. M.A. Shaban, Islamic History: A New Interpretation I, pp.23, 50-51.
3. See pp.32-34 above.
4. Lisan, vol.IX, p.186.

76
 The word mushaf,
. . mishaf
. . or mashaf,
. . means a (book) containing
written sheets between two covers. al-Azharl is reported to have
said lilt is called mushaf, because it was made a container of
written sheets between two covers l ll
•

There is a hadith which proves that the Prophet used the word
mushaf in reference to the written form of the book the Qur1an. In
support of this it is related on the authority of CAbd Allah b.
c c-
Amr b. al- As that a man came to the Prophet and said to him, "This
son of mine reads the mushaf in the day time ... 2 Indeed in
11
•

another version the Prophet is reported as having forbidden travel with

a mushaf to the land of the enemy, lest the enemy take it (and
••
destroy or dishonour it).3

..
Thus the word mushaf was not unknown to the Muslims and there is
no need to suppose that they borrowed it or invented it after the
death of the Prophet. In fact the word was known to the Arabs
even before Islam, and we find it in a verse of the pre-Islamic poet
Imru ' al-Qays: Atat hijajun bacdl Calayha fa-asbahat Ka-khatti
" . . " .
zaburin fl masahif
. . ruhban: some years elapsed since my presence, and
it became like the writing of psalms in the masahif of monks. 4

1. Lisan al-cArab, vol.IX, p.186.

2. Musnad, vol.X, pp.llO-lll.
3. Bukhari, vol.IV, p.~46.
4. Diwan Imru ' al-Qays, p.88.

77
 It is maintained that the word mu~~af is of Ethiopian origin l
and that it was brought back by the Muslims who emigrated to
c-
Ethiopia, and that Ibn Mas ud suggested this name for the compilation
of Abu- Bakr. 2
However as seen above the word mushaf whether or not of
..
Ethiopian origin was current in Arabic long before this and indeed it
c-
seems strange that Ibn Mas ud, who was otherwise not involved ln
the compilation, should be brought in in this way. In short, this
account cannot be accepted. It is maintained also that the word

.
mushaf
. does not necessarily mean the entire text of the Qur'an
but can also refer to a portion of it. 3
However it may be pointed out that in the references mentioned
above it is clearly the entire text which is referred to. Some
personal codices may not have included the entire text but the
CUthmanic mas~hif based upon the first compilation included the
entire Qur1an without any exception as seen above.

Theory of naskh

The majority of scholars agree on the existence of naskh in the Qur'~n,

though they differ on many points, particularly about the meaning and

1. Concluding Essay~ p 46.

2. Itqan, vol.I, p.166. al-Suyutl states that the Isnad of this
report is interpreted (Munqa~ic).
3. ~~artin Hinds, liThe Siffin Arbitration Agreement" Journal of
Semitic Studies, vol.XVII, pp.95-96.

78
 modes of naskh and their examples,l
2
They all agree on the first mode of it, Naskh al-Hukm wa-
Baqa ' al-Tilawah,which is found for instance in surahII, verse 240
being said to be abrogated by verse 234 of the same surah~
The second mode of naskh discussed is Naskh al-Hukm wa-l-Tilawah.
It is said that some verses and parts of verses were eliminated from
For example, Ibn cUmar is reported to have said that
the Prophet taught two men a surah:andthey used to recite it. One
night while they were offering prayers they could not remember a single
h~rf and they came next day to the Prophet and told him what
happened. The Prophet informed them that this was a part of what
had been abrogated, and told them to forget about it.4
It is also said that surahXXXIII used to be two hundred verses,
and that when CUthman compiled the masahif he could not find anything
but what is present today:5 In another version it is said that this

l.-al-Juwaynl, al-Burhan fl Usul . al-Fiqh, vol.II, pp.1293-l300, al-Ghazzali

al-Mustasfa,
. vol. I, pp.123-l24, , Ibn Hazm,
-al-Ihkam
.. fl .
Usul al-Ahkam,
.
vol. I, pp.440-44l, r~afatlb al-r,hayb, vol.I, pp.432-433.
2. Except the MuCtazill scholars who are reported to have objected the
theory of Naskh enti re 1y, see r~afatrb a l':Ghayb, vo 1 , I, p. 435,
and al-Juwaynl,.al-13urt"lanf, Usa.l al-fiqh, vol.II, p.13l2.

3. al-Ihkam fi Usul al-Ahkam, vol.II, p.263,Mafatlhal-Ghayb,vol.I,

p.435, 'al-Amid" al-Ihkam, vol.II, p.264.
e 4. Itgan, vol. I If,-- p. 74 b~the Isnad 1S weak as is pointed out by
al-Ghdmarl, Dhawg al-~alawah.,p.ll.
5. Itgan, vol.III, p.12, the Isnad is not authentic, see Dhawq al-
Ha 1awah, p. 12 .
.

79
surah was similar to surah 11.1 Moreover ~udhayfah is reported to
have said that what we read of surah IXis less than a fourth of the
. . 1. 2
orlglna
It is related of Ibn cUmar that he said,
"Nobody should say that he has committed the whole
Qur1an to memory, for he does not know what is the
whole Qur1an. There is much of the Qur1an which
has been eliminated. He should rather say that he
has memorised what is found of it." *
Finally, a1-Thawrl is reported to have said that he came to
know that some Qurra among the companions were killed fighting
l

Musay1 imah on the day of Yamama~,and as a resu1 t, some Huruf of the

Qur1an were lost. 3
The last mode of naskh brought into the discussion is
Mansukh a1-Ti1awahdun a1-Hukm.
. This means that there are some verses
abrogated in recitation, but although they are not recitab1e, they
are still judged to be existent in practise. The examples given are
as follows. Some Qurra were killed at Sir Macunah and there was
l

revealed a part of the Qur1an which was eliminated. This was IIInform
our people that we have met our Lord, He is well pleased with us and
has satisfied US 4 a1-Suhay1; points out that this sentence
Il
•

1. a1-Idah,
. . p.46, Itqan, vo1.III, p.72.
2. Itgan, vo1.III, p.75. * ibid., p.72.
3. Dhawg a1-Halawan,pp.18-19; al-Ghamarl attributes ~t to the
Musannaf ~f cAbd a1-Razzaq. He adds that this is strongly rejected,
and he considers it false and contradictory to the Qur1an.
4. Itgan, vo1.III, p.75.

80
clearly differs from the style of the Qur'an,l This stylistic
fact demonstrates the weakness of this report. 2
The second example concerns the prohibition of marriage to
foster-sisters referred to in the verse "Prohibited to you (for
marriage) are .0' foster sisters" (S.IV, 23). In discussing the
number of times of suckling necessary to establish the foster-
relationship, al-Razl quotes a hadlth
. attributed to cA'ishah that
the number was reduced from ten to five. In this case, ten
suck 1i ngs is Mansukh a 1-Til a\\ah wa-a l-Hukm and fi ve 1 s Mansukh
al-Tilawahdun al-Hukm
. since there is no reference to either number
in the Qur1an.
This report 1S narrated by cA'ishah indifferent versions.
In this it is said that the verse of suckling used to be recited
during the lifetime of the Prophet and he left it as a part of the
- 3
Qur1an. Makki refers to the weakness of this version in that it
- and reason. 4 He also regards this
is contradicted by the Qur1an
example as strange in the matter of abrogation in that the abrogating
passage is not recitable, so that the abrogated passage and the verdict
of abrogation both stand,5

1. al-Rawd. al-Unuf, vol.VI, pp.206-207 .

2. al-Qira'at wa-al-La~ajat, p.8l.
3. a l-Nawawl, Sahlh Mus 1 im bl Sharh a l-Nawawi, vo 1 . X, pp. 29-30
• • --- 4)

4. al-Qaysl, a1-Idah li-Nashikh al-Qur'an wa-Mansukhih, p.45.

5 . i bid., p. 44 .

81
 After this he asslgns it to the second mode of naskh.
al-Suyutl
. argues that what was meant by cA'ishah is that the
Prophet was near to his death when it was eliminated, or that
some people did not know of the abrogation until after the death
of the Prophet. 1
al-Jassas -~-~
.. . (370/980) rejects this version for it indicates that
the abrogation took place after the death of the Prophet. 2 In

. .
addition al-Tahawl (321/933) considers the riwayah to be weak and objects
to it strongly.3
Furthermore, al-Nahhas
.. points out that Malik b. Anas, despite
narrating this hadlth, rejects it and says that a single suckling
•
causes tahrlm, since this is the implication of the Qur'anic verse
already mentioned. al-Nahhas (338/949) continues that Ahmad
. b. Hanbal
.
and Abu Thawr were also not in favour of this hadith,
. since they
consider that three sucklings make tahrim, and refer to a hadith
ln this connection. 4
In addition, al-Nahhas.
. states that if this version was authentic
cA'ishah herself would have reported it to the committee of scribes,
and then it would have been included in the masahif.
Also the Qur'an itself states "We have without doubt sent down
the message; and we will assuredly guard it (from corruption)1I (S.XV, 9).

1. Itgan, vol.III, p.63.

2. Ahkam al-Qur'an, vo1.II, p.125.
3. M~shk;l a1-Athar, vol.III, p.6.
4. a1-Nasikh wa-al-Mansukh, p.l1.

82
 Hammudahargues that this report has come to us ln many
contradicting versions. At one time it appears as Mansukh
a1-Tilawah~andat other times not, wh'i1e in one version the

prescriptions of five and ten times are revealed in a single verse

while in another version the ten sucklings were revealed first and
then the five sucklings were revealed abrogating the ten sucklings. l
To conclude, the hadith is not authentic and is groundless.

( The third example of this mode is what is said to have been a

Qur'anic verse "a l-Shaykh via -a l-Shaykhah, when they forn; ca te , stone
;to"" them as exemplary punishment from Allah; and Allah is Mighty and
Wise".2 The verdict of stoning is a.greed to be sunnah, as cUmar
and CAli were reported to have mentioned that stoning is established
by the sunnah of the Prophet. 3 Bukharl who narrates the penalty
of stoni ng does not menti on thi s addi ti on of a l-Shaykh wa -a l--5haykhah
II
ll

and a1- c Asqa1ani

- - - -
suggests that Bukhari may have done this
- - among many has mentioned it,
intentionally, because only one Rawi
and he could have been mistaken. a1- c Asqa1ani
- -
adds that the great
scholars (A'immah and Huffaz)
. have narrated the hadith,
. but they
----- 4 -----
have not mentioned this addition. . . discusses it in detail
al-Tahaw;
and concludes that the stoning of a married person is established by

1. a1-Qira'atwa-al--Lahajat, p.86.
2. Itqan, vo1.III, p.72.
3. Fath a1-Barl, vo1.XII, pp.117-120,
-.
4. i bid.
. vo 1 . XI I, p. 11 7•

83
the sunnah of the Prophet. He supports his view by quoting cAl,
~s having said III have flogged her according to the book of Allah,
and stoned her according to the sunnah of the Prophet". l This
example is said to be the best one of Mansukh al-Tilawahdun al-Hukm. 2
In addition to the riwayah_ofal-Shaykhwal-a.l-Shaykha, Marwan b.

.
al-Hakam is reported to have suggested to Zayd b. Thabit that he
should include it, but he refused on the grounds that it was
contradictory, saying "Don't you see that young married people are
stoned if they fornicate?1I3 This would imply that Zayd was left
to decide whether to accept or reject material for inclusion in the
Moreover Marwan is not known to have had any role in the
compilation of the Qur1an. al-Ghamar; states that this version is

---
very detestable, and that Zayd could not have omitted something
simply because it contradicted the stoning of young married people. 4
Moreover cUmar is reported to have said that when it was
revealed he came to the Prophet and asked him permission to write it,
but he felt that the Prophet was unwilling for it to be written.
Then c Umar said to Zayd b. Thabit IIDon't you see that if the shaykh
fornicates and ;s unmarried, he is flogged and that if the young man
fornicates and is married, he is stoned?"S However it was very
.,

1. Mushkil al-~thir, vol.III, p.2.

2. al-Qira'at wa-l-Lahajat, pp.84-8S.
3. Fath al-Bari, vol.XII, p.143.
-.
4. Dhawt al-Halawah, p.17.
5. Itgan, voi.III, p.76. Shaykh in this context means an old man.

84
unusual for the Prophet to be unwilling for a verse revealed to
him to be written down, and it is hard to understand how cUmar
could object to an Ayahwhich he believe to be revealed from Allah. l
al-Ghamari states that Allah would have not omitted an Ayah from the
Qur1an just because some people objected to it. He adds that all
these contraditions support the view that what some call the
Ayat al-Rajm is not an Ayah atall. It is at most a hadith. 2
The fourth example of Mansukh al-Tilawahdun al-Hukm is the
following. If the son of Adam were to ask for a wad~ of wealth and
be given it, he would ask for a second one, and if he were to ask for
a second and be given it, he would ask for a third, and nothing
would fill the maw of the son of Adam except the dust. And Allah
accepts the repentance of the one who repents. Verily the faithful
religion in the sight of Allah is the straight path (al-Hanlfiyyah),
which is not polytheism, not Judaism, and not Christianity. And
3
he who does good deeds will not be rejected.
al-Suhayli (58l/~185) states that this allegedQuranic versewould in any
case be khabar not hukm
. (i.e. narrative as opposed to commands,
prohibitions, etc.) and therefore not subject to the rules of
abrogation. 4

1. Dhawg al-~alawaA,pp.17-l8.
2. ibid., p.18.
c
3. al-Hakim, vol.II, p.224, Itgan, vol.III, p.73. Ubayy b. Ka b
is ~eported to have said that the Prophet read surah XCVIII to
him and in it was this addition.
4. al-Rawd al-Unuf, vol.II, p.176.

85
 The authenti c riwaya h of thi s hadl th menti ons on 1y tha t the
Prophet read surah XCVIII to Ubayy without mentioning the addition. 1
c -
In another version Ibn Abbas is reported to have said that he did
not know if this (addition) was from the Qur'an or not. 2 However
Ubayy himself is reported to have said also that they used to think
that it was from the Qur'an until Surat al-Takathur (S.XCIV) was
revealed. 3
al-Alusl considers that the addition attributed to Ubayy was
not authentic. 4 However, Hammudahmaintains
. that, stylistically in
his view, it is a hadlth because the words yahudiyyah,na~raninyyah
and hanlfiyyah
. aye not found in the Qur'an, while the wording is
similar to the utterances of hadlth. 5
.
Fifth, Abu Musa is reported to have said that they used to read
a surah, which they thought was similar to one of al-Musabbihat,6
.
which they forgot, but that they remembered from it: "0 ye who bel ieve,
do not say that which ye do not; it will be certified on your necks
and you will be questioned about it on the day of jUdgement". 7

1. Bukharl, vol.VI, pp.256-257.

2. Fath al-Bari, vol.XI, p.2l3.

-.
3. ibid., Miskkat al-Masablh, vol.II, p.67l.
------.-.
4. Ruh al-Macanl, vol.XXX, p.208.
5. al~Qira'at wa:-al~ahajat, p.80.
6. al-Musabbihat are those suras which begin with tasb,h (glorifying)
.
(i.e. S.LXI and S,LXII.
7. Itqan, vol.III, p.74, Burhan, vol.II, p.37.

86
 Sixth, cUmar is reported to have said that they used to
recite "00 not reject your fathers, for this will be (accounted)
disbelief against you". Then he sa i d to Zayd, "was it SOli. He
replied lIyes!lI.l
Seventh, cUmar is also reported to have asked cAbd al-Rahman
b. cAwf if he did not find in what was revealed, "Fight as you have
been fighting at firstll for it was not found now. <:Abd al-Rahman
replied that it was from the part eliminated from the Qur'an. 2
Eighth, Maslamah b. Khalid al-Ansarl is reported to have said
that there were two verses from the Qur'an which were not recorded,
which were "Those who bel ieved and suffered exile and fought in the
path of Allah, with their wealth and persons, rejoice, for you are
successful and those who gave them asylum
......---
and aided and defended
them against the people with whom Allah is angry. No person knows
what delights of the eyes are kept hidden for them - as a reward for
their (good) deeds 3 It is obvious that these two verses are
Jl
•

borrowed with little change from S.VIII ) 74 and S.XXXII, 17 and

joined together,
Ninth, cj\'ishah is reported to have recited S.XXXIII, 56 "God
and His Angels send blessings on the Prophet ... " with the addition

1. Itqan, vol. III, p.74. The riwayah is not authentic because there
is a break in the transmission, see Dhawg al-~alawah, p.13.
2. Itgan, vol.III, p.74.
3. ibid.

87
"And those who pray in the first line". This addition is
reported to have been a ~adlth 1 which indicates that the report
of cA'ishah-isno more than sunnah.
- which are sometimes combined
Finally, it is said that the suras
into one surah known as al-Qunut and sometimes known separately as
c
.
surat al-Khal and surat al-Hafad, were eliminated from the Qur'an. 2
However, Ibn al-Baqillanl objects to this theory of
1',1ansukh a1-Ti 1awah. He quotes a group of scholars who obj ect to thi s
kind of abrogation, because the reports are isolated, and it is
impossible to judge the revelation of the Qur'an and its abrogation
by i so 1ated reports, whi ch are not suffi ci ent evi dence. 3 A
contemporary researcher has studied the theory of al-Naskh, and
concludes that all these reports are fabricated, although he agrees
in general to the Mansukh al-Tilawah wa-a}Hukm, since the elimination
took place during the period of revelation and the lifetime of the
4
Prophet.

1. Itqan, vol.III, p.l3. The ~adlth is not authentic as its Isnad

includes two unknown raWlS, Dhawg al-~alawab, p.14.
2. Itgan, vol.III, p.l5. al-Ghamarl states that what is called
surat al-~afad was composed by cUmar . Dhawq al-~alawa~ p.19.
3. Nukat al-Intisar, pp.103-l04 and Itqan, vol.III, p.l5.
4. r.1ustafa Zayd, 'al-Naskh Fi-al-'Qur'an aT-Kar.1m,VQ1 ..I, p.282-3. Supporting
hi~'view, he quotes al-Tabarl, Tafslr, vol.II, p.480, who states that
it is not impossible by'any means that Allah should make his Prophet
forget some (verses) revealed to him. cAbd al-Karlm al-Kha~ib in his
book Min Qadaya al-Qur'an, pp.235-236, makes the suggestion that in
the final r~vealed version some verses were transferred to other
suras rather than being eliminated, but does not quote any references
to support his view.

88
 However it must be pointed out that there are many reasons
for objecting to both kinds of Mansukh al-Tilawah either with or
without the Hukm:
1. All examples given are either not authentic, or
contradict each other, or are isolated reports,
in many different versions.
2. They are not similar to the style of the Qurlan
as for instance can be seen from a comparison
between the end of (5.11) and (5.111) and the
Ducal al-Qunut.
3. It is an agreed rule among all usul~s
. that the
Qurlan is substantiated only by successive reports,
and these examples are not successive, and therefore
are anomalous reports. 1
.-~~~

Although there is general agreement among both the ShiCites

---
and the Ahl al-Sunnah about the existence of Mansukh al-Tilawah,2
some ShiCite scholars claim that the sunn~ scholars ' acceptance of
the theory of Mansukh al-Tilawah prove that the Qurlan has been
3
corrupted. Western scholars have adopted various opinions on the
subject. Noldeke accepts the traditional accounts of Mansukh
al-Tilawah,4 while Burton rejects the entire concept as a fabrication. S

1. Itgan, vol.III, p.lS, Burhan, vol.II, p.36, al-Qira'at wa-al-Lahajat,

. f~ cUlum al-Qur'an, p.266, Dhawg al-Halawah,
p.ll, Mabahith . pp.19-20.
2. al-Tusl, al-Tibyan fi Tafs~r al-Qur'an, vol.I, p.13.
3. al-Khu'~, al-Bayan f~ Tafs~r al-Qur'an, p.20l, Tafs~r al-Qumml,
vol.I, Introduction of the Editor, :ayyib al-Musawi al-Jaza'~rl,
pp.22-25.
4. Noldeke, Geschichte Des Qorans, vol.I, pp.234-26l.
S. Burton, The Collection of the Qurlan, p.238.

89
Wansbrough on the other hand in line with his general approach
regards the whole problem as a projection back in time of the
disputes of a later period. l

The Sh~Cite opinions on the alteration of the Qurl~n

There are many riwayas in ShiCite sources which claim that the
Qurlan has been altered by the omission of certain parts, which
they claim has been done intentionally, since they concerned the
position of the Ahl al-Bayt. 2
Here are some examples: Abu CAbd Allah is reported to have said
that the Qurlan as revealed by Gabriel to Muhammad consisted of
seventeen thousand verses. 3
He is also reported to have said that surah XCVIII includes
the names of seventy men of Quraysh and the names of their fathers. 4
- c -
Abu Abd Allah again is reported to have directed one of his
followers to read the Qurlan as it is now, saying that when the
Qa'im came he should read the original Qurlan in its complete form. 5
Surat al-Ahzab (S.XXXIII) is said to have been equal in length
to Surat al-Ancam (S.VI), and that the virtues of the Ah1 al-Bayt
had been omitted. 6 Moreover Abu CAbd Allah is reported to have said
that the Ayah Ummatun hiya arba min ummah has been corrupted, and that
it should be corrected to be read as A'immatun Aiya azk~ min a ' irnmatikum. 7

1. Wansbrough, Quranic Studies, p.197.

2. al-Usu1 min al-K~fi, vol.II, pp.63l-634, Qsu1 a1-Kafi, edited by
, I •

cAbd'a1-Husayn b. a1-M~faffar, vol .11, Part V, pp.178-204.

3. a1-Usul
. min a1-Kafi, vol. II, p.634 .
4. ibid.
5. ; bi d., p. 633 .
6. Ruha1-Ma canl, vo1.I, p.24.
-.
7. ibid.
90
 Certain ShiCite scholars also claim that the meaning of certain
verses has been deliberately distorted, an example of which is the
(S.XLIII, 4) verse IIAnd verily, It is in the Mother of the Books, In
Our Presence, high (in dignity), full of wisdom ll
,
The word aliyy
which means high (in dignity) as appears in the context, is taken by
them to refer to cAli b. Abi Talib. 1 Furthermore, al-Qumml states
that there has been alteration of the Qurlan by putting one harf 1n
the place of another and that it contains that which is not in -
accordance with the revelation. 2 Thus it is said that the mushaf
of Fatimah was three times the size of the existing mushaf, and that
..
it did not contain a single harf of the latter. 3 Furthermore
it is said that no one has the whole Qurlan except the A' immah. 4 In
addition it is claimed that there are two suras missing from the
mushaf S~rat
.. concerning the rank of the Ahl al-Bayt called al-Walayah
and Surat al-Nurayn. 5 They consist of some Quranic verses brought
from different suras with some little addition and alteration. Among
the ShiCites themselves it is said that these reports were fabricated and

1 1. Tafsir al-Qummi, vol.I, pp.28-29.

2. ibid., p.S. The editor, al-Musawi al-Jaza'iri agrees with the
author, and gives as an example the alleged omission of Fl CAliyy
after 110 Apostle! Proclaim The (message) which hath been sent
to thee from thy LordI! (S.V, 70), Yusuf Ali's Translation, p.264.
3. Usul al-Kafi, vol.II, Part V, pp.199-204.
-.
4. ibid., pp.178-l81.
5. / NOld€ke, Geschichte des Qorans; v~l.IL, pp.l'02-103.'
Mukhtasar al-Tuhfa
,
al-Ithnay CAshriyya, Introduction of
. p.3l .
Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib,

91
no original source is glven for them ln ShiCite reference works. 1
Stylistically, there are many errors which are proof of their lack
of aut henticity. 2 Moreover c Ali- came after c Uthman and ruled for
several years and was succeeded by his son al-Hasan who ruled for
•
several months. They would have been able to correct any errors
or to put everything in its proper order if there had been any
alteration. Furthermore cAll is reported to have agreed with
CUthman and supported him in the matter of compilation and defended
3
him against the rebels. Among the ShiCites also the majority
deny and reject entirely the theory of alteration on the grounds of
the non-authenticity of the reports and their fabrication,4 the
stylistic differences and linguistic errors,S and the fact that
-
the title, given as al-Nurayn, referring to the Prophet and c Ali-
is known historically to have been invented later in the seventh
century of the hijrah? There are some reports which are said to
be authentic, though they indicate that there is alteration in the
mushaf, but they are interpreted as referring to additional
interpretation added to the text as Tafslr only and not by any means

1. Tafsir Ala' al-Rahman,.- The author's introduction, pp.16-l7 .

2. ibid.
3. a1- Ka mil, vol. I I I, p. 11 2 .
4. al-Tusl, al-Tibyan fl Tafsir al-Qur'an, vol .1, p.3, Tafslr
'Al~' al-Rahman, pp.17-18, al-Tabarsi, Majma C al-Bayan fl
.- .
Tafslr al-Qur'an, vol.I, p.1S and Nukat al-Inti~ar, p.36S.
5. Tafslr Ala' al-Ra~man, pp .. 16-l7, Daraz, Madkhal, p.40.
6. Daraz, Madkhal, p.40.

92
a part of the Qur'an. l Indeed the masahif which exist today
among all Muslims are the same. The masahif
. . printed in Egypt
were accepted and copied in Iran and other places, without any
alterations, additions or omissions.
They agree in the recitation and orthography, though they
=- -
may differ concerning the meanings and Tafslr.
Before concluding this chapter it may be appropriate to mention
briefly two supposed episodes which have sometimes been used to
c~.~o_l!bt upon the trustworthi ness of the text of the Qur an.
I

The first of these is the story of the gharanlg. This problem

has been discussed by many writers. 2 In essence, the Prophet is
reported as having recited in Makkah (S.LIII), andwhen he came toits end he
made the sajdah of Tilawah and in this he was followed by those who
were present at the time, among whom were some non-Muslims. 3

1. Tafslr Alai al-Rahman, .- pp.18-l9 .

2. See for example al-Razl, Mafatlh. al-Ghayb, vol.XXIII, pp.49-56,
c
Iyad, al-Shifa- ' , vol.II, pp.282-305, Ibn Kathir,
- -
Tafsir,
vo 1 . I I I, pp. 229-81, .
al-Qasiml, Tafslr, vol.XII, pp.36-57, Sayyid Qutb, Fi Zilal al-
-.
Qurlan, vol.IV, pp.243l-36, cAbd al-Karim al-Kha~1b, al-Tafsir a1-
Qurlan], vol.III, pp.106l-85, al-Albanl, Na~b al-·Majanig Li-Nasf
Qi~~at a1-Gharanlg, and A.M. Ahsan, liThe 'satanic ' verses and the
orientalism" Hamdard Islamicus,vol.V, Number I, Spring 1982,
pp.27-36. See also Bell and Watt, Introduction to the Qurlan,
pp.88~89, Watt, Muhanmad at Mecca, pp.10l-109, Lichtensta~dter,

"A note on the Gharanlq and related Qur'anic problems" Israel

Oriental Studies, 5 (1975), pp.54-6l and Burton, "Those are the
high-flying cranes" JSSXV (1970), pp.246~265.
3. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.363, and Tinnidhl, vol.III, p.58.

93
A certain number of the earlier Muslims who had emigrated to
Abyssinia are reported to have subsequently returned to Makkah
having heard that the people of Makkah had embraced Islam after
following the Prophet in his Sujud al-Tilawah. l So far the
reports are accepted, but some narrators annex to this report the
story of al-gharanl9 in which it is said that when the Prophet
recited (S.LIII, 19-20) he added in the text of the Qur1an the words
- - al- cula-Wa-1nna
"Tilka al-gharanig . shafa-c atahunna la-Turtaja".
- 2

"These are the exalted Gharanlq whose intercession is to be

hoped for", and that Gabriel came with a revelation to abrogate it
immediately. Moreover certain Mufassir~.!!. quote the story as an
example of Satan interfering ln the process of revelation.
The story however is no more than a fiction, being found no
,:~,

earlier than the time of the followers, and not being attributed ln
any of its versions to anyone of the companions, let alone to the
prophet,3 and hence al-Razl asserts that the story is invented by
enemies of Islam~
The presence of this story in many books of Tafsir is no
different from the presence there of what is introduced under the name

1. Sirat Ibn Hisham, vol.III, pp.330-333.

2. Tabarl, Tafsir, vol.XVII, pp.186-190, third ed. 1388-1968
.
(unedited version).
3. Ibn Ka t h1r, Ta f s 1r, vol. I I I, PP. 22 9- 231 and a1-Shi fa I , vol. I I '. p. 289 .
4. f.1a fa tih a l-:-Shayb, vo 1 . XX I I I, p. 51 ·

94
 . c Iyad. objects to it and refutes it on
al-Qadi
two grounds, the first being that it is groundless, obscure,
contradictory and is not attributed to anyone among the companions.
Secondly the context contradicts the infallibility of the Prophet
for it is impossible that he would wish to praise false gods,
intentionally or otherwise, because the Prophet is reported as
saying "verily my eyes sleep but my heart does not", or for Satan
to have any effect on him. He continues that these words differ
in style and seem alien to the Qur'an, and that there is no report
from the enemies of Islam of different origins that any of them
used the story against the Qur'an and that no-one among the newly-
converted Muslims reverted from Islam as a result of this story as
happened on the occasion of the Isra'. In addition Quraysh and
Thaqif had offered the Prophet that if he pleased their idols
only by looking on them with favour they would embrace Islam and
the Prophet had refused their proposal which indicates the falsehood
- - 1
of the story of the gharaniq.
According to him if the story were authentic the best
interpretation for al-gharanlq would have been the angels since
their intercession could be hoped for, but when the polytheists
2
attributed the word gharanl9 to their idols it was abrogated.
al-Razl in his refutation of the story points out that it is rejected
by the Qur'an, sunnah and reason. Firstly he quotes the following

verses of the Qur'an:

1. al-Shifa', vol. II,pp.289-297.

2. i bi d., p. 302.

95
 a.
"And if the apostle were to invent Any sayings in
Our name, We should certainly seize him by his
right hand. Nor could any 'of you withhold him
(From Our wrath).1J (S.LXIX, 44-46)
b.
" ... It is not for me Of my own accord, To change it:
I follow Naught but what is revealed Unto me: if
I were to disobey my Lord, I should myself fear the
Pena 1ty of a Great Day to come.II (S. X, 15)
c.
"Nor does he says (aught) Of (his own) Desire.
It is no less than Inscription sent down to him.1I (S.LIII,3-4)
d.
"And their purpose was to tempt thee away From that
which We Had revealed unto thee to substitute in Our
name something quite different: (In the case), behold!
They would certainly have made thee (their friend)! And
had We not Given you thee strength thou wouldst nearly
Have inclined to them a little. 1I (S.XVII, 73-74)
e.
Thus (is it revealed), that We May strengthen thy
1I • • •

heart thereby, and We have Rehearsed it to thee in

slow well-arranged stages gradually.1I (S.XXV, 32)
f.
IIBy degrees shall We teach thee to declare (The Message),
so thou shalt not forget. II (S.LXXXVII, 6)
Secondly he reports Ibn Khuzaymah (311/923) as having said that it
was fabricated by Zanadiqah and composed a book of this subject, and
reports al-Bayhaql as having stated IIthis story is groundless in its
transmission and the narrators of it are rejected ll
• He also refers
to al-Bukharl who does not mention the story.l

1. Mafatlh al-Ghayb, vol.XXIII, p.51.

96
 Thirdly al-Razi argues that to praise idols 1S kufr which cannot
be attributed to the Prophet and that he was not able to pray in
the Kacbah until after the polytheists had left it, since their hatred
for him was too great. He adds that we would have thought that God
would have prevented Satan from causing mischief in the beginning
rather than allowing him to do so and then correcting it, thus
allowing the possibility of confusion. He concludes that it is
impossible that the Prophet could add or omit anything to the
reve1ation. l
Furthermore what is meant by the word IIYansakhu II inS. XX II, 53
is its linguistic meaning (i.e. Izalah) rather than the term used 1n
al-Nasikh wa-al-Mansukh. 2 Furthermore the word Tamanna in this
context means only hope 3 although it may have in Arabic another
meaning, i.e. to recite. 4 In fact Ibn Hisham mentions nothing
- -
more than the fact that the Muhajirun came back to Makkah. 5
Ibn Kathlr objects to the story of the gharanl9 and confirms that
it is not accepted, and although it has been narrated in many different
weak versions it lS rejected because the weak is not acceptable no
rna tt er how 0 f ten 1· t . repor t ed . 6
lS

1. Mafatih. al-Ghayb, vol.XXIII, p.51 .

2. ibid., pp.52 and 56.
3. al-Razl, Mafatlh. al-Ghayb, vol.XXIII, p.51, Tafsir a1-Qasiml,
vol.XII, pp.46-47.
4. ibid.
5. Slrat Ibn Hisham, vol.III, pp.330-333. However ~1u~ammad b. Ishaq
is reported as having narrated this episode with the addition of
a1-Gharanlg, see Tabari,
. Tafslr, vol.XVII, p.187 (unedited version) .
6 . Ibn Ka t h1r, Ta f s 1r, vol. I I I, PP. 229 - 231 .

97
 Mu~ammad cAbduh points out that this word ghurnuq or ghirnlq
(pl. gharaniq) is not found in any sound report as having been used
by the pre-Islamic Arabs in their poems or speeches as a name for
their idols. In addition he studies the meanings of the word
lexicographically to conclude that none of them seems to be relevant
to the i do 1s. 1

As regards the second episode, it is maintained that certain

scribes of the Prophet used to deceive him and make alterations ln
the text of the Qur'an, changing the ending of the verses, and
that Prophet saw little point in objecting to this and that he
accepted them on the grounds that it makes no difference whether it
is written sami-c un cAlim
- or Alimun
- -c 2 The story is attributed
sami.
c - -
to Abd Allah b. Abi al-Sarh who is reported as a result to have
reverted
.-,/----,
from Islam and gone back to Makkah and claimed that he used to
write what he wanted. In another version it is said that when the
Prophet recited S.XXIII, 12-14 and asked him to write it down he commented
The Prophet then said "SO

it has been revealed" whereupon he reverted and said that it had been
revealed to him as much as to the Prophet. 3 On the conquest of Makkah
he was ordered to be killed. However this report is groundless since
it is not mentioned in the earlier reliable sources. For exampl e
there is no mention of this in the books of Maghazl and Sirah of
Ibn Hisham. The first reference mentioning this is on the authority

1. Tafslr al-Qisiml, vol.XII, p.56.

2. al-Shifi', vol.II, p.306; al-Qadl clyad comments that the report
is no more than a narration attributed to a non-believer whose
report is most likely to be rejected.
3. Qurtubi, vol.VII, p.40.

98
of Ibn al-Kalbl (146/763) and al-Waqidl (207/822).1 However both
men are accused of being liars and on the other hand they are ShiCite
which may indicate that they forged the story against Ibn Ab, al-Sarh
.
who was related to CUthman.2

The same thing is attributed to CAbd Allah b. Ab, Khata1 3 and

to an ex-Christian who is also said to have made alterations and
reverted to Christianity, and that his grave cast him up many times. 4
The story however 1S groundless and it is no more than fiction.
For it seems difficult to believe that the Qurlan which used to be
memorised by the Prophet himself and many too of his companions,
certain of whom used to have their own personal codices, should
have been altered or undergone any change either against the will
of the Prophet or by his consent. The Prophet is reported as
having corrected al-Bara- l b." c-Azibwhen he changed a single ~·JOrd \·,hen
he read from his memory what he had been taught to say when going
to sleep and thus it is impossible that he would have permitted
- 5
any change in the text of the Qurlan. Furthermore the ending

. play an important role in the beauty of the

verses (al-Fawasil)
style of the Qur'an.
In no single case do the scribes differ in writing any Fa~ilah
while they have been reported as having differed in writing the word
al-tabut, to write it with final tal or hal.

1. al-Waqidi, Maghazl, vol.II, p.855.

2. al-Aczami, Kuttab al-Nab1yy, p.89.
3. Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, cUyun al-Athar, vol.II, pp.175-176 and 315-316.
4. Ibn Abl Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p.3.
5. Bukharl, vol.VIII, pp.216-l7.

99
 In fact the reliable sources mention about cAbd Allah b.
Abi al-Sarh that he was a Muslim and one of the scribes of the
revelation and he reverted and fled from Madinah to his people ln
Makkah. As a result when the Prophet conquered Makkah he ordered
that Ibn Abl al-Sarh. should be killed, but CUthman interceded with
the Prophet to accept his repentance and this was accepted. Even
if he claimed after leaving Islam that he used to make alterations
in the Qur'an, this allegation should not be accepted any more than
in the case of al-Rahhal b. cUnfuwah, who was sent on a mission to
Banu Hanlfah, the people of Musaylimah, but joined Musaylimah and told
•
the people that he came with a message that the Prophet agreed to
share with Musaylimah and was followed by some people. 1 Thus we
cannot accept these allegations.
It seems also very difficult to believe that the Prophet was
deceived three times respectively given that he said lithe believer
is not stung twice from a single hole 2 ll
•

In conclusion we can say that the Qur'an was committed to the

hearts of the companions and was safely guarded in the records kept
during the life of the Prophet who used to have special scribes for
the revelation of the Qur'an.
Abu Bakr compiled these records in a complete mushaf
.. and put
them in their orders of verses and chapter as found in writing and
supported by the memories of ~uffa~ and this mushaf was kept in his
custody and passed to c Umar who left it in the custody of his

1. Tarlkh al-Tabari, vol.III, p.289 .

•
2. Sunan Ibn Majah, vol.II, p.1318 hadlth no. 3982-83.

100
daughter because he died before the installation of CUthman. When
differences arose between the Qurra l cUthman
- took
a decision with

Abu Bakr and distributed them to the Amsar

--
consent of the companions to make copies from the master copy of
~-"""""":.:::..--~ ....

. with a Qari I to teach

the people accordingly. The Qur1an was received and transmitted with
tawatur generation after generation. Hence our mushaf
.. is a complete
record of the Qur1an without alteration, addition or omission.
Obscured, weak or fabricated reports cannot be accepted in the
matter of the Qur1an which needs tawatur for every piece of
information concerning its text. Although the abrogation of
certain verses during the lifetime of the Prophet does not affect
the trustworthiness of the Qur1an, all claimed examples of
Mansukh al-Tilawah with or without Hukm studied are shown to be
groundless, as are also the two episodes of the ~haranlg and the
scribes who are said to have altered the fawasil
. of the Qur1an .

101
 CHAPTER 3

THE DEVELOPMENT OF cUTHMANIC MASAHIF

CHAPTER 3

THE DEVELOPMENT OF cUTHMANIC MASAHIF

The masahif and their relation to the ahruf

Did the masahif compiled by CUthman include the seven ahruf

discussed in the first chapter? Views on this differ according to
the various views on the nature of the seven ahruf.
Ibn al-Jazari attributes to a group of scholars the view that
the masahif contain the seven ahruf. They argue that the ummah
cannot abandon anything of the ahruf
. and that the masahif were copied
from the compilation of Abu Bakr.' Ibn Hazm supports this view,
•
stating that CUthman did not change anything in the Qur1an and
could not rescind the permission to recite the Qur1an in seven ahruf
~'"f,"~""""'"

given to the Muslims to facilitate its reading. He adds that the

aim of CUthman was to unify Muslims and to provide them with masahif
to correct the mistakes of some qurra' and their personal codices,
and to make his masahif a reference for all Mus1ims. 2 Ibn al-
..
Baqi11anl is reported to have supported this view, stating that what
CUthman had done was to stop people from reciting the Qur'an in
certain unauthentic ways and interpolating explanatory material.

1. a1-Nashr, vo1.I, p.31.

2. al-Fisa1 f, a1-Mi1a1 wa-a1-Niha1,
. vo1.II, p.??

103
 c -
He adds that neither Uthman nor any other Muslim leader could
make difficult for the Ummah what had previously been made easy for
them. Moreover, he says that the people did not differ about
famous and authentic ahruf but only about isolated readings. l
Another group of scholars state that CUthman compiled the
masahif in only one harf, abandoning the rest of the ahruf. 2
. . .
al-~abarl argues for this, stating that it was not an obligation

on Muslims to recite the Qur1an in seven ahruf,

. but only a
permission (rukhsa), and that when CUthman witnessed the disputes
among the Mus 1 ims over the qira a h he dec i ded wi th the con sent of the
I

Ummah to unify them in one harf. 3 al-Tahawl

. . supports this view and
states that the permission for seven ahruf was due to necessity, as
it was found difficult for Muslims to change their habits bearing in
mind their illiteracy. He adds when their dialect became close to
that of the Prophet and when the people who could write increased they
4
were commanded by CUthman to read the Qur1an in only one harf.
al-Qurtubi attributes this view to Sufyan b. CUyaynah,CAbd Allah b.
.
Wahb, al-Tabari, al-Tahawl, Ibn cAbd al-Barr, and most of the
.
scholars. 5
Finally it is said, this view being attributed to the vast
majority of scholars, that the masahif
. . contain as much as possible of
1. al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.142 and al-Jacburl adopts this view and
c- ~
regards it the authentic one. See his Kanz al-Ma an" f4.
a ar"~ Ta fs', r
2 . T·b
.
vol.I, pp.63-64, Mushkil al-~thar, vol.IV, pp.190-l91.
3. Tabari,
. Tafslr vol.I, pp.58-59 .
4. Mushkil al-Athar, vol.IV, pp.190-19l.
5. Qurtubl, vol.I, pp.42-43.

104
the a~ruf as can be accommodated within the orthography of the
Qurlan, according to the final revealed version. l Consequently the
masahif include an undefined number of ahruf, certainly more than one
harf but not all seven ahruf. 2 Ibn al-Jazarl opts for this Vlew,
using the argument of al-Tabarl. 3 Al-CAsqalani supports this view
.
. .
stating that the masahif contain an unspecified number of the seven
ahruf. He gives an example from the masahif, in which the word
Iminl in (S.IX, 100), exists in the mushaf of Makkah while it is
..
4
.
omitted in the masahif
. of the other cities. Abu Shamah quotes
al-Mahdawl as having supported this view, and considers it the sounder
one, attributing it to the eminent scholars. S
Indeed this last view seems to be the most likely and acceptable
since indications of more than one harf
. exist in the masahif, as has
- - 6
been pointed out by al- c Asqalani.
Those who agree that the masahif
. .
include only one harf or certain
unspecified number of ahruf differ among themselves as regards their
abrogation whether this took place during the lifetime of the Prophet,
this view being attributed to the vast majority of scholars or whether
it was later at the time of the compilation of CUthman on the grounds
that it was not an obligation on Muslims to preserve all seven ahruf,
.

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.3l, Itqan, vol.I, pp.14l-l42.

2. al-Nashr, vol. I, pp.3l-32.
3. ibid.
4. Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.30.
5. ~Murshid al-Wajlz, pp.140-l42.
6. Fath al-Barl, vol .IX, p.30.

105
but rather a rukhsah (permission) and that when CUthman witnessed
the dispute among the Muslims concerning gira'at he removed this
permission. l
However the existence of all seven ahruf or some unspecified
.
amount of them in the qira'at does not necessarily mean that they
were written down in the masahif. Makkl b. Abl Talib al-Qaysl states
that lithe Qur1an was written in one harf to minimise the difference
(in readings) among Muslims". 2 This 1S supported by al-Baghawl who
states that this was according to the final revealed version. 3

Orthography of the masahif

. .
The masahif contained neither vowels nor diacritic points the Arabic
orthography resembling in this, the scripts from which it was derived.
Some scholars have maintained that this lack of vocalisation and
diacritics was intentional, so that either all seven ahruf or some
portion of them could be accommodated.
Among the scholars who opted for this view are a1-Danl,4
Ibn a1- cArabi,5 Ibn Taymiyya 6 and Ibn al-Jazarl. 7 This view would
make it necessary to assume that vocalisation and diacritics were
known to the Arabs when they wrote the masahif. Indeed many
authorities maintain that the Arabic letters had always possessed

1. Sharh al-Sunnah, vo1.IV, pp.525-526, Shar~ a1-Zurqanl, vo1.II,

pp.11-12 and a1-Mutl Ci, !1-Ka1imat a1-~isan, pp.113-114 .
•
2. al-Ibanah, p.33 and Munjid, p.56.
3. Sharh al-Sunnah, vol. IV, p.525.
4. a1-M~hkam fl Naqt al-Masahif, p.3.
5. al-cA~asim min al-Qawasim:~ol.II, p.481.
6. Fa ta wa , .vol . XI I: p p. 100~ 1G2 .
7. a.1- Na s hr, vo 1 . I, p. 32 .
106
those features or at least iCjam (dotting).l In support of this,
we might adduce certain documents which date to the early first
century A.H. The first one dates from the reign of cUmar in (22/643)
and in it there appear some letters with dotting, i.e. kha ' , dhal,
2
zay, shln and nun. The other is that of al-Ta'if which dates
from the reign of MuCawiyah in (58/677), in it most letters which
-.

require to be dotted are dotted. 3

The ma~a~if remained free from any change until it was felt
necessary to develop their orthography by means of the introduction
of vocalisation to help the readers of the Qur1an to read it
perfectly and avoid errors in the iCrab which had been brought
about by non-Arabs who had embraced Islam. 4
Du rr i n g.. "t. h e reirgn·, of MuCawiyah,
Governor of Basrah, is reported to have appointed Abu al-Aswad al-Du ' all
to introduce final vocalisation. He was accordingly the first scholar
to introduce vocalisation (Naqt. al-Icrab) into the orthography of the
- 5
masahif.

1. Subh al-Acsha, vol.III, p.15l, Miftah al-Sacadah, vol.II, p.89,

•
Kashf al-Zunun, vol.I, p.7l2, al-Danl in his book a1-Mu~kam, p.35
mentions the Pre-Islamic Aslam b. Khudrah as a pioneer of
vocalisation and diacritics.
2. Grohmann, From the World of Arabic papyri, Cairo 1952, pp.82 and
11 3- 11 4 . a 1-Muna J i i d, Tar i khal - Kh at tal - cAr a b1, pp. 37 - 39, 116, 126
••
and al-Jabburl, A.,sl al-Khatt al- cAra6i -w-a--'-T:;:""a--:t"'-a-ww-uruhu, p.107.
. .
3. Early Islamic Inscriptions Near Taif in the Hijaz, JNES, VIr (1948
pp.236-242 and al-Munjjid, Tarlkh al-Khatt
. . al-cArabi, pp.10l-103 .
4. a1-Muhkam fl Naqt al-Masahif, pp.3-4 and 18-19 .
• - • c •

5. al-Muhkam fl Nagt al-Masahif, pp.3-4, a1-Aghanl, vol.X II, p.298,

Itgan: vol.IV, p:160, a;-Awa'il, vol.II, pp.129-130 and al-Anbarl,
Nuzhat al-Alibba ' , pp.8-l1. He adds that the authentic view is
that Abu al-Aswad was appointed by cAl~ b. Abl Talib .
•
107
 Some other rlwayas state that Yahya b. Yacmur or Nasr b. cAsim
was the first to introduce Naqt. l
However, al-Qalqashand, states that most of scholars agree that
Abu al-Aswad introduced vocalisation,2 although Naqt al-Icrab
of Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali consisted merely of the indication of
final vowels (icrab) and tanwin. 3
The next step in the development of the masahif was the
introduction of diacritic points (Naqt. al-ICjam). This took place
during the reign of cAbd al-Malik b. Marwan who is said to have
commanded al-Hajjaj
. (d. 95 A.H.) Governor of Iraq to appoint certain
scholars to distinguish the letters. As a result Nasr b. cAsim is
said to have been appointed to carry out the task. He then was
the first to introduce Naqt al-ICjam for the same reason as for the
first step, Naqt al-Icrab, which was to facilitate the reading of the
masahif. 4 Vocalisation and diacritics were the same, consisting of
..
dots which were distinguished by colour, red ~or Naqt al-Icrab and
black for Naqt al-I Cjam. 5
.

1. al-Muhkam,
- pp.5-6, al-Danl states that Yahya
. and, Nasr were probably
the first who introduced Naqt. to the people, and they had been
taught by Abu al-Aswad who started Naq!. Qurtubl, vol .1, p.63.
He adds the name of al-Hasan
. to that of Yahya.
. (Itqan, vol.IV,
p.160) Suyuti attributes it to all of them Abu al-Aswad, Ya~ya,
.
and al-Hasan adding Nasr, but considering the attribution to
• • c
Abu al-Aswad the most accepted. Miftah al-Sa adah,vol.II, p.24.
2. al-Muhkam, p.6.
. c-
3.
4.
.
Subh al-A sha, vol.III, p.156 .
-.
al-Muhkam,
.- pp.18-19 .
5. ibid., pp.19-20 and 22-23.

108
 Among the scholars there were many who disliked this idea as they
disapproved of any change or development in the orthography of the

. .
masahif,l and because for them it was easier to read the masahif in
..
their original form since the actual recitation of the Qurl~n depends
- 2
on the riwayah. Indeed for a long time after the introduction of
naqt. the idea was so disliked by the scholars and men of letters that
they used to consider the use of naqt in letters as an insult. 3
The third step in the development of the orthography of the
masahif was that of al-Khalll b. Ahmad (d. -170/786) who introduced
• .~. 4.)odO.<nJ.

-
a new system of symbols (harakat) for the I c rab.
-
. It was not applied
immediately to the masahif,
. .for the scribes disliked what they called
Naqt al-Shicr and were unwilling to use this new system in place of
the Naqt. al-Icr~b of Abu al-Aswad al-Du ' all, since they were used
to it and regarded as the way of the salaf. 4
The harakat symbols of al-Khalll b. Ahmad
. eventually dominated
- 5
and replaced the Naqt al-I c rab. In addition he introduced into his
new system of orthography the signs of Hamz, Tashdid, Rawm and
Ishm~m.6 The consonantal spelling of the Qurl~n remained unaltered
as the vast majority of the scholars were firmly against any change.
They argued that the masahif
. . should remain as they have come to us
- 7
from the companions, and the orthography is argued to be tawgif.

1. ibid., pp.10-ll where he mentions the names of some eminent

scholars like Ibn Mas c-ud, Ibn c Umar, Qatadah,
- - -
Ibn Sirin,
Malik b. Anas and Ahmad
. b. Hanbal.
.
2. Ibn Taymiyyah, Fata\va, vol ~~II, pp.10D-10l.
3. al-Sull, Adab al-Kutt~b, p.6l .
.
4. al-Muhkam, pp.22 and 43.
--.-
5. Itgan, vol.IV, p.162.
6. al-Mu~kam, p.6.
7. ibid., p.17 and ~z al-A c lam,
-
Passim .
•

109
 Abu CUbayd, Malik b. Anas, Ahmad b. Hanbal, and al-Bayhaql are
reported to have objected to any change in the orthography of the
- 1
. .
masahif. al-Zamakhsharl seems to have supported this view as he
states that lithe orthography of the masahif is sunnah, and it should
not be changed 2 ll
•

The Islamic Institutions have supported this view to the present

day, for the masahif are printed only according to the traditional
orthography. 3
Certain scholars argue however that the orthography of the
masahif is convention and that is permissible for people to write
• •

. . in accordance with the new orthography.

their masahif Ibn al-
Baqi11anl is reported to have supported this view, stating that
there is no evidence from the Qur'an or sunnah or consensus or
analogy, that there is any fixed way of writing. Thus in his view,
any orthography which gives the correct reading and is easy to
follow is permitted. 4 Ibn Kha1dun supports this view and argues
that the art of orthography is merely co~ventiona1 and was not
perfect when the masahif
. . were compiled and that there is no particular
point in keeping the old orthography and that there is no reason why
the masahif should not be written according to the new system. 5
• •

1. ibid., p.11, Itqan, vo1.IV, pp.146-147, Mifta~- a1-Sa c-adah, vo1,II,

p.225, a1-Burhan fl cU1um a1-Qur'an, vo1.I, pp.379-88.
2. a1-Kashshaf, vol.III, p.265.
3. Rustufadunl, Tarlkh a1-Qur ' an wa-al-Masahif, p.12, al-Shinqltl,
Igaz al-Aclam 1i-Wujub Ittiba c Rasm al:M~~~af al-Imam, a1-~a~dad,
. - c - -
Khulasat al-Nusus al-Jaliyyah, pp.11-16, Makhluf, Unwan al-Bayan,
---. -
pp.72-78.
4. Tafslr al-Maraghl, vo1.I, pp.13-14.
5. a1-Muqaddimah, p.457.

110
 Finally, al-cIzz b. cAbd al-Salam is reported to have maintained
that it is not only permitted but is necessary (wajib) that the

. . should be written according to the new orthography so that

masahif
uneducated people may not fall into error. l al-Zarkashi opts for
this view while adding that the CUthmanic orthography should also be
preserved and kept as a p~~~us inheritance. 2 al-Maraghl adopts
this view stating that he, for the same reason as that given by
al-cIzz b. cAbd al-Salam preferred to write the verses while writing
his tafslr according to the new orthography, because he says, at the
present time people are more eager for it than they used to in the
time of al- c Izz. 3
However, according to the general belief the orthography of the
masahif should not be altered since, as Ibn al-Jazar1 says, this
orthography accommodates the variant readings of the Qur1an in
accordance with the revelation of the Qur1an in seven ahruf. 4
.
al-Danl states that the differences between masahif in preserving
or omitting certain letters and words is because of the need to
preserve all the ahruf revealed to the Prophet and received by the
. 5
companlons.
The most practical way of dealing with this problem,mayperhaps
be that adopted in certain masahif intended for learners, in which
• •
the words which differ in writing from the contemporary orthography are

1. a1-Burhan fl cUlum al-Qur'an, vol.I, p.379.

2. ibid.
3. Tafsir al-Maraghl, vol.I, p.15.
4. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.12.
5. al-Mugni C , p.114. Examples will be forthcoming, 134f.
111
explained in the margins. l This system helps the contemporary
reader, particularly the learners, while preserving the inherited
orthography of the masahif. 2
..
Ibn Ab, Dawud attributes to al-Hajjaj the introduction of
certain consonantal and orthographical modifications in eleven
places in the Qur1an. According to him they are as follows:
1. Verse 259, S.II, the word IIYatasanna ll , was changed to IIYatasannah"
II
2. 48, S. IV, II II IIShari-c atan ll II II II
3. II 22, S.X II II "Yanshurukum ll
,-' was changed to
IIYusayyirukumll
4. Verse 45, SXII, the word II IAt,kumll was changed to IIUnabbi'ukum"
5. II 58,59, S.XXIII, the word IILillah occurs three times, ll

the 1ast two of them bei ng changed to be IIA 11 ahll

6. Verse 116, S.XXVI, the word al-Mukhraj,n ll was changed to
lI

II a1-Ma r j urn, nII

7. Verse 167, SXXVI, the word al-Marjumin was changed to
lI
- -
lI al-Mukhraj,n ll
8. Verse 32, S.XXXXIII, the word liMa c-a'ishahum ll was changed to
II Ma c, s ha ta hum ll
9. Verse 15, S.XLCII , the word IIYasin ll was changed to IIAsin ll
10. Verse 7, S.LVII, II II II Ittaqawll II II IIAnfagu ll II

11 . Verse 24, S.LXXXI,_ II II IIZan ,n ll II II II IIDanin

- ll 3

1. This method was adopted recently in al-MuSQaf al-Muyassar, by

. . al-Shuruq al-Mufassar .
cAbd al-Jal,l clsa , and Mushaf
2. Malik b. Anas is reported to have agreed to write ma~abif for
learners in the standard orthography. See, al-D~n~, al-Mu~kam fi
.
Naqt. al-Masahif,
. p.ll.
3. al-Masahif, pp.49-50 and 117-118.

112
 However this report of Ibn Abi Dawud is not regarded as
authentic for several reasons. First, the isnad of this riwayah
is not sound since the author cites an unnamed book by his father
- in the isnad.
an dt wo 0 bscure an d unacceptable ruwat - 1
Second,
Ibn Abl Dawud is the only source for this information, bearing in
mind the fact that his scholarship had been discredited by his own
2
father. Third, al-~ajjaj would have been opposed by his opponents,
in his time or later, if he had made this alleged modification. 3
Fourth, Ibn All Dawud says - on the same page - of CAbd Allah b.
Ziy.ad that he asked Vazid al-Farisl to add the letter (alif) twice
in the middle and the end of qalu and kanu. It is said that he thus
added two thousand (alifs) into the mushaf. 4 al-Hajjaj is said
to have objected to this, even though no alteration in the meaning of
the text would be involved, which makes it most unlikely that he would
himself have made any innovations. In any case it is said that

1. al-Masahif, p.117, al- CAsqalanl, Tahdhib al-Tahdhlb, vol.VIII,

- - Kitab
pp.166-l67, and vol.V, pp.89-ll5, al-Bukhari, - al-~u cafa
-
'
al-Saqhlr, p.76.
2. Whki~ al-Huffaz,
. . vol.II, pp.770-772, Tabagat
. al-Huffaz,
. pp.75-76
3. See for example Tarlkh al-Tabati,
. vol.VI, Passim, Ibn Kathir .
al-Bidayah wa-al-Nihayah, vol. IX, pp.117-l39, and Tarikh Khaltfah b.
Khayya~, pt.I, pp.340-4l9.
4. al-Masahif, p.117. The isnad includes Vazid al-Farisi who was
..
regarded as weak, see p.63 of Chapter 2. However according to
al-Danl, the omission of alif after the waw of plural was
consistent, except in a few cases of which he gives examples.
al-Mugni C , pp.26~27.

113
Ibn Mascud read lillah ln three places in S.XXIII, 58-59, while the
people of Iraq read lillah in the first place and Allah in the
other two,l while again in the mushaf al-Imam and the mushaf of
Basrah
. Allah occurred on the first two occasions and 1i 11 ah on the
third. 2 Thus we can see that all of these variants existed before
the time of al-Hajjaj and that therefore he can have had nothing to do
with the matter. In fact references can be given to show that all of
these spellings given by al-Danl predate_al-Hajjaj, although it is not
.~-~

necessary to quote them here. Finally if al-Hajjaj's aim was to

•
correct acknowledged errors in the text we would not expect any of these
spellings to be preserved in the accepted readings, as in fact they are.

Some examples are accepted in both forms among the Qurra such as the
l

first example vJhile'others are not'a-s in S.XX'V"I, 116 and 167 which are not found
in any source as to be read except in their present forms. HO\,Jever, as regards
the orthography of these \vords they were not apparently dotted before
al-Hajjaj. Thus their readings were governed only by riwayah and
•
what can be attributed to al-Hajjaj
. is in fact only the introduction of
Naqt of al-Cjam throughout the masahif
. . and not only ln these
particular examples, The mushaf continued to be read according to the
riwayah, and the vocalisation and dotting was in accordance with this.
\
Jeffery regards this supposed consonantal and orthographical
modification as "an entirely new recension of the Qur'an" and maintains

1. Muqiddimatan, p.119.
..
2. Maca a1-Masahif, pp.117-ll8.

114
that "this new text promulgated by al-Hajjaj seems to have undergone
•
more or 1ess extensi ve a 1tera ti ons II • 1 I ndeed he exaggera tes the
role of al-Hajjaj as stated in the Kitab al-Masahif 2 to the extent of
claiming that "If this is so, our textus receptus is not based on the
recension of c Uthman,
- - b. Yusuf"
but on that of al-Hajjaj
.
- . 3

However al-~ajjaj had done nothing except to sanction the

_- ...........

diacritic points introduced by scholars whom he had appointed for

4
the purpose. He is also reported to have distributed copies of
CUthmanic masahif
. . to the Metropolitan cities, including Egypt, whose
c c-
Governor, Abd al- Aziz b. Marw~n, took offence, regarding it as an

..
insult to send a mushaf to him, for he felt that he had no need of
the work of al-Hajjaj.5
.
Thus, nothing can be attributed to al-Hajjaj
. as regards the
masahif apart from the diacritic points which were introduced by
certain scholars appointed by al-Hajjaj
. who himself was commanded by
cAbd al-Malik b. Marwan. 6
The next step after the introduction of vocalisation and diacritic
points was the addition of titles of suras with an indication of their
8
beginnings and endings 7 and the place of their revelation and a slgn

1. liThe Textual History of the Qur1an", Journal of Middle Eastern

Society, Spring 1947, p.45.
2. p.117.
3. ibid.
4. See p.108 of this chapter.
5. Ibn cAbd al-Hakam, Futuh. Misr
. Wa-Akhbaruha, pp.117-ll8.
6. See p. 108 of this chapter.
7. al-Muhkam,
. pp.16-l7 .
8. Tar,kh al-Mu~haf - -
al-Sharif, p.78.

115
consisting of three dots at the end of each verse. 1 Furthermore
the verses were divided into portions of akhmas (fives) and aCshar
(tens)2 and then the mushaf was divided into thirty parts (ajza')
and each juz' into two divisions (hizb) and each hizb into four
3
arba c . In addition signs were introduced for all the above
mentioned innovations. The signs were introduced in different
colours into the masahif in their manuscript forms.
However, these coloured signs, which existed for a long time
as long as masahif were written by hand, could not continue with
the appearance of printed texts, due to the difficulty of dealing with
them in the printing press. 4 Moreover, certain additions/signs
were introduced in printed masahif, for example the signs of the SlX

kinds of awgaf al-tilawah(pauses) and sajdat al-ti1awa, which were

initiated by the Egyptian editorial committees and followed by
other committees of masahif. 5

1. ibid., p.17.
2. ibid., pp.14-l5.
3. al-Burhan, vol.I, p.250, Tar1kh al-Mushaf
. . al-Sharif, p.78.
4. Introduction of the editorial committee of the Mu~haf a1-Ma1ik
annexed to the Khatimah of the fi rst edi ti on of 1337 A. H., and
..
Maca a1-Masahif, pp.129-l30.
5. ibid., Tarikh al-Mushaf al-Sharif, pp.91-94 .
• 0

116
 The c~_~_~~~raphy of the masahif remained unchanged in the kufic
--<
form until the late years of the fourth century A,H. l A new
development in this field was the introduction of khatt
.. al-thuluth
and then naskh which eventually dominated. 2 khatt al-naskh is
••
considered the most beautiful one for the masahif, and other kinds
like rug c ah,diwani,
- - - - -
farisi, -
siyagat and shikastah are said not
to be suitable for the masahif,
. , because the rules for them are
that they should not be vocalised while the masahif should be
vocalised to save the reader from committing errors. 3
The first printed mushaf was that produced in Venice ln 1530,
but it was not distributed because the church authorities had it
destroyed immediately.4 Thus the first printed mushaf appeared in
1649 in Hamburg, and another appeared nearly half a century later
in 1698 in Padua. This was in two big volumes under the supervision
of Marracci. Fourthly it was published under the supervision of

1. al-Kurdl, Tarikh al-Qur'an, p.160, Kashf al-Zunun,

. vol.I,
pp.7l0-711, ~ajji Khalifahpoints out (p.711) that Abu cAli b.
Muqlah (d. 328 A.H.) was the first who introduced al-Khatt al-
Bad,c and that he was followed by cAli b. Hilal who is known
as Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 413 A.H.) the best calligrapher of his time.
There is a copy of a mushaf
.. written by Ibn al-Bawwab which
exists today in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.
2. al-Kurdi, Tarlkh al-Qur'an, p.140.
3. ibid.
4. al-Salih, Mabahith
. fi cUlum al-Qur'an, p.99 .

117
 - - c -
Mawlana Uthman three times, in 1787, 1790 and 1798 respectively
at St Petersburg and fifthly, at Kazan three times in 1803, 1819
and 1839. 1

It was printed lithographically for the first time ln Iran

in Tehran in 1828 and again in Tabriz in 1833. 2
Thereafter, under the supervision of F1Ugel, three editions of
the mushaf appeared in 1834, 1842 and 1870, at Leipzig.
It was printed for the first time in India between the years
(1280-82/1863-65). under the supervision of Hafiz
. . Muhammad
. Makhdum
and Mawlawl Muhammad
. cAbd al-Hafiz,
. . being revised by their Shaykh
Mawlawi- Mahbub
- c -
. Ali .
The first Turkish printed edition of the mushaf
.. appeared in
1297/1879). This publication was in the calligraphy of Hafiz
. . CUthman.3
The first mushaf printed in perfect accordance with the CUthmanic
orthography was that published under the supervision of Shaykh
" t\- ..

Ridwan b. Muhammad al--MUkhallilatl in Egypt ln (1308/1886).4

Finally, the mushaf was printed under the supervision of the
Mashyakhat al-Azhar and the committee appointed by King Fu'ad of
Egypt. This mushaf is called Mushaf al-Malik Fu'ad, and its
first edition appeared in (1337/1918). It hilS been re-edited and re-
published several times since then. This edition is said to be
5
unanimously considered the best edition of the mushaf.

1. Fendik, Kit~b Iktifa ' a1-Qanu c bima Hu~a ~13tbuC, pp.1l1-112.

- . - -

2. al-Salih, . f~ cUlum al-Qur'an, p.99.

. . Mabahith
C
3. Fendik, Kitab Iktifa' al-c.anlicbirna Huv/a' i;1atbu , p.1l2.
4. Tarlkh al-Mushaf al-Shar~fs pp.9l-92.
5. a1-?a 1iq ,"Mababi th fi c U1um a l-Qur ran,. ~. 100, but the author has \vrong 1y put
the date as 1342 A.H. (1923) while it is in fact l33Z, see
Maca al-Masahif, p.103.
118
 However, all the above mentioned editions were according to
the reading of Hafs from cAsim , which is the common reading which
dominates the Muslim world. The edition of the mushaf according
to the reading of Warsh From Nafi c appeared for the first time in (1349/
1
1930) in Egypt. Various editions of Warsh have been printed 1n
kufic or standard naskh in different places in Moroco, Tunisia,
Algeria, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and very recently in Libya. This
reading comes in the second place in common use after Hafs and
it is the common reading 1n North and West Africa and in some parts
of the Sudan and Egypt.
The third most common reading in some parts of North Africa is
the reading of QalGn from Nafi c . The first printed mushaf according
to this reading appeared in Tunisia (in 1401/1981) then In Libya.
Finally, the mushaf was printed for the first time according to
the reading-of al-Durl from Abu cAmr , in the Sudan in (1398/1978).
This reading is the most common reading in the Sudan, and it is used
in some parts of Egypt and Chad. These four masahif represent the
common readings used for public purposes in the Islamic world today.
However the remaining canonical readings are known to a considerable
number of readers who have graduated from the Institutes of Qira'at
of al-Azhar and of the Sudan and many others.
At the present time new means of recording have been introduced
in the field of Qur'an studies, and all canonical readings of the Qur'an
have been recorded orally by famous leading Qurra' in Egypt. 2

1. Ma c a al-Masahif,.
- p.l03.
c
2. For more information about this project see a1-Sa {d, al-Mushaf..
al-Murattal, Cairo, second edition, 1978.

119
 We may say in conclusion of this chapter that the CUthmanic
masahif include certain ahruf,
. being more than one. The ahruf
included in the masahif are these which can be accommodated in the
orthography of the CUthmanic masahif which correspond with the final
revealed version. As regards the written text it has been
recorded according to one harf and permission to read the other
various readings was only in the recitation provided that it is
read as it has been taught. The masahif were not vocalised or
dotted, this having been introduced in stages, first by Abu al-
Aswad al-Du'all who was asked to carry out the task when Lahn
appeared and then during the reign of cAbd al-Malik b. Marwan to
make reading easier. The orthography of the masahif remained
unchanged. Printed masahif today represent the four dominant
readings of Hafs,
. . Warsh, Qalun and al-Durl.

120
 CHAPTER 4

THE cUTHMANIC MASAHIF AND THE PERSONAL CODICES

OF THE COMPANIONS AND SUCCESSORS
CHAPTER 4

THE cUTHMANIC MASAHIF AND THE PERSONAL CODICES OF THE

COMPANIONS AND SUCCESSORS
There are quite a considerable number of Qira'at attributed to the
companions which differ from the masahif compiled by CUthman,
which are/still
d_ to be found in the old books of Tafsir and al-
Qira'at al-Shadhdhah (anomalous readings).l
These divergent readings can be classified into categories
as foll ows:
1. -
The problem of addition and omission of certain suras
It i.s related th?tUbayy b. Kacb added to his mushaf two suras of
..
al-Qun~t2 and that Ibn Masc~d omitted from his mushaf three s~ras,
the Fatihah and the Mucawwidhatan.,Jthe two final s~ras.3
Different views and interpretations have been brought to bear
on the discussion of this problem.
(a) A group of scholars hold a view that the story is
untrue and fabricated. 4

1. See for example Tafs;r al-Tabari,

. al-Kashshaf of al-Zamakhsharl,
al-Muhtasib fl Shawadhdh al-Qira'at of Ibn Jinnl and al-Mukhtasar
• •
f; Shawadhdh al-Qira'at of Ibn Khalawayh.
2. Muqaddimatan, p.75 and Itgan, vol.I, p.182.
3. Muqaddimatan, p.75 and Itgan, vol.I, p.183.
4. See for example Ibn Hazm,
. al-Fisal
. Min al-Milal wa-al-Nihal, vol.II,
p.77, Muqaddimat Kitab al-Mabanl, p.75 and Itsan, vol.I, pp.220-22l.

122
 (b) In another attempt to explain this problem it is said
t hat Ubayy and Ibn Mas c-ud were confused, since they
first used to hear the Prophet recite al-Qunut in the
prayers, particularly in the prayer of al-Witr, the
most important sunnah after the obligatory five daily
prayers and that Ubayy came to believe that they were
from the Qurlan. Ibn Mascud on the other hand is
said to have thought that the last two suras of the
mushaf
.. were not from the Qurlan because he used to
see the Prophet recite them as an incantation for al-Hasan
and a l-Husayn. 1 However thi s i nterp;~t;tion i s reje~ted
by certain scholars on various grounds. The author
of Kitab al-Mabanl states that Ubayy's profound knowledge
of the Qurlan would have protected him from being unable
to distinguish what is the Qur1an from what is not. This
is supported by the fact that the transmission of Qira'ah
from him to the A'immah (leading experts in Qira'ah)does
not mention that Ubayy taught them al-Qunut as part of
the Qur ' an. 2 Ibn al-Baqillanl suggests that Ubayy might
have written al-Qunut on the back of his mushaf as a
Ducal lias we do on our masahif". 3 Moreover, he studies
• •
in a special chapter the stylistic differences between the
Qur1an and the sayings of the Prophet. 4 On this basis he
concludes that it is impossible that the companions could
not distinguish between the Qur1an and what is not the
- -
Qur1an and that the number of suras was known to them. 5
Indeed we find in support of this view many authorities
who confirm that what is attributed to Ubayy is no more than
Du c-a l and they call it Du c-a l al-Qunut.
- 6

1. Qurtubl, vol.I, p~53 and vol.XX, p.251. Muqaddimatan, p.75

. - - - c - -
and Ibn al-Baqillani, I jaz al-Qur'an, p.291.
2. Mugaddimatan, p.75.
3. ICjaz al-Qur'an, pp.291-292.
4. ibid.,pp.291-297.
5. ibid., p.292.
-
6. See for example Muqatil, Tafslr al-Khams Mi lat Ayah, p.5, and
al-Akhfash, Macanl al-Qur'an, vol.II, p.551.
123
 (c) The third view held in the discussion of this problem
is that attributed to certain scholars which maintains
that the reason that Ibn Mascud did not write those
suras was because they were memorised by all Muslims,
even the children. Thus there was no fear that they
might have been forgotten. Otherwise, as the author
- a1-Mabani
of Kitab - - states, how could Ibn Mas c-ud with
his wide knowledge not be aware of the most famous,
widely known and the easiest suras of the Qur , an. 1
However Ibn a1-Anbarl is reported to have rejected
this view on the grounds that Ibn Mascud included in
.
his mushaf
. short suras like a1-Kawthar ( eVIII)
a1-Nasr ( eX) and al-Ikhlas (eXII ) which are
simil~r in length to al-MuCaw~;dhata~~ It is
understandable in his opinion, however that Ibn Mas c-ud
did not write the Fatihahwhich could not be forgotten
because it is recited in all prayers and Rak ca ' s. 3
This is supported by the answer of Ibn Mascud when he
was asked why he did not write it in his mushaf. .. He
is reported to have answered "If I wrote it I would have
written it with every surah" meaning - as Ibn al-Anbarl
interprets this - that a portion of the Qur1an is
recited during every ~a1at and that this must be
-
preceded by the Fati~ah. 4

(d) The author of Kitab al-Mabanl states that it might be

that Ibn Mascud did not include them because he wanted
5
to write only what he heard directly from the Prophet.

1. Mugaddimatan, pp.96-97, Qur~ubi, vo1.XX, p.251.

2. Qurtubl,
. vo1.XX, p.251 .
3. ibid-.. , - vol. I, p.53.
4. i bi d.
5. Muqaddimatan, p.97.

124
 However this view seems not to be sound for the
reason that Ibn Mascud himself is reported to have
said III have been taught seventy suras directly from
the mouth of the Prophet .. ,Ill which indicates that he
learned the rest of the suras from other companions.
..
Thus his mushaf contains both the suras he heard
from the Prophet and those which he learned from the
companions.
(e) al-Qurtubl attributes to Yazfd b. Harun the Vlew that
·c-
Ibn Mas ud died before he had completed the memorisation
of all the suras. However al-Qurtubl objects to this
view,2 which indeed has no evidenc~ to support it.
The alleged exclusion of these suras from the mushaf
..
of Ibn Mascud does not mean that they were not
memorised by him for as is well known they are among
the shortest and easiest suras of the Qurlan.
(f) Furthermore Ibn al-Baqillanl states that all these
riwayas are isolated reports which should not be regarded
=-,~

as reliable. In addition he considers all differences

. attributed to Ibn Mascud as false and related by ignorant
(people), although he does not deny that Ibn Mas c-ud like
any other hafiz might fall into error in certain huruf.
He adds that Ibn Mascud had denied these two s~al;ng
if
-
suras the companions would have disputed with him and
that this would have become widely known, since quarrels
on matters of much lesser importance have been reported
";"i~II.'" •__ v_....

to us. Also, he says, the consensus of the companions

on the compilation of mushaf cannot be impugned_by
.. 3
these anomalous invented narrations.

1. Ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad, vol.V, pp.258-259 and Fath al-Barf,

.
vol.IX, pp.46-47.
2. Qurtubf, vol.I, pp.53 and 58, and vol.XX, p.251.
3. ICj~Z al-Qurlan, pp.291-292.

125
 Finally there are quite a considerable number of ahadith
referri ng to the posi ti on of these suras, 1 the - ' - -
story behind their revelation 2 and above all to the
---'
recitation of them by the Prophet while at home and
3
travelling which indicate clearly that Ibn Mascud
was certainly aware of them. Thus these narrations
attributed to Ubayy b. Kacb and CAbd Allah b. Mascud
cannot be regarded as authentic.

2. The problem of the interpolation of explanatory material

The interpolation
... of certain explanatory material, consisting of
,-,~,,-.,~

one or more words, into the text of the Qur1an is attributed to the
personal codices of some of the companions. Some examples of
this will be quoted and discussed as follows:
(a) Ibn al-Zubayr is reported to have added the words

CS.lII) \~4) p'

w.'
~ \. . J&. ~. \> u~~/! 1 a:ter ~ ~
dL;.>~-' 0/~ ~ L0~..-r:. u u \:Jl ~r1 ~ 5\
The author of the Kitab al-Mabani says that this
addition, if it is accepted as authentic, is
certainly a gloss by Ibn al-Zubayr and his own words,
,-,,---,-
and that some narrators were confused and
incorporated it into the text. He supports this by
stating that these very same words were attributed to

1. See for example: al-Albanl, al-AQadith al-~aQ1Qah,vol .11, pp.582-583,

~adlth no.89l and p.249. ~adith no~645; Sunan Abl ~wud, vol.II,
pp.152-l53.
2. SunanAbl D~wud, vol.II, pp.152-l53,
al-Suyutl, Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul, pp.238-239.
3. Sunan Abl Dawud, vol.II, p.152.
4. al-Masahif, pp.82-83, Muqaddimatan, p.102 and Materials, p.227 .
.

126
 CUthman himself, which suggests that he recited them
in his preaching as an explanation only, and not as
part of the Qur1an, since otherwise he would have
added them to his own al-Mushaf al-Imam. l
(b) Ibn cAbbas is reported to have added the words
~~ ~ .~ \' ·~W\ u\
'-er, ."" ;."\ ) \S' (
after
XX, 15) . 2 Th i sis a1so
attributed to Ubayy b. Kacb with the further words
\a ,~kc. ~" ~~~ 3
The author of Kitab al-Mabanl states that if the
addition is regarded as authentic it is an explanatory
addition to the text and that certain narrators were
confused and incorporated them into the text.
Furthermore the is nad of the ri wayah to Ubayy is
maqtu C (interrupted) and the transmission of the Qira'ah
from Ubayy to Abu cAmr and Ibn Kathlr invalidates it.4
,q J,.
(c) cAli is reported to have added the words f)U ~ Y.3
immediately after ~~'3 (CIII, 1).5
The author of Kitab al-Mabanl argues that this attribution
to cAli is invalid on the ground that the Qira'ah_of
Abu cAbd al-Rahman al-Sulaml, the transmitter of the
Qira'ahfrom cA~i and his close student who also taught
al-Hasan and al-Husayn, corresponds to al-Mu~oaf al-Imam
. .
and in it there is no mention of this addition.
Secondly, if the attribution to cAll were authentic,

1. Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur1an, p.227.

2 . i bid. " p. 20 l~ •
3. ibid., p.146.
4. Muqaddimatan, p.102.
5. Materials, p.193.

127
 he would have incorporated it into the text and
would have not abandoned these words, the result
of which would have been to decrease the reward of
reciter and alter a meaning wanted by Allah. This
therefore suggests that the narrator either lied or
forgot. Thirdly, we must take into account the
unanimous agreement of the Muslims on al-Mushaf
al-Imam, so that if anyone alleges any single
addition or omission that contradicts the consensus
it is no different from claiming that the
obligatory prayer are fifty, that marrying nine
wives is allowed, or that fasting more than the
month of Ramadan is. a duty. 1
(d) Sacd b. Abi Waqqas is reported to have added the two
words
• 5. r
r .\ l:...J--A a fter
2
~'AJ .3
~ \3 I (IV,12). This addition, as
al-Suyuti points out, is regarded as tafslr. 3
.
However, it is unanimously agreed that this tafsir
is correct. 4
(e) It is attributed to Ubayy b. Kacb that he added the
sentence ,,~' ....~, ~~ I y U ~ Y ,
to .~~' ¥. .~\ ("~ J \~/U)ll ~ ~ \
(XLVIII, 26).5 c Umar is reported to have objected to
this reading of Ubayy, and to have asked Zayd to read
it. He read it according to the general reading,
after which he agreed with Zayd. It is also reported

1. Muqaddimatan, pp.103-104.
2. Itgan, vol.I, p.216.
3. ibid.
4. al-Nashr, vol .I, p.28.
5. al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak cAl~ al-Sahihayn,
... vol.II, pp.225-226.

128
 that Ubayy defended his reading and that c Umar agreed
to let him read it accordingly.l The author of
Kit~b al-Mab~nl objects to this report as a strange
~

one which cannot be reconciled with the book

received by the Prophet having been preserved and
transmitted from him. In addition Ubayy might have
--!-_~'!'l. .

reported that reading before its abrogation,

particularly before the final revealed version.
This is supported by the transmission of a Qir~'ah
from Ubayy to Abu Jac.far,Ibn
-C~£~~~- -
Kathlr and Abu cAmr , who
transmitted from Ubayy the ways of reading in madd
(prolongation) and shadd (doubling), but did not
report this addition. Furthermore, he points out,
this addition differs from the Qurl~n stylistically.
_Finally, he asks how it could be that cUmar was not
aware of this addition since he heard this surah
directly from the Prophet on the occasion of
Hudaybiyyah~
.
(f) It is attributed to cAbd All~h b. Mascud that he added
the word c..::-> ~ 'c;'. A t o , ~ -\ .~ ~ ,~~
( S.V, 91 ).3 Discussing this example, al-Ghazz~il
argues that these readings differ from the mushaf
..
and are to be attributed to the companions. They
are not part of the Qurl~n, because the Qurl~n is not
sUbstantiated except by Taw~tur. He considers the
above reading attributed to Ibn Mascud and regards it
as not Mutaw~tir, and therefore not from the Qurl~n.
Consequently it should be considered as his interpretation
of the verse and his madhhab. .
He quotes Abu Hanlfah

1. ibid.
2. Mugaddimatan, pp.9l-93.
3. Qurtubl, vol.VI, p.283.

129
 as having adopted this interpretation as wajib
(obligation). Although Abu Hanlfahdid not accept
--- . - .-
this addition as part of the Qur1an, he accepted it
as an isolated report which in his view was
sufficient evidence for practice. Nevertheless,
al-Ghazzafi objects to Abu Hanlfah1s
. view and
conclude that this addition is not even acceptable
as an isolated report for practice, because it
has not been reported to us as a Sunna h hea rd from
the Prophet. l Among the successors, al-Hasan al-Basrl
:> ;?. , , "
is reported to have added the words cJY~':::>....9..-J y' .
to La> .) ~ 1-, ~ J ~ (:J L.9 (. ) .XIX , 71 ) . 2
al-Suyut; quotes Ibn al-Anbarl as having said that
this addition is an interpretation of al-Hasan himself
of the meani ng of the word ; .9~~\ " but that
some narrators made a mistake and incorporated it into
the text. 3 Concerning this general problem of the
interpolation of explanatory material, Ibn al-Jazarl
points out that the companions may have written
interpretations in their readings although they were
sure of w~~ they had been taught as the Qur1an.
In addition he states that it is not true that the
companions used to allow reading the Qur1an by
meaning as opposed to the literal text. 4 Finally
Abu Hayyan maintains that the majority of readings
. c-
attributed to Ibn Mas ud are suspected of being
ShiCite inventions. S

1. al-Musta~fa, vol.I, P.102.

2. Itgan, vol.I, p.216.
3. ibid.
4. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.321-330, Munjid, pp.17-18 and for more discussion
see Chapter 7.
5. al-Bahr .
. al-Muhlt,
. vol ,I, p.16l.

130
3. A difference in word order is attributed to certain companions.
For example Abu Bakr is reported to have read ~\ 6JC c":;") s\=r..=>
0~ ~ while it is in the mushaf
.. as(s.L;~\~ ~\-:(~)'o ~ Co> s~ ~ 1
Although certain scholars quoted as an example of one of the seven
2
ahruf, it is reported by A i shah that she heard her father
I

Abu Bakr in his final illness reciting this verse in the same way as
it occurs in the 'mushaf. 3 Another example of this is that it is
attributed to Ibn cAbbas that he read ~....:..J''''''' ~, e s~\;l
while in the mushaf it /r~ found aslS.c.x) \)~' -' AJj~ s~)..)! 4
However, Ibn cAbbas is reported to have interpreted this surah and
read it in accordance with the mushaf. 5

4. A difference in the word which changes its consonantal outline

ln the orthography and does
-,"
not change its meaning, i.e. synonyms.
For example, it is attributed to Ibn Mascud that he read the word
..
~~ (S.XXXVI, 29) as ~~ this being quoted by
.' ..
certain scholars as an example of one of the seven ahruf. 6
However, in their view this reading was eventually no longer allowed
because of the abrogation of certain ahruf. 7

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.26-27.

2. See Chapter 1, pp.21-22.
3. Qurtubl,
. vol.XVII, pp.12-13 .
4. Materials, p.208.
5. Qurtubl,
. vol.XX, p.232 .
6. Materials, p.78.
7. See pp.16-17 and21~22, Chapter 1.

131
 cAbd Allah
- b. Mas c-ud is reported to have read the word ~
, ,. . n \ 1J
~

(Cl,4) as r~ ~~ \
~~-~ ~ 1 c
Umar 1S also reported to have
read the word \..9.; : ~ (LXII, 9) as 'y~ ~ 2
and it is attributed to Ubayy that he read ~~->..J' 'y..olG.'.~/

(S.LVII, 13) 05

These examples were quoted by certain scholars as examples of one

of the seven ahruf which were abrogated. 4

5. A difference in the word which changes its consonantal outline

and its meaning.
For example cAli is reported to have read the word
~

~ ~\ ')..( /~ 5
of (S.LVI, 29) as ~~ / This was quoted by certain
scholars as an example of one of the seven ahruf which was abrogated. 6
In all of these cases as we have seen in Chapter 3, it is
~arguable whether a certain parf was abrogated during the lifetime of
'--~
the Prophet or whether_ the permission to read in this way was removed
when c Uthman issued his masahif.
- 7

1. Materials, p.lll.
2. ibi-d., p.221.
3. ibid., p.169.
4. See p.16-17 and 21-22 Chapter 1.
5. Materials, p.191.
6. See pp.16-17 and 21-22 Chapter 1.
7. pp.105-106 above.

132
 Alternatively, these synonyms may be quite fictitious.
_ ~J!:Aii:ii-A·"-

Whatever the case the reading was not left to the free choice of
the individual, but was subject to the riwayah.
As regards the additional int~.rRr:etations which were
"\
attributed to the personal codices, Ggldziher expr~ssed doubts
-- - --.,.>-~

about their being part of the o~2ginal text, maintaining that it

is not known yet whether they are original or not and that they
were allowed into the text only as interpretations. l On the same
page however he contradicts himself when he mentions that certain
later scholars considered these additional interpretations as part
of the text, and supports this view, arguing that the companions
were reported as having permitted the writing of this kind of
additional interpretation in the mushaf provided that they did not
- 2
regard them as Qur1an. However, the additional interpretations
are not part of the original text of the Qur1an and are not to be
confused with the mushaf, since it was clearly stated the condition
• •
- 3
for using them was only as tafsir and not as Qur1an.
However, in a compa~i~~n between the CUthmanic masahif and
....... ,~------:--~:..,--- .. -,- . .
all personal codices of the companions it has been found that the
differences are said to be in one hundred and twenty three places.
In nine places, two, three or four personal codices agree as against
the CUthamic masahif. but this is the maximum extent of agreement

1. Madh~hi.b al-Tafslr al-Islami, p.21.

2. ibid.
3. al-Qira'at Wa'l-Lahajat, p.185.

133
among them. On the other hand Ibn Mas c-ud alone is reported
to have been the sole reference for one hundred and two out of
the total number. l
Furthermore it is argued that the Qur1an contains over
seventy seven thousand words and that the number of words in which
the personal codices differed from the CUthmanic masahif is thus
very small. 2 In this connection al-Jahiz is quoted as having
said that "verily there are certain people who cast doubt on
the trustworthiness of the Qur1an and search for an addition or
omission in it without the consent
-- ---....,.
...--- of the Prophet and consensus
of the companions. However if some one had inserted a poetic
verse in the poetry of AnO. al-Shamaqmaq he would have been notorious
among the ruwat, l~t alone the book of Allah almighty which ;s
transmitted in Tawatur and sound chains and is recited day and
ni gh;. 3

Differences between the masahif of the amsar

The metropolitan cities to which masahif were sent by CUthman are

1. Mac al-Masahif, p.147

2. ibid.
c - .
3, Maa1.-·Masiihlf~ p. 147.

134
reported to have differed in certain ahruf, as regards the
.
addition or omission of certain letters or Darticles. In this
respect it is said of the mushaf of Kufah that it differs from
that of Basrah in five ahruf, for example ln (S.XXI~ 4) we
find written in the Kufic mushaf ~~ while in the Basran
we find Also, the Madinan mushaf is reported to
have differed from those of Iraq in twelve ahruf,
. for example in
_ (7
....S ....

(S. II, 132) in the M~dinan we find ~ 3 '3 while in

the Iraqi we find
Finally the masahif of Syria and Iraq are said to have differed
o .'" (7/
ln forty ahruf, for example in (S.V~ 54) we find 2> ~\.) y ..
~:; 0" 1
while in the latter we find --\j ...)~.

However, all examples are differences in letters between the

masahif, except for two examples which are difference in rarticles.
o
The first one is that of (S.IX, 100 ) where the word U...J.) /'
1S

found in the mushaf of Makkah, while it is omitted in the othel~

masahif. 2 The second example is that of (S.LVII, 23) where the
__ ;J

word ~ is omitted from the masahif of Madlnah and Sham

3
although it exists in the masahif of other cities. The differences
of letters can be classified into various categories as follows:

C
1. Muqaddimatan, pp.117-l21, al-Mugni , pp~108-l24.
2. al-Mugni C , p.ll and Fatb al-Bari, vol.IX, p.30.
3. al-Muqni C , p.1l5. ~

135
1. Morphological change, ln (S.II, 132)
~ ~:: 0'/
and c.sO .3 3
/ /' 0 ,/
.'
) ....'w y ..
0./
and ~ Y..
./

i n (S. V., 54).

J. I;: ~ ./ ./
2. Replacement of.'conjunction, in (S.XCI,15) o l5..1A9
and ~ 9. ~j. also in (S.XL, 26)
o
-:::., '[ '" ./ 1.,J f ~
~ t)\:"f, -.Y&O~ (:) \~
"
., / ' , /

3. Omission of conjunction, in (S. V, 53) 'y-n\~.~\ j~.

, ~." /
and J~!)

0'/ '. 0 I 0 ' ( vJ / )

4. Consongntal differences in (S.X, 22) (~~-:. and ~J.;~-

5. Omission of pronoun suffixes in (S.XXXVI, 35)

and

6. Grammatical change in (S.LV, 78) and j~\;

./
./

7. Singular and dual a lternation in (S. XXXXII I, 38) (,,; t.; \~ \ ~

and G s G. ./
/ W

8. Singular and plural alternation ln (S.X, 33) o,/t:~./

/'
0
' \1, /
L.? G..o..7
/) .' /

and
'....~\/ /

./
./
~ o ".'

J~) 0 ~ J ~
" " o? ./

9. Verbal change ln (S.XVIII, 93) and

136
 The reason for these differences between the masahif is
discussed by al-Danl who maintains that all of the above mentioned
differences are correct and authentic for they have been revealed
and heard from the Prophet and that when CUthman compiled the

. . and it was not possible to accommodate all these readings

masahif
in one mushaf, he distributed them in the mas~hif.l
••
Moreover, the author of Kitab al-Mabanl studies all examples
linguistically and concludes that they are all correct and sound.
In addition he states that the examples studied did not differ
due to any forgetfulness or mistake, but that they were made
intentionally to sUbstantiate all ahruf revealed and heard from
the Prophet. 2
In conclusion we can say that research confirms that the
personal codices attributed to certain companions and their
followers are transmitted; in unauthentic chains and that they
differ from each other and contradict the CUthmanic masahif. The
additional interpolations are no more than explanatory material
which they used to add to the text of the Qur1an because they were
their own personal codices and they were sure of not confusing them
with the original text. The accounts attributed to cAbd Allah
- b. Mas c-ud

1. al-Muqni C, p.123.
2. Mugaddimatan, pp.12l-l33.

137
that he used to omit from his mushaf the first and the last two
suras, and to Ubayy b. Kacb that he used to write in his mushaf
..
al-Qunut as a surah are absolutely groundless.
Finally the CUthmanic masahif are reported to have differed in
certain letters or particles, consisting of the addition or omission
of letters except in two places where huwa and min are sometimes
found and sometimes absent. These accounts are all authentic ln
their transmission and linguistically it is proved that in the Arabic
language in which the Qur1an has been revealed all these ways are
acceptable and fluent Arabic.

138
 CHAPTER 5

THE LANGUAGE OF THE QUR'AN

CHAPTER 5

THE LANGUAGE OF THE QUR'AN

...
~.

In this chapter we propose to address ourselves to the thorny

,~~'-'-- >~--:::::==r-'~-' ~ ~

question of what type of Arabic the text of the Qurlan with its
variant readings represents. We do not intend to undertake a
thorough grammatical and lexicographic analysis of the Qurlan,
which will be well beyond the scope of the present thesis; our
purpose here is the more modest one of examining the information
provided by classical Arab scholars and the theories of modern
scholars ln an attempt to decide whether the language of the Qurlan
-
represents Qurashi Arabic, whatever may be understood by this term,
whether it is in I standard Arabic ' or 'poetic Koin~'
-:::-.:.;~~
but reflecting
Hijazi
•
features, or alternatively a Hijaz1
•
version of the standard
language, or whether it contains number of fluent dialects in
addition to that of Quraysh.
It is hoped that this will pave the way to a better understanding
..\...."''''' -
of the problem of the seven ahruf, although we must add the
. -- ... ----
qualification that the available data are not sufficient to allow
more than a tentative conclusion on the subject.
The Qur1an refers to the language in which it has been revealed
as 'Arabic ' , without reference to any particular one of the various
dialects of the Arabic language. In support of this there are a
considerable number of verses of which we may quote a few examples:

140
 a. (S.XII, 2) IIWe have sent it down as an Arabic
Qurlan in order tha t ye may learn wisdom. II
b. (S.XLIII, 3) IIWe have made it a Qurlan in Arabic
that ye may be able to understand and learn wisdom. II

c. (S.XLI, 3) "A book whereof the verses are explained

in detail; A Qurlan in Arabic for people who
understand. II
d. (S.XXVI,192-l95) "Verily this is a revelation from
the Lord of the Worlds: with it came down the spirit
of Faith and Truth to thy heart and mind, that thou
mayest admoni s h in the per~Rj ci ous Ara bi c tongue.
II

e. (S.XXXIX, 28) II(It is) a Qurlan in Arabic without any

crookedness (therein) in order that they may guard
against evil."
Ibn al-Anbari (328/939) states that the Qurlan has been revealed
ln the most eloquent, purest a~d clearest language of the Arabs, since
the Qurlan says: (S.XLIII, 3) IIWe have made it a Qurlan in Arabic
that ye may be able to understand (and learn wisdom)lI, and (S.XLI, 44)
"Had we sent this as A Qurlan (in a language) other than Arabic,
they would have said: "Why are not its verses explained in detail?
What! (a Book) not in Arabic and (a Messenger) an Arab?1I Say:
lilt is a guide and healing to those who believe. I,lIl There is no
reference, however, to any particular dialect in the sunnah, except
for a few statements attributed to certain companions:

1. ldah al-Waqf wa-al-Ibtida', vol.I, p.12.

141
 1. c -
Uthman is reported to have commanded the committee
appointed by him to compile the Qurlan, all of whom
were Qurashi except Zayd b. Thabit. "If you disagree
with Zayd b. Thabit on any point in the Qurlan, then
write it in the dialect of Quraysh as the Qurlan was
revealed in their tongue. lIl He is also reported
to have made the same statement when the scribes differed
in wri ti ng the word a1-Tabut ~..Y. \.::.J \ as to
whether to write it with final hal or tal; eventually
it was written with tal according to the dialect of
Quraysh. 2
2. It is reported of cUmar that he wrote to Ibn Mascud
that the Qurlan had been revealed in the tongue of
Quraysh and that he should teach people accordingly
and not according to the language of Hudhayl.3 It
is elsewhere reported that cUmar said that the scribes
of the masahif should be only from Quraysh and Thaqif. 4
..
3. CAbd Allah b. Mascud is reported to have preferred the
scri bes of the masahi f to 'be from Mudar.
. 5
The scholars of the classical period are almost,unanimous ln
_"·--·---...:;::ItIo_""e1OIC£:IQU~ .__r__

agreeing that the Qurlan has been revealed in the dialect (lughah)
of Quraysh, and this view is also adopted by the majority of
contemporary scholars. However it is not always clear what is
meant by the term (lughah); does this refer to an actual dialect in

1. Bukhari, vol.VI, p.479, al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.92.

2. Fatb al-Barl, vol.IX, p.20,- Kitab al-Zlnah, vol.I, p.14l.
3. Idah ,al-Waqf wa-al-Ibtida I , vol. I, p.13, al-Muhtasib,
-.-0 .
vol. I, p.343,
Fath al-Bari, vol .IX, p.27.
4. Abu'cUbayd, Fada'il al-Qur'an, p.3l0, al-Sahibi, p.28 and
al-Muzhir, vol.I, p.2".
5. Abu CUbayd, Fada'il al-Qur'an, p.3l0.

142
the full sense of the ter~, or perhaps to a Qurash, version of a
standard literary language, which exhibi!s certain Qurash, features
in the field of phonology, morphology and vocabulary?
:-.-~~.~.~~.
Is it even
being claimed as do some scholars that the classical Arabic Fusha
lS id~tic.Al with the speech of Quraysh?
The ancient scholars use the term 'lughah' ln different contexts
to mean 'lahjah' (dialect) as Abu cAmr b. al-cAla' does when he
distinguishes between 'lughah' and ,CArabiyyah' in that the latter is
what agrees with the majority, while he calls what does not agree
- 1 -
with them 'lughat'. In this connection al-Farra' says about the
two ways of pronouncing 6~\
(iswah, or uswah) 'Wa-huma
lughatan' meaning no more than dialects. 2 They also used to use the
word '1 i san I (tongue) to mean I 1ughah' whi ch may be interpreted as
'lahjah' (dialect), and they used to interpret the word 'lahn' to
mean 'lughah' i.e. 'lahjah,.3 SlbawaYh, however, uses the word
'lughah' to mean an acceptable form of ,Carabiyyah' and he for example
says: "Lughah Li-Ahl al-~ijaz Wa-Hiya CArabiyyah Ja'izah"~ and
c
1I~~a-Hiya al-Lughah al- Arabiyyah al-Qadlmah al- Jayyidah".
5

1. al-Zubaydl, Tabaqat al-Na~wiyyin Wall Lughawiyyin, p.34.

2. al-Farra', Macanl al-Qur'an, vol.II, p.339.

3. Ibn Abl Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p.32.

• •
4. al-Kitab, vol.II, p.416.
5. ibid., p.424.

143
 According to the ruwat, the word 'lughat' means exceptional
and rare forms, and differences in the word as regards its meaning
and morphology and grammar. l
Among modern Arab scholars the problem of 'lughah' and 'lahjah '
is more carefully tackled and what is meant by both words is
explained. al-Ghamrawi states that the dominant view among the
philologists is that Lughat Quraysh means no more than a dialect of
a common language which is the existing Arabic language. 2
Hammudah in his 'al-Qira'at wa-al-Lahajat ,3 studies both terms
using modern linguistic methodology. According to him 'lahjah '
refers to the way of pronunciation, the sound of words and phonetics. 4
This is mainly a question of accent, though minor variations in form
of words or of meaning are also encompassed by this term. For the
purpose of the following discussion we shall regard the term 'lughah'
as meaning a form which is acceptable Arabic, but not used by the
majority . It is important to realise that the concept of 'dialect '
•
as it exists today was not recognised by early Arab writers and that
attempts such as that of Rabin 5 to reconstruct dialects must be based
on painstaking work, and are not likely to produce more than s~~t~_hy

results.
We shall now examine the views of the scholars and then attempt
to reach some conclusion on this question.

1. al-Rafi c" Tarikh Adab al-cArab, vol.I, p.135.

2. al-Naqd al-Tahlili,
. p.2l0 .
3. 1st ed., Cairo, 1368-1948.
4. ibid., pp.4-5.
5. Ancient West Arabian

144
 The Vlew that the Qur1an has been revealed in the lughah
(dialect) of Quraysh bases itself on the following arguments:
a. The first people addressed by the Qur1an were those of
Quraysh who used to understand easily the language of
the Qur1an. In this connection certain verses are
quoted and interpreted in favour of Quraysh; (S.XIV, 4)
IIWe have sent not an apostle except (to each) in the
language of his (own) people to make (things) clear to
ll
them also (S.XXVI, 214) IIAnd admonish thy nearest
,

kin sme nil. 1

b. The Prophet himself was a QurashT and his sayings
accordingly correspond with the language of the
- 2
Qur1an.
c. The style of the sayings attributed to the companions
and the people of their time belonging to Quraysh is
- 3
said to have agreed with the language of the Qur1an.
d. In addition it may be pointed out that the consensus of
all Arabs after Islam and- the agreement among the
scholars, narrators, Muhaddith~n,
. and MufassirGn is
that the Qur1an has been revealed in the dialect of
Quraysh, and that despite the quarrels and political
disputes among the tribes and the existence of ShuCubiyyah
on the part of Himyar and of the non-Arabs there was never
any objection t~ this. 4
The reason for the language of the Quraysh having this superlor
position is said to be:

1. Mushkil al-Athir, vol.IV, p~185, Itqan, vol.I, p.135.

2. Fi a l-Ada b a1- J a hi 11, p. 110.
3. i bi d.
4. i bid., Pp. 11 0- 111 .

145
 a. because of its high quality and fluency. In this
connection the Prophet is reported to have said
that III am the most eloquent of you because I belong
to Quraysh and was brought up in Sacd b. Bakr l
ll
•

The statement is attributed to Qatadah that Quraysh used

to choose the best of the Arabs' tongue, so that their
tongue became the best of all, and that accordingly the
Qur'an has been revealed in Quraysh's tongue. 2 Also,
al-Farabl is reported to have said that Quraysh used to
be the best among the Arabs in choosing the most
eloquent utterances and the easiest in pronunciation
and the best in hearing and the clearest in expressing
3
oneself.
This superiority in the Arabic language is said to have
been acquired by Quraysh as a result of their communication
with other tribes in the course of their conflicts and
cultural gatherings at c Ukaz
-
and other markets. The
•
Arabs used alsUQ visit Makkah for religious purposes
and trade. 4 Ibn Faris states in his al-Sahibl that
delegations for pilgrimage and other purposes used to
visit Makkah and that they used to ask Quraysh to
arbitrate between them because of their eloquence and
the perfection of their language. Hence Quraysh used
to choose the best of other tribe's speech and poems and
add it to their tongue. By doing so and adding to it
their innate natural ability they became the most
~- 5
eloquent of the Arabs.

1. Abu CUbayd, Fada'il

. al-Qur'an, p.309, Ibn al-Baqillan\ Nukat al-
Inti~ar, p.386 and al-Muzhir, vol.I, p.210.
~ 2. Lisan al-cArab, vol.I, p.588.
3. al-Muzhir, vol.I, p.211, al-Iqtirah, p.22.
. _. c-
4. al-cAsr al-Jahill, p.133, FiCIlm al-Lughah al- Amm, p.222,
.
al-Rificl, Tarlkh Adab al-Arab, vol.I, pp.85-90, 2nd edt 1940.
. .
5. al-Sahibl, pp.33-34.

146
 b. The second reason given for Quraysh having had this
position is the fact that they were far away from
neighbouring non-Arab states, and this - as
Ibn Khaldun puts it - protected Quraysh from
non-Arab influences. According to philologists
holding this view the acceptability of the dialects
of the Arabs was in proportion to their vicinity to
1 - - - -.-_.. --,'
or distance from Quraysh. al-Farabi is quoted by
al-S~yu~r'~~- having pointed out that the philologists
ignored the Arab tribes who used to live in the
neighbourhood of foreign nations. 2
c. Thirdly Quraysh were immune to pronunciation defects
which were attributed to other dialects. In this
connection there are many examples of such defects
attributed to certain tribes of which a few examples
may be quoted. Abu ai-cAbbas states in his
c l3
IMajalis Tha lab that Quraysh have a high standard
in fluency so that they did not have the cAncanah
of Tamim, Kashkashah of Rab,cah , Kaskasah of Hawazin,
C
Tadajju
. of Qays, CAjrafiyyah of Dabbah
. and Taltalah
of Bahra l . He only gives examples for
cAncanah and Taltalah. The first example (cAncariah) is the
changing of Al if to cAyn as to say cAnna cAbda Allahi
Qa1imun for Anna, while the second (Taltalah) is the
pronunciation of the present tense prefixes with
c C -. c- 4
Kasrah as Ti 1amuna, Ti qiluna and Tlsma una.

1. al-Mugaddimah, p.635.
2. al-Muzhir, vol.I, p.2l2, a1-Iqtira~, p.23.
3. Edited by cAbd al-Salam Harun, Dar al-Macarif, Cairo, Third
edt 1969.
4. ibid., vol.I, p.8l.

147
 More kinds of pronunciation defects were attributed to varlous
dialects in other sources, among them the Fahfahah
. . of Hudhayl which
is the change of r.a l to c ayn and the wakm and wahm of Y~lb which
means that the plural suffix -kum becomes -kim when the preceding
vowel is kasrah. Thus they say Calaykim and bikim. Wahm is the
pronunciation of -hum as -him in such contexts as minhim, canhim and
baynihim in all cases. . h 0 f 0~u d-acah
Th e caJ.c aJa '
conslsts of c h '
anglng
final -1 to -ij as in such words as tamlmlj for tamlml. The istinta l
of Sa cd b. Bakr, Hudhayl, al-Azd, Qays and the ansar
- lS the changing

of c ayn to nun
- in the word anta- for ac tao
-
Watm in the language of
Yemen is the pronunciation of sin as tal for example al-nat for al-nas.
The lakhlakhaniyyah of Shihr and Oman is saying masha allah for
mashala allah; the tumtumaniyyah of Himyar is the use of the
definite article -am instead of -al, e.g. taba am hawa'u for
taba al-hawa'u. l Some of these features still exist in certain
parts of Arabia. In this connection the kashkashah (i.e. the pron-
unciation of the fern. suffix -~ as -ish) may be mentioned as ln
Sanca' and some other parts of Yemen it is still in use,2 and the
tumtumannyyah is also referred to as being still in use in Hashid,
Arhab, Khawl an and some other parts of Yemen. There is a hadith
3
quoted as using -am l.e. "Laysa min am-birri im-~iyamu fi im-safar".

1. al-Muzhir, vol.I, pp.22l-223.

2. Lahajat al-Yaman Qadlman Wa-~adithan, pp.47-48.
3. ibid., p.20.

148
 The factors which assisted the language of Quraysh in
acquiring these superior features are said to be the following:
1. The religious factor in that the Arabs used to make the pilgrimage
to Makkah where Quraysh were the servants of the house and the
pilgrims and had the custody of the Kacbah'. So Quraysh were
favoured and respected among all Arab tribes. l
2. Quraysh were tradesmen and merchants who used to travel to
different places in Arabia, to Syria in the north and to Yemen in
the south. Makkah itself used to be the commercial centre in Arabia.
The Qur1an mentions this in sura CVI; "For the covenants of security
and safeguard (enjoyed) by the Quraysh. Their covenant (covering)
2
journeys by winter and summer."
3. The subsequent acquisition by Quraysh of political power and
authority among other Arab tribes. 3 Abu Bakr is reported to have
- in the fo 11 owi ng words:
addressed the ansar liThe Arabs on ly fo 11 ow
Quraysh. .4
l

The richness and purity of the QurashT language and the political
prestige of Quraysh are argued by some modern scholars to have lead to
Qurashl Arabic becoming accepted at an early date as the standard
5
literay language throughout Arabia.

. .
1. al-Sahibl, p.33, al-Rafici, Tarikh Adab al-Arab, vol.I, p.85,
2nd ed. 1940.
2. Wafi, Fiqh al-Lughah, p.109, Fr al-Adab al-Jahili, pp.111-112.
3. ibid.
4. al-Bayanwa-al-TabYln, vol.IV, p.10.
5. Wafi, Figh al-Lughah, pp.109-1l0.

149
 This victory of Qurash; Arabic supposedly took place a
considerable time before Islam so that it was the language of
culture for all Arabs more than a century or one hundred and
fifty years before the hijrah,l (i.e. from about 500 A.D.).
Hence the Qurlan was understandable to the Arabs irrespective of
their different tribes. 2
c
al-Rafi , asserts that the Arabic language has developed and
passed through three stages in its development in fluency. In its
first stage it was developed by a single tribe, then its development
was taken up by all the tribes collectively, and finally Quraysh
alone are to be credited with having brought it to its final and most
important stage of development. He argues that Quraysh acquired
this position becauseoftheirliving in the vicinity of the kacbah
and meeting pilgrims, as a result of which they used to hear others
and select the best of other tongues. al-Rafi c , finally concludes
that it was almost miraculous that this development started a
hundred or one hundred and fifty years before the hijrah. 3
However, certain scholars object to the view that the Qurlan
has been revealed only in the lughah of Quraysh on the ground that
,
there are many evidences showing features of various other dialects
in the Qurlan. For instance certain companions among Quraysh are

1. Tarlkh Ad~b al-cArab, vol.I, p.86.

2. Hasan cAwn , Dirasat Fi-al-Lughah wa-a1-Na~w, p.58.

3. Tar1kh Adab al-cArab Cairo, vol .1, pp.79-86 and 89-90.

150
reported not to have known the exact meaning of some Quranic words.
c - c-
Thus Abd Allah b. Abbas is reported to have said: III used not to
know the meaning of (the word fatir in) fatir al-samawat until I
met two bedouin quarreling about a well. One of them said ana
fatartuha, I began it (or started it) .111 It is also attributed to
Ibn cAbbas himself that he said, III used not to know the meanlng of
al-fattah until I heard the daughter of Dhu Yazin saying to an
opponent of hers halumma fati~ni (come to arbitration with me) then
I knew it. 1I2
Abu Bakr and cUmar both are reported not to have known the meanlng
of the word abb in (S.LXXX, 31) (wa-fakihatan wa-abban)~ In this
connection reference may be made to a number of books and treatises
composed by early scholars among which are Kitab al~Lughat Fi-al-Qur'an,
being the version of Ibn Hasnun
•
on the authority of Ibn cAbbas,4
- -
and r~aWarad Fl:"'al-Quran Min Lughat al-Qaba- 'il by Abu- c Ubayd al-Qasim
-
b.
Sallam. 5 In addition al-Nadim states that al-Farra ' , Abu Zayd, al-
Asma c " al-Haytham b. cAdi, Muhammad b. Ya~ya al-Qa~lci and
Ibn Durayd, composed books on Lughat al-Qur ' an. 6 al-Dawudl in his
Tabaqat al-Mufassirin 7 mentions that Muhammad b. Yazid al-Basri has a

1. Abu CUbayd, Fada'il al-Qur'an, p.3l4, Itqan, vol.II, p.4.

2. al-Mubarrid, al-Fadil,
. pp.1l3-ll4, Itqan, vol.II, p.5 .
3. I tga n, vo 1 . I I, p. 4 .
4. Edited by Salah
. . al-Dln al-Munajjid, 2nd ed., Beirut.
5. Published with Tafslr al-Jalalayn, Cairo, 1342 A.H.
6. a1-Fihrist, p.38.
7. Edited by cAll Muhammad c Umar , 1st ed., Cairo, 1392-1972,2 vols.

151
 l
book on Lughat al-Qur'an. This subject has been treated by
al-Zarkashi and al-Suyu~i, each of whom devotes a chapter to it. 2
al-Suyu~l'S chapter is based on the work of Abu CUbayd. Furthermore
there are many more examples showing the existence of grammatical
features belonging to other dialects in the Qur'an such as what lS
called Lughat Aka1uni al-Baraghlth, for example in (S.XXI, 3)
"Wa-Asarru al-Najwa al-Ladhin ~alamull and (S.V, 71) 'IThumma cAmu
Wa-Sammu- Kathirun
- Minhum". This ancient semitic feature is found in
the language of other Arab tribes, but Quraysh was free of it. 3
Ibn a1-Baqi11ani interprets the statement of CUthman about the
revelation of the Qur'an in the dialect of Quraysh as meaning that
it was in this dialect in the main, but not entirely, on the grounds
that features of other dialects exist in the Qur'~n and that the
Quranic verse (S.XLIII, 3) "We have made it a Qur'~n in Arabic"
refers to all Arabs. In addition he states that whoever maintains
that the Qur'an has been revealed in any particular dialect should
provide evidence for that. He argues if this were so other people
would have said that it should be the tongue of Hashim, since they
are the nearest kinsmen of the Prophet. 4
He quotes the statement attributed to the Prophet, "I am the
most eloquent of you because I belong to Quraysh and was brought up

1. ibid., vol.II, p.267.

2. al-Burhan fi-cUlum a1-Quran, vol.I, pp.29l-296, Itqan, vol.II,
pp.89-120.
3. Ramadan cAbd a1-Tawwab, Fusu1 Min Fiqh a1- CArabiyyah, 1st ed.,
.
Cairo, 1971, pp.81-82.
4. Nukat al-Intisar
. li-Naq1 al-Qur'an, pp.385-386 •

152
ln Sacd b. Bakrll, and comments that that does not mean that the
Qur1an has been revealed in the language of Quraysh, because the
Qur1an could be revealed according to the most eloquent language
of the Arabs and according to the language of those whose language
is lesser in eloquence, since all varieties of Arabic used in the
Qur1an are eloquent. He accepts that most of the language of the
Qur1an belongs to Quraysh but states that of the different tribes
who recited the Qur1an before the Prophet the Banu Tamlm were the
most fluent and clearest of all. This statement of Ibn al-Baqillanl
also asserts that the Prophet accepted the lughah i.e. dialect of
Tamim and that he used to read the Qur1an in the language of Tamlm,
Khuzacah and others. l
Ibn cAbd al-Barr supports this Vlew, pointing out that the
dialects of other tribes exist in all Qira'at of the Qur1an, such
as the retention of hamz while Quraysh omits it. 2 Abu Shamah
quotes certain scholars as having said that the Qur1an has been
revealed not only in the tongue of Quraysh but in that of those of
their neighbours who were fluent speakers, while the Arabs were
allowed to read the Qur'an according to their accustomed dialects. 3
He elsewhere states that the Qur'an includes all Arab dialects
because its revelation was for them all and that they were permitted
to read it according to their different dialects, thus the reading of

1. Nukat al-Intisar,
. pp.386-387 .
2. al-Burhan, vol.I, p.284, Fatb al-Barl, vol.IX, p.27, Ibn Kathir,
Fada'il
. al-Qur'an, p.22, Itqan, vol.II, p.103 .
3. Fath. al-Barl, vol.IX, p.27, al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.95 .

153
Qur1an differed. He adds that when the masahif were established
these different readings were abandoned except for those whose
lughat, i.e. dialects, corresponded with the orthography of the
masahi f. 1
According to Ibn Malik the Qur1an has been revealed in
.-
the dialect of Hljaz, except for a few features which are in
accordance with the practice of Tamlm, such as idgham (assimilation),
for example the following: (S.LIX, 4,4) "wa-man yushaqqi Allaha"
for Qurashi yushagiq which was not read thus by anyone and (S.II, 217)
"wa-man yartadda minkum" for Qurashi yartadid.
This assimilation is originally a Tamiml feature and only occurs
rarely, while the ~ijaz' practice of separating the consonants occurs
. more frequently in the Qur1an, e.g. "yartadid" (S. II, 217),
"wa-al-yumlil" (S.II, 282), "yu~bibkum" (S.III, 31), "yumdidkum"
(S.LXXI, 12), "yushaqig" (S.IV, 115) and (S.VIII, 13), lIyu~adidli
(S.IX, 63), "Fa-al-yumdid" (S.XXII, 15), "Wa-Ahlul" (XX, 27)
"ishdud" (S.XX, 31) "ya~lil" (S.XX, 81).2
The ~ijaz'
practice of separating the consonants is considered
3
by S,bawayh as the best ancient Arabic.

1. Ibraz al-Macani, p.487.

2. al-Burhan, vol.I, pp.285-286, Itqan, vol.I, p.103.
3. al-Kitab, vol. II, p.424.

154
 Moreover it is agreed unanimously among all qurra to readl

I11a Ittiba c a1-~anni (SoIV, 157) with fath because this is in

accordance with the ~ijazT tongue in which they use fath in this
. 1 - who use damm].
t ype 0f except10n [as opposed to Tamim o

Slbawayh studied this type of exception in the section of his

book entitled Hadha babun jukhtaru flhi al-nasbu li-anna al-~khira
laysa min naw c a1- ' awwa1 wa-huwa Lughatu ahl al-hijaz as opposed
to Tamim who use damm0 2
Likewise we find "r1a hadha basharan" (SoXII, 31)3 as opposed to
Tamiml "~1a hadha basharun" a 1though nobody reci ted thi s passage in
the latter manner, according to Slbawayh, except among those who were
not aware of how it was in the mushaf0 4 He, however, opts for
the Ma Tamlmiyyah in general on the grounds that it corresponds with
ana1ogy.5
Ibn Jinnl (392~OOl),states that ma in Tamlm usage is more analogical,
but the Hijazl is more in use. He prefers the Hijazi because it is
6
more in use and the Qur1an has been revealed in this 1anguage.
In addition the readings of the Qur1an represent various
dialects among them Hijazi and Tamlml, as "bi-rabwatin" (SoIl, 265)
.
with fath according to Tamiml practice, being the reading of

1. ibid.
2. al-Kitab, vol.I, pp.363-365.
3. al-Burhan, vo1.I, p.286, Itqan, vol.I, p.103.
4. al-Kitab, vol.I, p.28.
5. ibid.
6.
.
a1-Khasa ' is, vol.I, p.125.
.

155
Ibn cAmir and cAsim
. , while IIbi-rubwatin with damm is attributed
ll

to Quraysh, being the reading of the rest of the ten qurra l .'
Ibn Jinn; regards the reading of (S. VII , 57) Nushuran as more
fluent because it is the language of the people of Hijaz, while
the Tamim; version is Nushran. 2
The ~ijazl Nushuran is the reading of Nafi c , Ibn Kathlr,
Abu cAmr , Abu Jacfar and YaCqub and the Tamiml is the reading only
of Ibn cA-m,·r.3 Ib n cAbd a 1- Barr argues t hat t he statement of
C c- 4
Umar to Ibn Mas ud indicates merely his own preference and does not
mean that he forbade Ibn Mas c-ud's reading. He points out
that since it is permitted to read the Qurlan in seven ahruf
.
there is no objection to choosing from within the seven ahruf. 5
Ibn Jinni comments on this that the Arabs change hal to c~
and vice versa because of their similarity in their place of
articulation. He concludes that Catta for hatta is permitted and
it is not wrong but that the preference is for hatta because it is
more in use. 6 Hammudah supports this view, giving reference to
certain sound readings attributed to Hudhayl which were accepted
among the Qurra ' , such as the reading of Hamzah and al-Kisa ' , in

1. Hujjat
. al - Qira'at, p.146, ~l-Muhadhdhab Fi-al-Qira'at al-cAshr,
va 1 . I, p. 104.
2. al-Muhtasib, vol.I, p.255.
3. al-Muhadhdhab fi-al-Qira'at al-cAshr, vol.I, p.24l.
4. See p.142 above.
5. Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.27.

6. al-Muhtasib, vol.I, p.343.

156
which they read (S.III, 11) "fa-li-immihi" instead of.' .1Ifa-ii~ull1JT1ihi".1
This interpretation leads to the question of the revelation of the
Qur'an in seven ahruf
. which has been discussed in some detail in
Chapter 1 above. Among the interpretations of the term ahruf
•
mentioned there is that they refer to certain dialects of the Arabs.
However scholars who support this interpretation have differed in
their identification of the dialects involved. According to
certain scholars all seven ahruf are included in the tongue of
Mudar. 2 Abu CUbayd attributes to certain unnamed scholars the Vlew
..:u.
~~ .M~~~,,;li>.\_ .

that these seven Mudari dialects are those ofQuraysh, Kinanah,

Asad, Hudhayl, Tami m, Dabbah and Qays .. 3 Ibn cAbbas 1s reported by
some scholars to have identified these seven as Kacb of Quraysh, i.e.
Kacb b. Lu'ayy and Kacb of Khuzacah, i.e. Kacb b. cAmr of Khuzacah.
According to Ibn cAbbas branches of Quraysh and of Khuza-c ah were
neighbours. 4
However, al-Kalbl attributes to Ibn cAbbas the view that the
ahruf are seven dialects, five of them belonging to the ACjaz of
Hawazin. Abu CUbayd identifies them as Sacd b. Bakr, Jusham b. Bakr,
Nasr b. MuCawiyah and Thaqlf. He adds that they were called
cUlya Hawazin (Upper Hawazin) who were considered with Sufla Tamlm

1. al-Qira'at Wa-'l-lahaJat, p.27.

2. Ibn Kathlr, Fada'il al-Qur'an, p.22, Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.27.
3. a1-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.10l.
-
4. Abu CUbayd, Fa~ail a1-Qur'an, p.308, a1-Tabari, Tafsir, vol.I, p.66,
a1-Murshid a1-Wajlz, p.93.

157
(Lower Tamlm), i.e. Banu-Darim the most fluent of the Arabs
according to cAmr b. al- cAla'.
- 1 It may be noted that Abu cUbayd

only identifies four of the five dialects belonging to the ACjaz

of Hawazin. However, according to Abu CUbayd Sacd b. Bakr is the
most fluent of all Arabs, for the saying is attributed to the Prophet
"I am the most fluent of Arabs because I am Qurashl and brought up in
Sacd b. Bakr". 2 Abu Shamah attributes to certain unnamed scholars
the view that five of the seven dialects belong to Hawazin and the
remaining two to all the Arabs. In support of this view it is
argued that the Prophet was brought up in Hawazin and lived with
Hudhayl.3 According to another version Abu CUbayd is reported to
have identified them as Quraysh, Hudhayl, Thaqif, Hawazin, Kinanah,
- and Yemen. 4 This view apparently widens the seven ahruf to
Tamim
include nearly all the Arab dialects.
Abu Shamah and Ibn al-Jazarl attribute to certain unnamed scholars
the view that they are Sacd, Thaqlf, Kinanah, Hudhayl and Quraysh,
and that the remaining two are divided among the tongues of all the
Arabs. 5 According to Abu Hatim al-Sijistani they are Quraysh,
-c - c 6
Hudhayl, Tamlm, al-Azd, Rabi ah, Hawazin and Sa d b. Bakr.

1. Abu CUbayd, Fada'il al-Qur'an, p.309.

2. ibid., al-Muzhir, vol.I, p.210.
3. al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.96.
4. ibid., pp.99-100, al-Nashr, vol.I, p.24, Manahil, vol.I, p.180.
5. al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.100, al-Nashr, vol.I, p.24.
6. al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.94, Itgan, vol.I, p.135.

158
 According to al-Tabari the language of the Qur1an represents
some dialects of the Arabs and not all of them because their tongues
and languages were more than seven. 1 According to Ibn Qutaybah
and Abu- c - -
Ali al-Ahwazi, all seven ahruf are included within the
tongue of Quraysh, in which the Qur1an was exclusively revealed. 2
Among those who accepted the existence of other dialects in the
Qur1an, views differed concerning the most eloquent of the best
speakers of the Arabic language among all the Arabs. al-Mubarrid
states that every Arab whose language has not been changed is fluent
according to his people (tribe) and that the meaning of the statement
Banu fulan afsahu min banl fulan is that they are more similar in
their language to the language of the Qur1an, and the language of
Quraysh, although the Qur1an has been revealed in all the languages
3
of the Arabs.
Abu cAmr b. al-cAla ' is quoted in different verSlons as
mentioning the most eloquent of Arabs as Upper Hawazin and Lower
Tamim 4 or Upper Hawazin and Upper Tamim or Upper Hawazin and Lower
Qays or Upper Hawazin and Lower Quraysh. 5 According to Abu CUbayd,
however, Sacd b. Bakr is the most fluent of all Arabs, because of

1. Tabarl,
. Tafslr, vol.I, pp.46-47 .
2. Itgan, vol.I, p.135.
3. al-Fadil, p.113.
4. Abu CUbayd, Fa~a'il al-Qur'an, p.309 and al-Fa~il, p.113.
5. al-Fadil, p.113.

159
the statement attributed to the Prophet discussed above.
Quraysh was regarded as the most eloquent of all the Arabs
- 1 --- --2
according to Ibn Faris al-Farabi followed by al-Suyu~i, Ibn
J

3 c
Khaldun and al-Rafi ,.4 Ibn al-Baqillan, as mentioned opts
for Quraysh as being the most eloquent of the Arabs, while
mentioning the fluency and clearness of the language of Tamim.
al-Mubarrid in his al-Kamil on the authority of al-Asmacl,
considers Jarm the most fluent of all Arabs. 5 Other sources refer
to many other tribes such as Hudhayl and Thaqlf as being the most
eloquent. 6
The most fluent of all the Arabs after Quraysh, however,
- - - are Qays, Tamim and Asad, then Hudhayl and
according to al-Farabi,
some parts of Kinanah and Tayyi~7 al-Rafi ' , asserts that the
most eloquent of all the Arabs are Quraysh, and after them
immediately are Sacd b. Bakr, Jusham b. Bakr, Nasr b. MuCawiyah
•
and Thaq,f, then after them in fluency are Khuzacah, Hudhayl,
Kinanah, Asad and Dabbah. They used to be neighbours of Makkah
and come to visit it frequently and after them in fluency are
Qays and other tribes of Central Arabia. 8

l. al-Sahib"
. . p.52.
2. al-Muzhir, vo 1 • I, p.211.
3. Muqaddimah, p.635.
4. ICjaz al-Qur'an, p.65.
5. a1- Kartl>i 1 , vol. I I , p.223.
6. al-Muzhir, vol. I , p. 211 .
7. i bi d.
8. ICjaz al-Qur'an, p.65.

160
 The number seven, however, according to al-Raf c , is symbolic. 1
In studying these views, we should consider the time factor
as being an important reason for these differences as to who was
most fluent, eloquent and clear in speaking, since the tribal
societies in Arabia were influenced by mixing with non-Arab clients,
who came to live in settled areas and came to influence nomadic
regions later. The philologists are said to have refused to accept
information from certain regions and tribes whose dialects were
considered the most fluent of all Arabs, such as Thaqlf, the people
of Ta'if and the towns of ~ijaz on the grounds that their language
or their tongues were changed and distorted by the influence of
foreign clients. 2
This view of seven dialects with its all different versions has
been refuted on the grounds that the Qur1an includes in its text
many words belonging to other Arab dialects, which have not been
selected as one of the seven ahruf 3 and also that if the differences
between them were dialectal cUmar and Hisham would not have been
reported as having differed in reading, because both of them belonged
to the same tribe of Quraysh. 4 Furthermore, al-!abari regarded as
weak (dac,f) all traditions mentioning the seven lughat on the basis
-"

of their isnad, since none of their narrators (such as Qatadah and

5
al-Kalbl) is regarded as accepted in any chain.

1. ibid., pp.70-7l •
2. al-Muzhir, vol.I, p.2l2.
3. Manahil, vol.I, pp.180-l8l.
4. ibid., and al-Itgan, vol. I, p.136.
5. al-Tabarl, Tafslr, vol.I, p.66 .
•

161
 Ibn al-Jazarl objects to interpreting ahruf
. to mean 'dialects '
and states that what is meant by ahruf
. is not dialects but seven
types of linguistic differences. 1 In support of this view Abu Bakr
al-Wasi~l is reported to have said that there are forty dialects
,
(lughat) of the Arabs in the Qur an. 2 al-Suyuti identifies thirty
two dialects, quoting examples of them in the Qur ' an. 3
Ibn al-Naqlb is reported to have said in his Tafsir that the
Qur1an includes in itself all Arab dialects. 4 In support of this
view Ayyub al-Sikhistiyanl is reported to have said that the
verse IIWe sent not an appostle except (to each) in the language of
his own people (S.XIV, 4) refers to all Arabs. S cAll and Ibn
ll

cAbbas are also reported as having said that the Qur1an has been
revealed according to the dialects of all Arabs. 6 In the version
of Ibn cAbbas it is stated that the Prophet used to teach people in
one dialect, so they found difficulty and then he started teaching
every tribe according to their dialects. 7
Since however there are different features of various dialects
of the Arabs in the text of the Qur1an we shall next discuss the view
commonly accepted today that the Qur1an has been revealed in the common

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.24-26 and Chapter 4 above.

2. Itqan, vol.I, p.102.
3. ibid., pp.89-l04.
4. ibid., p. 168.
5. al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.94.
6. ibid., p.96.
7. ibid., pp.96-97.

162
literary language, this being based on a certain dialect or
dialects of the Arabs, whether specified or not.
In the following pages we shall be discussing Vlews of modern
and contemporary scholars whose arguments and analysis are based
on modern methodology and linguistic evidences. However before
embarking upon this discussion we shall briefly consider the
~.~.~. - -- - - • -~~-::.-'~::;.')~ __.'U'"~_ __

hypothesis evolved by Vollers that classical Arabic was based

on the speech of the bedouin in Najd and Yamamah,but was much
changed by the poets while in the rest of Arabia a quite different
language, the ancestor of the modern Hadar' colloquial, was spoken.
Vo1lers claims that the Qur'an was composed in that popular Arabic
and subsequently rewritten in classical style. 1 However, Vo11ers'
theory has been abandoned as too extreme. 2 Rabin declares that
hi s approach is extreme 1y different from tha t of Vo 11 ers who
II rej ected the offi ci a 1 text of the Koran as a gramma ri an's
fabrication and sought its original form in the non-canonical variant
readings. This reconstructed text he believed to be representative
of 'a popular language', opposed to classical Arabic above all by
its lack of cases and moods". 3
He then, however, goes on to present a hypothesis of his
own; "I accept the Othmanic text as a true presentation of the
language Muhammad used, but believe that his literary diction
----- .. -----""

1. Ancient West-Arabian, p.ll.

2. Arbery, The Seven Odes, p.240.
3. Ancient West-Arabian, p.4.

163
contained some elements of the spoken idiom of his Milieu which
happens to be a spe~_!~~n of another lost 1anguage. III Vollers '
view was rejected by R. Geyer and Noldeke who r}9h~ly point out
that there is no support for it either in the oldest traditions
nor in the evidence of the Arabic itself. 2 In any case ICrab
is not found only in Arabic, but is an original Semitic feature,
___==.02

being found in Akkadian, Ethiopic, Babylonian, Hebrew, Nabatean

and other Semitic languages. 3 In Nabatean particularly, as
Noldeke established, all cases of ICrab, ~ammah, Fathah and Kasrah
are found. 4 In support of this we may quote the Harran inscriptio~
which contains an accusative form, e.g. (Dha al-Martul).5 In the
text of the Qur1an there are many examples whose meaning are
impossible to understand without taking ICrab into account, such as
"Innama Yakhsha Allaha ~:1in clbadihi al-cUlama'u" (S~XXXV, 28),
"Wa-idh ibtala Ibrah,ma Rabbuhu" (S.II, 124), "Wa idha hadara
. .
al-qismata Ulu al-qurba" (S.IV, 8) and "Anna Allaha bar,' un min
al-mushriklna wa-rasuluhu" (S.IX, 3). Moreover. the Qur1an has
been received in the manner of Tawatur with ICrab in
writing down and reciting. 6 The teaching of the Qur1an was
accordingly with rCrab when it was read in prayers and taught to the

1. Ancient West-Arabian, p.4.

2. Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam, p.276.
3. Bergstrasser, al-Tatawwur al-Na~w', p.75, Wolfensohn, Tar,kh
al-Lughat al-Samiyyah, p.157 and Johann Flick, al-CArabiyyah, p.3. Enno
L~ttman~:Arabic Inscriptions, Leiden 1914, p.37.

4. Noldeke, Die- Ser.litische.rl Sprachen_, Leip,zig 1399, p.5l f.

5. al-Mufassal (I Tarikh al-cArab Qabl aJ-Is.lam" vol.VIII, p.549.
• r

6. Waf" Fi~h al-Lughah, p.215.

164
 students. The Qurra l
did not differ in the rCrab except in
few cases which were due to the permission to read the Qur1an
according to the seven ahruf. l
•
c -
,.------The system of I rab in the Arabi c 1anguage goes back to anci ent
times and what the grammarians introduced was, simply a formulation
of the rules governing its use with special reference to the language
of the Qur1an and of fluent speakers thus creating Arabic grammar
as a science. 2 CAll Wafl points out that the writing of the
mushaf which is received in the manner of tawatur, although free
from vocalisation, supports the existence of rc rab,
-
e.g. the presence
of Alif in the case of the nunated accusative such as Rasulan,
Bashlran and Shahidan and ICrab with Huruf,
. e.g. al-Mu'minun and
I' ':'
a 1- Mu lil1nln.
3 The Qur1an refers to its language as "Perspicious
Arabic tongue" (S.XXVI, 195) and"(it is) a Qur1an in Arabic without
any crookedness (therein)" (S.XXXIX, 28). This surely PTesupposes
rCrab to make things clear and understandable.
however, in its earliest appearance in the Arabic lexicon means,
"speaking clearly, speaking without incorrectness, without
barbarousness, etc. 1I 4 There are certain statements attributed to
the Prophet and certain companions encouraging Muslims to read the

1. See pp.2l-22, above.

2. Wafl, Figh al-Lughah, p.215.
3. ibid.
4. Lane, An Arabic English Lexicon, Book r~ Part 5, p.1492.

165
Qur/an according to ICrab. l al-Suyutl
. comments that what is meant
by ICrab in this context is no more than the knowledge of the
meaning of the words. He objects to its interpretation as a
grammatical term on the ground that Qira/ah (recitation) without
it is not considered or accepted in any case and there would be no
reward without it. 2 In this connection Abu Bakr is reported to
have said that "verily reading the Qur/an with the manner of ICrab
is more beloved to me than just memorising certain verses". 3 This
statement of Abu Bakr is, however, misunderstood by Paul Kahle who
comments that seeking ICrab and asking people to read the Qur/an
with ICrab indicates that it used to be read without ICrab, and
that the ICrab was found later and introduced to the text of the
- 4
Qur/an The word I c rab
-
in the statement of Abu- Bakr if we accept
its validity means clearness in reading the Qur/an and it does not
refer to grammatical terminology, as this meaning evolved after
""_:::::':':-.""!";.""1J'~'t.;~~-:ct~I<i<~.r:

the introduction of Naqt. al-Icrab by Abu al-Aswad al-Du/a11 during

- 5 -
the reign of cAbd al-r lalik b. Marwan.
i If, however, the Qur1an
used to be read without I c rab
- this would have been mentioned in the
6
oldest traditions and language sources. Furthermore certain early

1. al-Hala(f, Risalahf,;al-Tajwld, f.156, Itqan, vol.II, p.3, Ibn al-

Anb~rl, Kitab 19aQ al-Wagf Wa'l-Ibtida ' , vol.I, pp.15-36.
2. I tga n, vo 1 I I, p. 3.
0

3. Ibn al-Anbarl, Idah,. . vol.I, pp.20 and 23.

4. Die Kairoer Geniza, London, 1947, pp.78-84.
5. al-Muhkam, pp.3-7, al-Awa/il, vol.II, p.130 and p.107, Ch.3 above.
--'-
6. Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam, p.276.

166
 scholars are reported to have objected to Naqt al-Icrab and Naqt
c -
al-I jam, but only on the grounds that it was not in accordance
with the orthographical practice of the salaf; if the inflectional
endings themselves had been in invention or innovation they would
have protested against this also with much more vigour, whereas
in fact there is no mention of such protest at all.
c -
I rab in its grammatical sense, as Ibn Faris states "distinguishes
-------- ~-....--""'

the meaning, and with the use of ICrab we understand what the
speakers meant". l
As al-Antakl remarks, it seems quite impossible that a group
of grammarians could impose on Arabic these fabricated characteristics
and force people to accept them and use them i~ such limited time
without any resistance or rejection. In addition it may be pointed
out that the idea of invention in the field of languages is not
acceptable and that while languages are subject to evolution, this
is a gradual process. In conclusion, therefore we may say that the
language of the Qur1an is a natural tongue in its development and
it dates back with all its characteristics and qualities centuries
before Islam. 2
C. To ~~!urn to __th....e:.~mail'!_..discussion, the differences between
dialects spoken in the main part of Arabia (Hijaz, Najd and the
Euphrates region), according to Noldeke were small and the literary
I

-~-;':;:;::;;-""

1. al-Sahibi, p.76.

2. al-Wajlz fl Fiqh al-Lughah, pp.129-l32.

167
1anguage is based on all of them equally". 1 Classical Arabic
accordi ng to Lya 11 is "a 1anguage of poeti c conventi on of tri ba 1
wordstocks that had grown up with the absorbtion of the lmmense
vocabulary of the Jahiliyya Qaslda
. and its great number of synonyms" 2
However, classical Arabic according to Guidi is a mixture of
dialects spoken in Najd and adjoining -regions, but not identical
----- --- - -..,.

with anyone of them. 3

Nallino maintains that the classical Arabic was based on a
colloquial of the tribes of Macadd which were united due to the rise
of Kingdom of Kindah whose kings used to welcome poets and reward
them generously. According to him this colloquial became the common
literary language in the middle of the sixth century A.D. and
dominated most parts of Arabian peninsula including Madlnah, Makkah
and Ta'if in Hijaz. 4 Fischer and Hartmann held the view that
.
classical Arabic was identical with one particular dialect but
5
did not specify which.
Brockelmann like Wetzstein and others before him claims that
"c l ass ical Arabic was never spoken in the form in which we know it",
He does not here discuss its relation to the dialects,6 but he

1. Ancient West-Arabian, p.17.

2. Sir Charles J. Lyall, al-MufaOQa"iyyat, " vol.I, pp.xXV-XXV1.
3. Ancient West-Arabian, p.17.
4. Kayfa Nasha'at al-Lughah al-c.Arabiyyah, Majallat al-Hilal,
vol.XXVI,I, October 1917, pp.4l-48.
5. Ancient West-Arabian, p.17.
6. Ibid.

168
elsewhere regards the language of the Qurl~n as based on the
dialect of Quraysh. l Bergstrasser in his "al-Tatawwur al-Nahwl
. .
Li'l-Lughah al- Arabiyyah" 2 may be quoted in favour of what
C

he calls ~ij~z' dialect as he states that the orthography of

.. was with accordance with ~ij~z1 dialect. 3

the mushaf Wolfensohn
argues that this common literary language is a mixture of many
dialects and they became a united language after the disappearance
of their speakers. 4
Blachere maintains that the literary Arabic language is based
on a native dialect, but he did not specify which one. He objects,
however, to the Qurashi dialect as the native dialect on which the
literary language was based. 5 Rabin offers what he calls the
working hypothesis that "classical Arabic is based on one or
several of the dialects of Najd, perhaps in archaic form". 6 The
language of the Qur1an, according to Beeston "is unmistakably that
of the poetic corpus of the sixth century ... 7 He, however, maintains
that it was first written down in a form reflecting the pronunciation
of the Western dialect of Makkah,and that the scholars succeeded in

1. Fiqh al-Lughat al-Samiyyah, p.30.

2. Published in MatbaCat al-Sacadah, Cairo, 1929.
3. ibid., p. 27.
4. Tarlkh al-Lughat al-Samiyyah,p.166.
5. Tarikh al-Adab al-cArab, al cAsr al-J~hili, p.77.
~~----------------------. .----
6. Ancient West-Arabian, p.3.
7. The Arabic Language Today, p.13.

169
introducing certain features characteristic of the eastern dialects,
by only adding reading marks to it. l
Generally about the origin of classical Arabic, however, most
western scholars agree in seeking its home among the bedouins of
Najd. Some believe it to have been originally the language of one
definite tribe, others a compromise between various dialects;
others again think it acquired some purely artificial
characteristics. 2
However Wansbrough ln his "Qur'anic Studies .. 3 devotes a
chapter to the "origin of classical Arabic .. 4 in which unlike the
others he rejects the concept of the literary Arabic language
without offering any clear alternative. He asserts that very
little can be known about the text of the Qur1an or about classical
Arabic prior to the "literary stabilisation of both in the thir.d/
";;:'T.- '--0"'"

ninth century. There is nothing, he maintains, in the Qur'anic

usage of carabl and its cognate form to support the suggestion of
J. FUck (cArabiyya, Berlin 1905, 1-5) that carabl ln the expression

"cl ear Arabic speech" refers to the CArabiyya the literary language
of the Bedouins. 5

1. ibid., p.13.
2. C. Rabin, art. CArabiyya, E12 vol.I, p.565.
3. Oxford University Press, 1977.
4. ibid., pp.85-ll8.
5. A.T. Welch, art. al-~ur'an, E12 vol.V, p.4l9.

170
 Watt's final conclusion~ however, appears to be that the
language of the Qur1an falls somewhere between the poetical
Koine and the Meccan dialect. He also notes the omission of the
hamzah or glottal stop, which is mentioned as a peculiarity of
Meccan speech and has affected the orthography of the Qur'an. l
Alternatively he states that perhaps one might say that the Qur1an
was in a Meccan variant of the literary language.
This common literary language, however, according to certain
contemporary Arab philologists, does not belong to any particular
tribe, but it belongs to all Arab tribes because it has accepted
elements from them all and thus it seems to be (like and) near to
all of them. 2
cAli Wafl 3 accepts the Vlew that the Qur1an is revealed in
the common literary language, but is opposed to western scholars
in that he, like Taha
. Husayn
. and others before him, asserts that
this common language is based on the speech of Quraysh. In order
to reconcile these two ideas he is obliged to postulate that the
-...-.;IJ'-'" -

influence of Quraysh spread throughoJ!lt Arabia well before Islam.

He follows Vendryes in pointing out that the formation of a
standard or common language is "due either to the extension of an
organised political power, to the influence of a predominant social

1. Introduction to the Qur1an, p.84.

2. Tammam ~assan, al-Lughah Baynal-~l'f<Yariyyah Wa'l-Wa~fiyyah,
pp.6l-62.
3. Figh al-Lughah al-CArabiyyah, p.lll.

171
class or to the supremacy of a literature. Whatever may be its
recognised origin, there are always political, social or economic
reasons which contribute to its preservationll,l and then argues
that at least the second and third of these reasons apply to
Quraysh. Their dominating dialect then became the language of
art and written works of prose and poetry, and was the language of
correspondence, conferences, and negotiations and the delegations I

speeches and poems. 2 His arguments for this theory do not ~ on

any linguistic evidence, but are based on what he sees as the
dominant cultural and economic position enjoyed byMakkahin the
Jahiliyyahperiod. cAli vJa{f is followed and his arguments are used
by most Arab scholars and researchers with certain additions or
mo d1"f"1 ca t"1 ons . 3
Furthermore, this common literary language in which pre-
Islamic verse and prose was composed is, according to Hammudah,
the language in which the Qur1an has been revealed, but he adds
that the origin of this language is the 'Lahjah ' dialect of Quraysh
or what is called the Hijazf dialect. 4 Moreover, Anis refer to
.
the occasions of pilgrimage,
d_"'"
general gatherings and cultural

-
conferences before Islam which were factors for the unity of the

1. Langua~~Linguistic Introduction to History, p.261.

2. Fi gh a 1-1 ughah a1-cArabiyyah, I I • 111-112.
3. ~ammjjdah, a l-Qi ra at wa.~a l-Lahaja t, Ca i ro 1948, Shahin,
I

al-lughah al- c-Amm, Cairo 1980, anrl MahdT a1-Makhzumi,

Madrasat al-Kufah, Baghdad, 1955.
4 " a 1- Qira at \i! a... a1- La ha j at, p. 30 .
I

172
Arabic language on the bases of the Qurashi dialect,l and he
maintains elsewhere that the most eloquent manner of pausing in
Qur'anic verses, which is dominant in the Qur1an, 1S that of
Quraysh and Hi
. jaz. 2 He elsewhere, however, asserts that the
language of the Qur1an represents the common literary language of
all Arabs and not only of Quraysh. 3
The dialect of Quraysh, however, is argued to have contributed
to the common literary language with many elements and features, to
the extent that there might not be any exaggeration in attributing
it generally to Quraysh or Hijaz,
. as the vast majority of scholars
adopted this view. 4 But the Qur1an contains many other elements
and features which are known to have disagreed with that of people
of Hijaz including Quraysh. 5
- - who accepts the common literary language asserts
.al-Ghamrawi
that the only difference between QurashT and other dialects is that
the influence of common literary language on the dialect of Quraysh
was so great due to their vicinity to the markets. He notably
distinguishes between the literary language and the spoken language
of Quraysh and postulates that both were influenced by the common
literary language while this influence was as regards the other
6
tribes mainly on the language of poems.

1. Fi al-Lahajat al-CArabiyyah, p.32.

2. Min Asrar al-Lughah, p.2l5.
3. Mustagbal-al-Lughah al-CArabiyyah, p.9.
4. Fusul Min Fiqh al-CArabiyyah, p.69.

5. ibid.
6. al-Naqd al-Tah1ili, p.2l0 .
•

173
 However, there are certain objections raised against the view
that the language of the Qur1an is based on the dialect of Quraysh,
which may be summarised as follows:
a. The only reason for the QurashT dialect to be
favoured is a theological, rather than a linguistic,
one, i.e. that they are the tribe of the Prophet. 1
b. The MUfassirun used to quote other dialects and cite
from poets belonging to other tribes to interpret
the meaning of archaic words.
c. The poets belonging to Quraysh were few in number.
d. Reference is made by the philologists to bedouin
dialects rather than the Qurashi- one.
e. The Suq cUkaz had only been established shortly before
Isla;-Z
f. Domination of certain non Qurashi features in the
Qur1an such as Hamz. 3
.. ,~.

These pOints were in~turn

....... ,~.,~'$,."
refuted by the supporters of the
view that the language of the Qur1an is based on the dialect of
Quraysh on the grounds that the Qur1an certainly contains other
dialect features which were to be interpreted with reference to their
origins 4 but that it was the influence of non-Arabs on the tongue

1. Nol deke, Di e SetHi ti schen $prachen,. p~ 55.

2. Nallino,"Kayfa Nasha' at al-Lughah al-CArabiyyah'~ Majallat al-
Hilal, vol.XXVI, I, October 1917, pp.4l-48, E1 2 , vol.I, p.565.
C. Rabin, art CAnabiyya.
3. cAbduh al-Rajihl,
. al-Lahajat al-CArabiyyah fi 11 Qira'at al-
Qur'aniyyah, Cairo, 1968.
4. Shawq~ Dayf,
. al-cAsr al-Jahill, pp.133-l37, Na~~h,Lughat al-
- fi- Juz cAmma, pp.74-75.
Qur1an l

174
of the people of Hijaz
. after the spread of Islam that led the
philologists to seek the pure language in the areas which were not
occupied by non-Arabs or where their numbers were very small.'
As for the towns the purity of lanyuage (Fasahah) had vanished
after the first half of the second century A.H. 2 The philologists
found during their researches that the tongue of Quraysh had become
distorted,3 but they continued collecting from bedouins and accepting
their dialects until the middle or end of the fourth century A.H. 4
Furthermore cUkaz had come into existence not shortly before Islam
as claimed but at least one hundred years before. 5
In conclusion the Qur'an refers to the language in which it has
been revealed as an "Arabic without any crookedness (therein)"
(S.XXXIX, 28) and a "perspicuous Arabic tongue" (S.XXVI, 195).
This CArabiyyah referred to in the Qur1an is neither Qurashl
nor other, but the common literary language which was the medium
between people of Hijaz,
. Najd and other regions of Arabian
Peninsula. Thus the Qur1an which is revealed in this language was
understandable to them all, for example as when the Muhajirun and

1. Ibn Khaldun, al-Mugaddimah, p.635, Shawqi ~ayf, al-cA~r al-Jarlil"

- - - c-
pp.136-l37, al-Mufa~~al fi Tarikha'-Na~w al- Arabi, p.18.
-"- - - c
2. Khizanat al-Adab, vol.I, pp.5-6, TarikhAdab al- Arab, I, p.338.
3. al-Muzhir, vol.I, p.2ll.
4. Tar~kh ~d~b al-cArab, vol.I, pp.128 and 345, Turuq. Tanmiyat C>

al-Alfa~, pp.1T-12.
5. Aswag al-cArab, pp.342-343, Lane, Lexicon, Int. p.VI.

175
Ansar met in Madinahcommunicated and understood each other. The
delegations used to come to the Prophet from various parts of Arabia
and the Prophet used to send teachers with them, so that apparently
they found no difficulties in communicating or understanding the
Qur'an. l
If the Qur1an had not been revealed in this common literary
language of all Arabs, it would have been very difficult for them
to understand it or be influenced by its verses.
The impact of the Qur1an on all Arab dialects was so great
that it eventually had an overwhelming influence on all literary
productions. This does not mean, however, that all dialectal
features of Arabs did not exist any more. In support of this the
text of the Qur1an contains features of various Arab dialects.
Although the orthography of the masahif is said to be according
to the dialect of Quraysh 2 the text of the Qur1an still allows
variant readings since permission was given to all Arabs to read
the Qur an i n ~ ngways accordi ng the seven ahruf.
I Thus in
practice we find in sound accepted readings or canonical readings
(Qira'at Mutawatirah) the existence of variant dialects; thus for
example in (Lakinna) (S.XVIII, 38) and (Ana u~y;) (S.II, 258) the

1. Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah'Jvol.VII,pp.357-427,Ibn Sacd, al-Tabagat al-Kubra,

vol.I, pp.258-358,Shawg;, al-cA~r al Jihill, p.134 and al-Ghamraw;,
al-Nagd al-Tahlll1,
. pp.2l0-2ll .
2. Bukhari, vol.VI, p.479, Ibanah, p.33, al-CArabiyyah, p.4,
C
al-Tatawwur al-Nahwi, p.27, a1-Munjid, p.22 and al-Mugni , p.114 .
.

176
final a 1S pronounced long in both continued speech and pausal
form according to the reading of Ab~ Ja'far and N~fic of Mad~nah
being Tamlml, while according to the other tribes and readings
it is preserved only in the pausal form. l
Although the language of the Qur1an represents selections
from many Arab dialects, it might be argued to have been based
mainly on the dialect of Quraysh and their eloquent neighbours
in ~ijaz and Najd, particularly Tamim. In the variant canonical
readings of the Qur'~n as discussed above we observe the existence
of various Arab dialects as regards etymology, vocabulary, grammar
and morphology and that Qurashi and Tamlml are more frequent than
other dialects, but the Qurashl or Hijazi in general is more
dominant.

1. Abu Sh~mah, Ibraz al-Ma c-ani,

- p.383, and al-Banna, Ithaf

Fudala' al-Bashar, p.193.

177
 CHAPTER 6

THE ORIGIN OF THE QIRA'AT

CHAPTER 6

THE ORIGIN OF THE QIRA'AT

The Prophet used to receive revelations of the Qur'an ln portions
of verses and to teach them to his companions and recite them in
his own prayers and in leading prayers before the companions. l
In this connection the Qur'an addresses the Prophet "Move not thy
tongue concerning the (Qur1an) to make haste therewith. It is for
us to collect it and to promulgate it: but when we have promulgated
it, follow thou its recital (as promulgated): nay more it is for us
to explain it (and make it clear)" (S.LXXV, 16-19). The Qur'an
also states about its revelation in stages that "(It is) a Qur'an
which we have divided (into parts from time to time) in order that
thou mightest recite it to men at intervals: we have revealed it
by stages" (S.XVII, 106).
Furthermore the Prophet used to ask certain companlons to
recite to him. In this connection it is attributed to CAbd Allah
b. Mascud that he was asked by the Prophet to recite from the Qur'an
before him and that he recited S.III, l-4l~ Ubayy b. Kacb is also
reported to have said that the Prophet asked him to recite to him
3
and that he recited S.XCVIII.

1. See Ch.2, pp. 64 and 67.

2. Bukharl, vol.VI, pp.87-88.
3. ibid., pp.456-457

179
 The Muslims used to study and read the Qur1an from the very
early Makkan era. For example it is reported by Ibn Ishaq that
when cUmar visited his sister and her husband he found them with
their teacher Khabbabb. a~~A~att reading and studying from a
sahifah suras XX and LXXXI. l It is attributed to the Prophet
that whenever he received certain Qur'anic verses, he used to
teach them to his companions, the men first and then the women in
a special circle for them. 2
Certain learned Qurra were directed by the Prophet when he
l

was in Makkah before the Hijrah to teach the Qur'an to the people
in Madinah. -
The first Qari' was Mus.c ab b. c Umayr, 3 and he was
followed by c Abd Allah
- b. Umm Maktum,
- c Ammar
- b. Yasir
- - 4
and Bilal.
In Madinah,after the Hijrah, whenever individuals or delegations of
newly converted Muslims came to the Prophet he used to appoint one
of his learned companions to teach them the Qur'an~ Furthermore,
the Prophet is reported to have sent Qurra l
to certain places and
tribes, particularly after conquering Makkah and in Makkah itself
Mucadh b. Jabal was appointed to teach the people there the Qur'an. 6
The number of the Qurra' who had committed the Qur'an to memory was
increasing gradually to the extent that at Bi'r Macunah alone in 5 A.H.

1. Slrat Ibn Is~~, pp.161-162.

2. ibid., p. 128.
3. Ghayat al-Nihayah, vol.II, p.299.
4. al-Zinjanl, Tar,kh al-Qur'an, p.40.
5. Tart,b al-Musnad, vol.XVIII, p.9.
6, ibid.

180
seventy or forty. of them \'Jere kill ed. 1
Among the companions and their followers who settled in
different conquered cities the number of Qurra was quitel

considerable. Ibn Sacd in his Kitab al-Tabaqat counted hundreds

of those who settled in Kufah,Basrah,Sham etc., and their students
•
who transmitted from them. 2 After the Prophet, his caliphs used
to appoint prominent Qurra l
to the cities. Three distinguished
Qurra were sent to the cities for example Abu al-Darda ' for
l

Damascus, cUbadah b. al-Samit for Hims and Mucadh b. Jabal for

Palestine. 3 'Abd Allah b. Mascud was appointed to teach the people
of Kufah,4 and Abu Musa a l-Ashcari was sent to Basrah. 5
CUthman, after his compilation of the masahif is reported to
have appointed a Qari' with each musha~ he sent to the metropolitan
cities (Amsar) to teach the people of his city according to
,'t .6 "

..
Orthographical differences are reported between the masahif
of the cities prepared by the command of CUthman. Certain scholars
assert that this was in order that these variations should
accommodate all authentic readings received from the Prophet according

1. See pp.35-36 above.

2. al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol.VII, (pp.5-493) .
•
3. ibid., vol.II, pp.356-357.
4'~ al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol.VI, pp.13-l4.
J.

5. Ibid., vol. II, - p.345 ..

6. Manahil, vol.I, pp.403-404, Macal-Masahif, pp.90-9l, and see
p.48 above.

181
to the revelation of the Qur1an in seven ahruf. The variations
which could not be allocated in one single mushaf were divided
between the masahif of the cities. l For example it is reported
that in (5.11, 132) we find Wa-Awsa written in the masahif of
Madlnah and Sham while in the rest of the masahif
. . it is written
Wa-Wassa with the omission of Alif.2 In addition it is agreed
that the CUthmanic masahif were free from Naqt both of al-Icrab
•
and al-ICjam, this also being in order to accommodate various
dialects and readings which were permissible in reading the Qur'an
according to certain authorities, until the time came to use the
Naqts of al-I c rab - 3
- and al-I c jam. Ibn Taymiyyah, followed by
.
Ibn al-Jazarl, asserts that the masahif in the time of the
companions were freed from Naqt for the following reasons:
•
a. They were dependent on their memories rather than the
masahif, bearing in mind that the transmission of the
Qur'an is with Tawatur. In addition the revelation of
the Qur1an was in portions to facilitate its
memorisation. Thus they did not need to depend on
a book as the people of the book did.
b. There was no need for them, being Arabs, of Naqt.
because they used not to commit lahn.
c. They wished to preserve the possibility of different
readings such as Va cmaluna
- and Ta c
mal-una.

1. al-Muqni C, pp.123-124, and al-Nashr, vol.I, p.33.

2. al-Mugni C, p.109.
3. al-Muhkam, p.2. See also Chapter 3 above~ pp.106-109 .
.

182
 The introduction of Naqt. took place during the lifetime of the
followers when certain of them started using Naqt in their masahif
with different colours due to the appearance of lahn at that time. l
As regards Naqt al-ICjam, it is argued that it has always been
found with the alpahabetical letters as it was difficult to
distinguish between them without using it. 2
Schools of reading in all the cities were established according

.
to the CUthmanic masahif.
. Any reading which did not correspond
with them was abandoned and the personal codices were destroyed
by the command of CUthman.3 The masahif and readings of the amsar
became famous and were adopted throughout the Muslim world. Hence
all canonical readings are attributed to the Qurra l
of the amsar,
.
among whom are the following:
a. In Madlnah, among the distinguished Qurr~' were Mucadh
al-Qarl, Sacld b. al-Musayyib, cUrwah b. alZubayr,
c Umar b. cAbd al-cAziz, cAta' b. Yasar, Salim b. CAbd
Allah, Sulayman b. Yasar, Muslim b. Jundub, cAbd al-
Rahman b. Hurmuz, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhrl and Zayd b. Aslam .
.
b. In Makkah: CUbayd b. CUmayr, cAta' , Taw~s, MUjahid,
cIkrimah and Ibn Abl Mulaykah.
C. In Kufah: cAlqamah, al-Aswad, Masruq,- cUbaydah, cAmr
c
b. Shurahbil, al-Harith b. Qays, al-Rabl b. Khaytham,
cAmr b. Maymun, Abu cAbd al-Rahman al-Sulaml, Zarr b.
Hubaysh, C Ubayd b. Fadilah,
-.:
Abu Zar Cah Ibn CAmr b . J arlr,
.

Sacid b. Jubayr, Ibrahlm al-Nakha c , and al-Shacbi.

1. Fatawa, vol.XII, pp.100-10l, -al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.7-8 and

a 1- I ba na h, p. 68 .
2. Subh al-Acsha, vol.III, p.1Sl and for detail see p.107, Chapter 3.
3. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.479.

183
 d. In Ba~rah: cAmir b. cAbd Qays, Abu~l-CAliyah,
Abu Raja ' , Nasr b. cAsim , Yahya b. Yacmur,
Mucadh, Jabir·b. Zayd: al-Hasan,
. Ibn Slrln
and Qatadah.
e. In Sham: al-Mughirah b. Abl Shihab al-Makhzuml,
a pupil of CUthman and Khulayd b. Sacd, a pupil
of Abu I\.l-Darda 1.1
The generation which followed these Qurra1was more specialised
and certain scholars devoted themselves to teaching Qira'at. The
people of their cities and students from different places migrated
to learn from them. The readings were then attributed to them
because they had ta.ught Qi ra at for along time, because of thei r
I

Ikhtiyar 2 in Qira'ah and because people of their cities agreed on

their Qira'at. These scholars are the following:
a. In Madlnah: Abu Jacfar Yazld b. al-QaCqa C, Shaybah b.
Nasah and Nafi c b. Abl NuCaym.
..
b. In Makkah: c Abd Allah
-
b. Kathir, Humayd
. b. Qays al-A C
raj
and Muhammad b. Husayn.
c. In Kufah: Yahya b. Waththab, cAsim b. Abl al-Najud,
SUlayman b. ~l-Acmash, ~amzah a~d al-Kisa ' ,.
d. In Basrah: CAbd Allah b. Abl Ishaq, cYsa b. Abl cUmar ,
Abu cAmr b. al-cAla ' , cAsim
. al-juhdarl
. and YaCqub al-
Hadraml.
In Sham: CAbd Allah b. cAmir , CAtiyyah b. Qays al-Kilabl,
e. .
Ismac,l b. cAbd Allah al-Muhajir, Yahya b. al-Harith al-
· - 3
..
Dhimarl and Shurayh. b. Yazid al-Hadrami.

1. al-Nashr, vol. I, p.8.

2. For an explanation of this term see p.22Q, Chapter 7.
3. al-Nashr, vol.I, prLR - 9 .

184
 There had been no differences as regards readings reported
between the compani ons in the rakkan era. The first time we
noti ce thi s p'>hemotn€noni sin Madlnah after the Hi j rah duri ng the
lifetime of the Prophet. In this connection there are certain
companions who were reported to have differed in reading certain
ahruf
. of the Qur1an and who came to the Prophet for arbitration .
Everyone of them used to support his reading by stating that he
had been taught it in that way from the Prophet himself. For
example cUmar and Hisham were reported to have differed before the
Prophet; each of them referred his reading to the Prophet, who
asserted that the Qur1an had been revealed in both ways,l These
differences in readings continued even after the compilation of
CUthman, although men were now ordered to read and teach the Qur1an
according to the CUthmanic masahif and the teaching of authorised
Qurra ' . Thus all readings which did not correspond with the
c Uthmanic masahif were rejected and regarded as shadhdh.
- 2 Ibn
..
Manzur in his Lisan al-cArab adopts this view, quoting in support
3
al-Azhari, Ibn Mujahid, and Ibn al-Anbari.
al-Zajjaj is quoted as having said that it is not permissible
to read any reading which does not correspond with the orthography
of the CUthmanic masahif on the grounds that it is sunnah to follow
.,
1. Bukhari, vol.VI, pp.482-483.
2. Munjid, pp.16-l7, al-Nashr, vol.I, p.14, Lata'if,
vol.I, p.64 and Itqan, vol.I, pp.213-2l4.
3. Lisan al-cArab, vol.X, p.386.

185
them and read according to them. l Ibn al-Jazari reports on the
authority of cUmar and Zayd b. Thabit among the companions and
of their followers Ibn al-Mukandir, cUrwah b. al~Zubayr,
cUmar b. cAbd al-cAziz and cAmir al-Shacbi that they said that
Qira'ah is sunnah and that it is taught by the salaf to their
descendents, and thus any reading should be according to it. 2
This statement, according to al-Bayhaqi and Ismacil al-Qadi,
.
is to be interpreted to the effect that we should follow any
reading of the salaf which is consistent with the CUthmanic

.
masahif
. and that it is forbidden to disagree with the orthography
of the masahif. 3

The development of the conditions for accepted readings

The companions and their followers used to read the Qur1an as they
had been taught by the Prophet and by those who were authorised by
him to teach others. The only condition for the authenticity and
acceptability of a Qira'ah was that it should be read in accordance
with riwayah, since whenever they differed ln reading they used to
refer it back to the riwayah, stating that they had been taught it
by the Prophet. 4 We also find the followers referring their readings to
prominent Qurra- l
of the companions such as c Ubayy b . Ka c b ,

1. Ibraz al-Macanf, p.397.

2. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.17.
3. al-Ibanah, pp.69-73, Itgan, vol.I, p.2l1.
4. Bukhar1, vol.VI, p.482.

186
cAbd Allah b. Mascud and Zayd b. Thabit.l Accordingly the
scholars agreed unanimously that in transmitting the Q~ra'ah

it must be learnt directly from the Qar,1 who was taught it

according to an isnad traced back to the Prophet, on the grounds
that this had been the practice with the Qur1an, as the Prophet
used to learn it from Gabriel and taught it to his companions
accordingly.2 After the compilation of CUthman the Qurra were
l

all asked to read only according to the CUthmanic masahif. For

. .
this reason the personal codices were collected and destroyed. 3
Eventually the CUthmanic masahif dominated all the cities (amsar)
.
(with some slight resistance, for instance as in the case of Ibn
Mas cud 4 and Ibn Shunbudh 5).
al-Qastallanl
. maintains that some people of innovation

. .
(Bidcah) started reading the Qur1an from the masahif without depending
on riwayah or transmission 0f isnad in order to support their
theological views, such as the reading attributed to certain
MuCtazilites "Wa-kallama Allaha Musa takl,man" while the authentic
reading is "Wa-kallama A1lahu Musa takllman" (S.IV, 64). Another
example of such an unauthentic reading was attributed to certain
ShiCites; "Wa-ma kuntu muttakhidha al-mudillayn cadudan", to

1: a1-Ja c burl, Kanz al-Macanl, fo1.15.

2. Bukharl, vo1.VI, pp.48l-483.
3. ibid., pp.485-486 and 482-483.
4. See p.42 of Chapter 2 above.
5. See p.195 below

187
interpret it as referring to Abu Bakr and cUmar , while the
authentic reading is lIal-Mudillinll (S.XVIII, 51) with plural
instead of dual.
He argues that ln this way the scholars chose certain Qurra l

from each city to which the CUthmanic masahif were sent on the
basis of authenticity, integrity, wide knowledge, long experience
..aa tuPt~'

in teaching Qira'at, correspondence of their readings with the

orthography of CUthmanic masahif
. . and the consensus of the people
of their cities on accepting them. l al-Tabari is quoted in his
Kitab al-Qira'at as having authenticated all readings provided
-.~---~=~~~.

that they corresponded with the orthography of CUthmanic masahif

. .
and were transmitted from the Prophet with authentic isnad. 2
Ibn MUjahid introducesrmor~onditions, considering in his evaluation
of Qira'ah the Qari' himself rather than the Qira'ah. According
to his criteria the acceptability of a Qira'ah requires the"following
conditions:
a. The Qari' should be perfect'in his memorisation of the
Qur1an.
c -
b. He should have knowledge of different ways of I rab,
Qira'at and Lughat.
c. He must rely on riwayah (narration) and isnad.
d. There must be consensus of the people of his city on
his Qira'ah.

1. Lata'if al-Isharat, vol.I, p.66.

2. al-Ibanah, p.53.

188
Ibn Mujahid (324/935) asserts that the seven Qurra l
of Hijaz, Iraq
and Sham whose readings he collected in his Kitab al-Sabcah were the
- c-
descendants of the Tabi un and that their Qira'at were accepted
unanimously in their own cities and other neighbouring cities. l
In connection with the conditions for accepted readings a new
development took place when Makki b. Abl Talib studied and
classified them in his al-Ibanah considering in his evaluation the
Qira'ah itself rather than the Qurra'. According to him any
Qira'ah is acceptable if it agrees with the following three
conditions:
a. Its transmission from the Prophet should be authentic.
b. It should be sound linguistically.
c. Its orthography should agree with one of the
CUthmanic masahif. 2
..
3
Ibn al-cArabl (543~148) in his al-cAwasim
. Min al-Qawasim
. attributes
these three conditions to certain unnamed scholars and gives them
approval. 4 Ibn al-Jazarl adopts Makki's conditions with slight
modifications as follows:
1. Soundness of the isnad.
2. Consistency with the Arabic language in any of the
ways of fluency, even if it is lesser in eloquence.
3. Agreement with the orthography of one of the CUthmanic
masahif, either directly, such as the reading Malik
(5:1: 3), or indirectly, i.e. in a way which is consistent
5
with the orthography, e.g. the reading Malik.

1. Kitab al-Sabcah, p.87.

2. al-Ibanah, pp.5l, 90-91.
3. Edited by Talibl,
. 2 vols .
4. ibid., vol. II, p.485.
5. al-Nashr, vol. I, p.9.
189
 He elsewhere used to opt for the tawatur (successiveness of
isnad) of Qira'ah,l but changed this to soundness only on the
grounds that if there is tawatur then there is no need to seek
other conditions. 2
The soundness of isnad here means that it should consist of
more than a~ad (isolated reports) and that although it may not be
mutawatir it should at least be mashhur. This view is supported
by Makkl, al-Baghawl, al-Sakhawi, Abu Shamah and Ibn a1-Jazari. 3
According to them a reading is acceptable when it comes through
a sound mashhur isnad which is supported by its fluency in Arabic
and its agreement with the orthography of one of the c Uthmanic
-

masahif. If one of these three conditions is not met the reading

should not be accepted and it should be regarded as shadhdh. 4
In support of his views on the three conditions for accepted
readings Ibn al-Jazari quotes other scholars before him, Makki,
al-Danl, al-Mahdawi, Abu Shamah and a1-Kawashi and he adds that
5 Ibn a1-
this is the view of all the salaf without exception.

.
cArabl, Ibn Hajar al-CAsqalanl, al-Qastallanl
. and al··Suyuti
. opt
for this, quoting many other named and unnamed scholars as having
' V1ew.
supporte d th 1S . 6

1. Munjid, p.15.
2. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.13.
3. al-Ibanah, p.5l, !l-Murshid al-Wajlz, pp.145, 172 and a1-Nashr,
vo 1 . I, p. 13.
4. ibid.
5. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.9,44, and Itgan, vol.I, p.2l0.
6. Ibn al-cArabi, al-cAwa~im, vo1.II, p.485, Fatb al-Barl, vol. IX,
p.32, Lata'if al-Isharat, vol.I, p.6? and Itgan, vo1.I, p.225.

190
 However according to al-Jacbur~ the only condition for an
accepted reading is the authenticity of its isnad which necessarily
includes the other requirements of fluency and orthography,l
while according to al-Hudhall in his al-Kamil all readings agreeing
with the masahif are accepted provided that they are not in
contradiction to the Ijma c . 2
According to a1-Zurqanl the reason why certain scholars did
-
not make tawatur obligatory in the conditions of the accepted
readings is that since the Qur1an is mutawatir, for the
acceptability of a Qira'ah the three conditions might be enough
to give knowledge which is the same as mutawatir. 3
a1-Nuwayr~ (897/1492) objects to the view discussed above which does

not make tawatur obligatory, because according to him the majority of

scholars like al-Ghazzall, Ibn al-Hajib, Ibn cAbd al-Barr, Ibn
CAtiyyah, al-Nawaw1 and al-Zarkashl all demand tawatur as a condition
for the acceptability of a reading. In addition he states that
the view which does not impose the condition of tawatur is an
innovation and stands against the consensus of jurisprudents,
Muhaddithun
. and others. Moreover he asserts that Makki was the
first one to differ and that he was followed by certain late scholars. 4
al-Banna ' al-Dimyati following al-Nuwayrl asserts that Makk, was the

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.13 and Itqan, vol.I, p.211.

2. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.37.
-. c-
3. Manah,l al- Irfan, vol.I, p.427. . nd_
4. al-Qawl al-J~dhdh.li-man Qar~'a Bi-al-Sh~dhdhJ~~~a'if a'-Ish~r~t,
vol.I, p.70.

191
first one who did not impose the condition of tawatur for
accepted readings. l

.
al-Safaqisl 0118/1706) argues that according to Usulls, Fuqaha I

l
and the Qurra the tawatur is essential for the authenticity of a
Qira'ah. Accordingly a Qira'ah cannot be authentic with only a
sound chain even if it agrees with the orthography of the masahif
and fluency in Arabic as was maintained by Makkl followed by
2
Ibn al-Jazarl. He adds that this madhhab of Makkl and Ibn al-
Jazarl is not reliable because it does not differentiate between
what is Qur1an and what is not. Furthermore, according to him,
differing versions given by the Qurra l
do not affect the
successiveness of a Qira'ah, because it can be successive according
to one group of Qurra even if it is not according to all of them.
l

According to him therefore shadhdh is what is not successive. 3

Among jurisprudents the majority do not accept a Qira'ah except
~ :4l!!;"'1}.~~__
~!r''''l'''-

with tawatur of its transmission. Only the Hanafites accept the

shuhrah of an isnad. 4
However, Ibn Miqsam (332/943) is reported to have used to read
according to the two conditions of agreement with the CUthmanic masahif
and fluency in the Arabic language. This reading of Ibn Miqsam,
because of its omission of the first condition of authenticity of

1. Ithaf Fudala'al-Bashar, p.6.

2. Ghayth al-Naf c , p.6.
3. ibid., p.7.
4. al-Zafzaf, al-Tacrlf bj-al-Qur~an wa-al-Had,th, pp.54-55.

192
isnad was abandoned and rejected by the consensus of the scholars.
He was questioned by leading scholars of his time and was forbidden
to continue, after which he is reported to have repented and
returned to the consensus of the scholars,l
Ibn al-Baqillani regards those readings which conflict with

. .
the CUthmanic masahif as having non-successive chains (Akhbar
Ahad)
. and maintains that it is not permissible to read the Qur'an
except in successive transmission. He adds that it has been
agreed among all the Muslims that it is not permissible to write
or to read the Qur1an according to these anom~lous shadhdh readings. 2
-
However all scholars including Ibn al-Jazari, regard any
oJ

reading which omits the first condition of transmission as false

and fabricated, and maintain that whoever reads accordingly
- 3
intentionally is to be considered an unbeliever (kafir).
The orthographical differences between the CUthmanic masahif
are known from various works and books composed on the subject by
early scholars who had seen the c Uthmanic
- -
masahif
. . and studied them.
In this respect reference may be made to Abu CUbayd's Fada'il al-
C
Qur'an,4 Ibn Mu3ahid ' s Kitab al-Sab cah,5 Dan,' s al-Muqni f, Rasm

1. Nukat al-Intisar, p.60, Munjid, p.52, al-Nashr, vol.I, p.17 and

•
Ghayat al-NihaTah.- vol. It, pp.124-125.
2. Nukat al-Intisar, pp.10l-102 .
•
3. Munjid, p.l'.
4. Edited by Jawhari, Makkah, 1398-1973.
5. Edited by Shawqi Dayf,
. Cairo, 1972 .

193
 Mas~hif
. .al-Ams~rl . F~ Naqt al-Mas~hif2 and al-Mahdaw~ls
. and al-Muhkam
- - - 3
Hija l Masahif
.. al-Amsar.
. In the anonymous Muqaddimat Kitab al-
Maban, f~ Na:m al-Macan~4 chapter five is devoted to the question of
Ikhtil~f al-Masahif. 5 Finally the older books of Tafs~r discuss
theseortho3raphical differences throughout the Qurlan, for example
the Jami c al-Bay~n cAn Talw~l Ay al-Qur1an of al-Tabari,6
.
Tafs~r al-Kashsh~f of al-Zamakhshar,7 and al-Jami c li-AQkam
- - 8
al-Qurlan of al-Qur~ubi.

The condition of conformity with the orthography of one of

the CUthmanic masahif for the acceptability of any Qura1ah is agreed
upon unanlmous 1y. 9
o
Thus Malik b. Anas is reported to have said
that anyone who reads according to personal codices not corresponding
with the CUthmanic masahif should not lead prayer. 10 According to
. .
Ibn al-Jazar;, the CUthm~nic masahif were written down according to
the final revealed version, and the people of every city read

..
according to their masahif, having been taught by companions who used

1. Edited by Otto Pretzl, Istanbul, 1932.

2. Edited by cIzzat, Damascus, 1972.
3 • Ed 1Ot ed by M. Rama d-an ln
. MaJ'allat Machad al-MakhtLitiit al-CArabiyyah,
•
vol.XIX Part I, 1973, pp--..7=-=5=---.....'4'li""'O'...-.------
4. Anon., published with the Muqaddimah of Ibn CAtiyyah ln
Muqaddimatan, edt by Jeffery; Cairo~ 1954.
5. Mugaddimatan, pp.117-133.
~e.

6. Publ ished, it) 18 vol's,_ Cairo. 1388/1968 and edt Shakir (incomplete)
in 10 vuls, Cairo, 1347-89/1955-69 .
. ..
7. Published, ,- ... 4 vols, Beirut, 1366/1947.
8. Published, 20 vdls in 10, Cairo, 1966.
9. al-Nawawl, al-Tibyan fl Adab Hamalat al-Qur1an, pp.98-99.
10. Munj i d, p. 17 .

194
themselves to read according to the teachings of the Prophet.
The followers continued accordingly using the same method of the
companions in teaching their students. l Ibn Shunbudh, however,
is reported to have read in certain ways differing from the
--------
c - -
Uthmanic masahif.These differences were the same as those
found in certain personal codices such as that of Ibn Mas c ud. 2
These readings of Ibn Shunbudh were objected to by the consensus
of the scholars of his time who met in Baghdad in 323 A,H. Under
the chairmanship of Ibn MUjahid and with the support of Ibn Muqlah
..... . -••••.. I' •

the Abbasid wazlr sentenced him to be beaten and forbade him to

. 3
con t lnue. Since no one is reported to have opposed this condition,
agreement with the orthography of the CUthmanic masahif was insisted
upon, to the exclusion of the personal codices of certain companions
and their followers which were reported to have differed in certain
ahruf from the CUthmanic masahif. 4 Thus every reading which does
not correspond to the orthography of the CUthmanic masahif was not
accepted and was regarded as shadhdh even if its isnad was authentic
5
and its language was sound.
The final condition, of being consistent with fluent Arabic,
is apparently because the Qur1an has been revealed "In the perspicuous
Arabic tongue" (S.XXVI, 195).

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.7-8.

2. al-Fihrist, pp.34-35, al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.190.
3. al-Fihrist, p.34, al-Tibyan, p.99, al-Murshid al-Wajlz, pp.188-189
and Munjid, p.17.
4. For more information, see Chapter 4 above.
5. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.16-17.

195
 As regards the degree of fluency in Arabic, there are
arguments among the scholars. In this connection certain readings
were objected to by some scholars on the grounds that they were
not in accordance with the most fluent practice. l In conclusion,
as Ibn al-Jazari says, if a Qira'ah is transmitted in an authentic
isnad and corresponds with the orthography of one of the CUthmanic
masahif, then it is acceptable if its language is acceptable whether
2
or not another reading may be more fluent.

The kinds of readings

Views differed concerning the kinds of readings according to the
conditions for accepted readings as discussed above. According
to Makki b. Abi Talib al-Qaysi the readings. are classified into the
following categories:
1. The accepted readings which agree with the three conditions.
2. The non-accepted readings which:
a. disagree with the orthography of CUthmanic masahif.
(This kind is refused, he says, for two reasons,
firstly, because it is aoad (isolated reports)
which is not acceptable in the Qur'an, and secondly,
it contradicts the consensus.)
b, do not have authentic transmission.

1. This will be treated in detail in the following chapter, pp.249f.

2. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.15.

196
 c. even though their transmission is sound although
not mutaw~ti~ and corresponds with the CUthm~nic
ma:~I:i f', do not conform wi'tll the Arabic 1anguage. 1
Makkl does not give examples for the sake of
brevity.
However, Ibn al-Jazarl, after quoting Makkl, provides examples
for each kind according to Makkl·s classification as follows:
1. Examples of the first kind are the two ways of reading
-
~-......-
Ma 1i k and Mali k, (1,4).
2. The examples of the second kind are as follows:
a. The reading attributed to Ibn Mas c-ud "Wa-al-~akara
_-h.

~a-·l-untha"
.
which is in the mushaf. with addition of
1I~1a Khalaga" as "Wa-tt\a khalaqa al-dhakara wa-al~.mthall
(XCII, 3).
b. The reading attributed to Ibn al-Sumayf,C ~ and Abu
al-Simal IINunahhlka
.. bi-badanika ~,i-takuna li-man
khalafaka ~yah" while the authentic reading is
IINu""najjlka b'i-badanika li-takuna Ii-lOan khalfaka ayahll .
.....
c. The reading attributed to Zayd and Abu Hatim . on the
authori ty of Va cqub II Adriya a.-ga rl bun II which should be
read as II Adrl i:,-qarlbun II wi thout fa th. This last
kind, however, is rare or non-existent according to
Ibn al-Jazari, and he only quotes this here to give
an example. 2
Ibn al-Jazarl divides the readings as regards their authenticity
into:

1. al-Ibanah, pp.5l-52.
2. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.14-l6.

197
 a. The authentic readings which are consistent with all
three conditions required for the accepted reading.
b. Non-authentic readings which do not meet one of the
con d 1't.lons. 1
He elsewhere divides them into three different categories, the first
being the famous (Mashhur) which is accepted by all people such as
the readings of the accepted narrators and certain reliable books
An example of the ways in which Mashhur readings vary
among themselves is in their treatment of madd (prolongation).
According to Ibn al-Jazari the variations in. madd go back to the
seven ahruf
. revealed to the Prophet, as do all the variations in
accepted readings, which all have the status of successive readings
(Qira1at Mutawatirah)? He interprets mutawatir as that which is
transmitted by a group of people (without a fixed number of narrators),
narrating on the authority of another group to the end of the chain.
3
He adds that mutawatir, thus defined, gives knowledge.
The second category is that which is not accepted by the people
and is not famous (Mashhur).4 The third category is that which has
a sound chain and is consistent with Arabic, but does not correspond
with the CUthmanic masahif. This category is called shadhdh because
. . 5
it differs from the orthography of the CUthmanic masahif.

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.15.

2. Munjid, pp.16-l7.
3. ibid., p.15.
4. ~id, pp.16-l7.

5. Munjid, p~.16-l7.

198
 c - -
al- Asqalani divides the readings into three categories as follows:
a. The readings which correspond with the orthography
. .
of the CUthmanic masahif, but are transmitted with
strange isnads. He regards these as the same as
the above.
b. The readings which differ from or do not correspond
with the CUthmanic masahif.
.. He says that this kind
is not regarded as Qur'an.
c. The readings which correspond with the orthography of
.
the CUthmanic masahif. and are transmitted in mashhur
isnads and accepted by the scholars generation after
generation. This kind of reading is according to
him acceptable, and he gives the readings of YaCqub
and Abu- Ja c far as an example. 1
al-Qastallanl
. classifies readings into the following categories:
a. The readings which are agreed to be successive readings.
b. The readings about whose successiveness there is a
difference of opinion.
c. The readings which are ag~~.~..to be anomalous (shadhdh). 2
According to Jalal al-Dln al-Bulqlnl (824/1421) the readings are
divided into three categories:
1. Mutawatir: which are the seven prominent readings.
2. Ahad: being the readings of the three Qurra completing
l

the then. In addition the readings attributed to the

companions are regarded as the same as Ahad.

1. Fath al-Barl, vol.IX, p.32 .

•
2. Lata'if, vol.I, p.170.

199
 3. Shadhdh: being the readings of the followers such as
al-Acmash, Yahya b. Waththab and Ibn Jubayr and their
1 .
1 ike.

al-Suyutl quoting with approval Ibn al-Jazarl objects to this Vlew

of al-BulqLnl on the grounds that acceptability of a Qira'ah should
be subject only to the three conditions for an accepted reading. 2
In conclusion, al-Suyut, classifies the
•
kinds of reading as regards their acceptability ln greater detail,
giving an exact definition of each kind as follows:
1. al-Mutawatir, which is narrated by a group on the
authority of another to the end of chain, and for whom
it would be impossible that they should agree on
something false. The example of this kind is what all
narrators on the authority of the seven readers agree
upon transmitting from them. The greater part of all
readings is in this category.
2. al-Mashhur, which is narrated with a sound chain, but is
not mutawatir, with the condition that it should correspond
to one of the c Uthmanic
- -
masahif,
. .
and be consistent with
the Arabic language. An example of this is where the
readings of the seven Qurra vary.
l
He asserts that
only these kinds are permissible in reading the Qur1an
and that they should be accepted without any doubt.
3. al-Ahad, which are narrated with a sound isnad but are
.
not consistent with the Arabic language or the orthography
of the masahif. Readings of this kind are ahad even if
•
their isnad ;s mashhur. This kind is not accepted and

1. I tga n, vo 1 . I, p. 210.
2. ibid.

200
 it is not permissible to read the Qur1an according
to it. An example of this is found in the
al-Mustadrak of al-~akim who reports on the authority
of the Prophet the reading (rafarif) which is found in
.
. as (rafraf), and the reading (Qurrat)
the mushaf
which in the mushaf is (Qurrat) (S.XXXII, 17).
4. al-Shadhdh, that which has no sound chain, for
example the reading of (Malaka) and~ucbadu) which
according to accepted readings are (Maliki) and
(Nacbudu) (S.I, 4-5).
5. -c
al-Maw~u , that which has no orlgln or is fabricated
such as the readings compiled by al-Khuza c, which were
attributed to Abu Hanlfah, e.g. (Yakhsha Allahu
c - - C'-
Min Ibadihi al- Ulama1a) where the authentic reading
is (Yakhsha Allaha min cibadihl al- c Ylama1u)
- (S.XXXV,28)
6. al-Mudraj, which is similar to al-Hadith al-Mudraj,
i.e. what is added to the text of the Qur1an as tafsir,
e.g. the reading attributed to Sacd b. Abl Wacqas,
.
with the addition of Min Umm after Wa-Lahu Akhun Aw Ukhtun
(S.IV, 12 ) and the reading attribute~ to Ibn cAbbas
with the addition of Fi Mawasim al-Hajj
. to Laysa CAlaykum
Junahun
. An Tabtaghu Fadlan Min Rabbikum) (S.II, 197 ).1

The successive and anomalous, readings

The views of the scholars agree upon the successiveness of the seven
distinguished readings of the amsar
. which were compiled by
Thus.they were accepted and

1. Itgan, vol.I, pp.215-216.

201
canonised by the consensus of the scholars with their fourteen
~c,,;:. ~-..- . 1
versions. Many books were composed by prominent philologists ln
support of al-Sabcah in their phonetical aspects and linguistic
2
features. Ibn MUjahid himself regards other readings than his
al-Sabcah as shadhdh and his view was adopted by a group of scholars, 3
although certain others~ while they agree with Ibn Mujahid on the
successiveness of his al-Sabcah~ add to them the three readings of
Abu Jacfar, YaCqub and Khalaf. Thus according to this view the
successive readings are ten. 4 In this connection many books were
composed on the readings of eight, nlne or ten Qurra ' , adding one
or more to the list of Ibn Mujahid. 5 Ibn al-Jazari adopts this
view and supports it most strongly and states that the ten readings
have been accepted by the salaf and their descendants, for there is
no objection reported from them. Thus according to Ibn al-Jazari
the ten readings were accepted by the people unanimously. He
studies the chains (asanli) of the three additional readings to prove
.
that they have the same status as the seven succeSSlve rea d.lngs. 6
In support of his view he quotes Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn ~ayyan to the

1. Lata'if al:Isharat, vol.l, p.170, and

al-Bahr,
. vol.II, p.324 .
2. Abu cAli al-Farisl, al-Hujjah,
. edited by al-Najdi and others
1st ed.,Cairo 1966. Ibn Khalawayh, al-~ujjah, edited by Mukarram,
2nd ed., Beirut 1977.
3. Ibn Khald~n, al-Mugaddimah, p.479.
4. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.38-43, Munjid, pp.15-l6.
5. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.43 and pp.58-98.

202
effect that the seven readings are different from the seven ahruf
and were introduced for the first time by Ibn Mujahid ln the fourth
century, while before him the ten readings were known ln the amsar
and accepted by the people. In addition, according to them the
ten readings are successive, but if there are certain people who
do not know them all, they should not reject what they do not know. l
Moreover, Ibn al-Jazari lists the names of prominent Qurra or some
l

of them from the time of Ibn Mujahid in the fourth century until the
time of Ibn al-Jazarl himself in the ninth century.2 In conclusion
he asserts that the ten readings are equally successive without
. 3
excep t lone
Finally he devotes chapter five of his Munjid al-Muqri',n
to quotations from scholars supporting his view, referring to
4
al-Baghawl, Ibn Taymiyyah and al-Ja c buri.
According to Ibn al-Hajib the seven readings are successive
- 5
except in certain ways of pronunciation like the madd and imalah.
Ibn Khaldun opts for this view, approving the successiveness of only
·
t he seven rea d lngs. 6 This view was rejected among the scholars on
grounds that the seven readings were transmitted from the salaf with

1. ibid., pp.28-29, c.f. Fatawa, vol .XIII, ~p.390-394.

2. Munjid, pp.29-45.
3. ibid., pp.45-46.
4. ibid., pp.46-49.
5. Munjid, p.S7.
6. Muqaddima~, p.479.

203
all their asanld, orthography~ linguistic aspects including phonetics
and ways of pronunciation. As regards the madd for example the Qurra l

agreed unanimously on the existence of prolongation, but differed

only concerning the degree of madd. l
Abu Shamah regards the seven readings as successive when they
agree with each other. Thus when they differ they are not
2
successive. However, Ibn al-Jazarl objects to this view as
contradicting to the view of the majority. In support of this view
he states that each one of the seven readings were transmitted in
successive chains and that what Ibn Mujahid had done was only to
select two ruwat each from among many.3
Furthermore, according to Ibn al-Jazarl the ten readings are
all successive in agreeing or disagreeing with each other and
concerning all their aspects. 4
In support of the ten readings many books are written. The
first author known to us as having composed a book on them 1S

al-Khuza c i (d.4Q8/l0l7) al-Muntaha- fial-Qira'at

- --
al- cAshr. 5 He was
followed by Abu Ali al-Malikl (d.438/l046) Kitab al-Raw~ah fi al-
Qira'at al-Ihda cAsharah, being the ten readings and the reading of

1. Munj i ~ P P • :5 7 ~. 62-- , and Lata'if

. al-Isharat, vol.I, pp.78-79.
2. al-Murshid al-Wajiz, p.177, and Munjid, p.63.
3. Munjid, ~p.62~67.
4. ibid., p.54.
5. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.93, and Lata'if al-Isharat, vol.I, p.86.

204
a 1- Acmas.h 1 Ab u Nasr a1-Baghdad,':' (d.442/1050) a1-Mufid
. - Fi- al-Qira'at

a1- cA s hr, 2 I bn Sh,ta

':' - ( d .443/1051) a1-Tidhkar
. - Fi- a1-Qira- ' at
- al- cAshr, 3

Ibn Faris (d.450/1058) ~:Jamic Fi a1-Qira ' at a1- cAshr,4 Abu a1-
c Fi a1-Qira at a1- cAshr,5
.
Hasan a1-Farisi (do461/1068) Kitab a1-Jami '
Ibn JUbarah a1-Maghribi (d.465/1072) a1-Kami1 Fi a1-Qira ' at a1- cAshr
wa-a1-Arba cah a1-Za'idah- c
A1ayha, 6 Ibn Suwar
-
(d.496/1102) Kitab-
a1-
Mustanir F, a1-Qira ' at a1- cAshr,7 Abu <All a1-Khayyat, (do499 /1106)
•
c
Kitab a1-Muhadhdhab Fl a1-Qira ' at a1- Ashr,8 Abu a1- c Izz a1-Qa1anisl
a1-Wasit; (d.521/1127), Kitab Irshad a1-Mubtadi ' Watadhkirat a1-
•
Muntahi Fi a1-Qira'at a1- cAshr,9 Ibn Khayrun (d.539/1144) Kitab a1-
- - - - c - - - - c 10
Mudih .
. . Fi a1-Qira ' at a1- Ashr and a1-Miftah Fi a1-Qira ' at a1- Ashr,
- -
a1-Shahrazuri (d.550/1155) Kitab - -
a1-Misbah Fi-
a1-Qira- -
at a1- c
Ashr. 11
. . '
a1-Wasit; (d.740/1339) a1-Kanz Fl a1-Qira at a1- cAshr and a1-Kifa
. '
yah Fi a1-Qira'at a1- cAshr,12 Ibn a1-Jundi (d.769/1367) Kitab a1-
- a1- cAshr, 13 Sibt a1-Khayyat
Bustan Fi- a1-Qira- ' at - (d. 541/1146) .
...

1. a1-Nashr, vol. I , p.74.

2. ibid.
3. ibid. , p.84.
4. i bi d.
5. i bi do, p.75.
6. i bi d. , p.91.
7. i bi do, p.82.
8. i bi d. , p.84.
9. i bi do, po86.
100 ibid.
11 0 ibid., p.93.
120 i bi d. , p.94.
13. i bi do, p.97.

205
Iradat a1-Ta1ib Fi a1-Qira'at a1- cAshr,1 Abu Nasr
. Mansur
. b. Ahmad
. a1- C
Iraql
(d. after 420/1029) a1-Isharah F, a1-Qira'at a1- cAshr,2 Ibn a1-
Jazarl (d.833/1429) a1-Nashr Fl a1-Qira ' at a1- cAshr,3 Tagrib al-Nashr
Fi- a1-Qira'at
--
a1- cAshr, 4 Tahbir
.
- -
a1-Taysir fi Qira'at a1-A'immah a1-
cAsharah, 5 and Tayyibat a1-Nashr Fi- a1-Qira- -at a1- cAshr. 6
'
We also find on eight readings books composed by Ibn Ghalbun
(d.399/1008) al-Tadhkirah Fl al-Qira'at a1-Thaman,7 Abu Macshar
(d.448/l056) Kitab al-Talkhls Fl al-Qira'at al-Thaman,8 Abu CAbd
Allah al-Hadraml (d.560/ll64) Kitab al-Mufld Fl al-Qira'at a1-Thaman
being an abridgement of Kitab al-Talkhls of Abu Macshar (mentioned
__ <'101-'.~~~""__ ~-' .--'~ •

above)9 and Sibt a1-Khayyat (d.54l/ll46) al-Mubhij Fi al-Qira'at al-

. . al-Acmash,
Thaman adding to them the readings of Ibn Muhaysin,
10
Khalaf and al-Yazidl.
Finally we find certain scholars who devoted their books to the
readings of the three additional Qurra' or only one of them, for
- - c - 11
example the books of al-Dani (d.444/l052) Mufradat Ya gUb,

1. a1-Nashr, vo1.I, p.84.

2. ibid., p.93.
3. Edited by al-Dabba c , 2 vo1s, Beirut (n.d.) .
.

ibid. , p.77.
i bi d. , p.93.
i bi d. , p.83.
i bi d. , p.60.

206
 ..
Ibn al-Fahham (d.516/1122) Mufradat YaCgub,l and Abu Muhammad al-Sacldi
(died after 650/1252) c - 2
Mufradat Ya gub, Ibn al-Jazari (d.833/1429)
al-Durrah al-Mutammimah Fi al-Qira'at al-cAshr being the readings
of Abu Jacfar, YaCqub and Khalaf. Sharb al-Samnudi cAla Matn al-
Durrah al-Mutammimah Fi al-Qira'at al- cAshr. 4

Definition of shadhdh
According to Ibn al-Salah, followed by Abu Shamah and Ibn al··Jazari,
•
shadhdh is the reading which has been narrated as Qur1an without a
successive transmission or at least a famous (mashhur) transmission
accepted by the people. He refers to the material contained in the
book of Ibn Jinni called al-Muhtasib fi Tabyin vJujuh Shawadhdh al-
- - Wa-al-ldah
Qira'at . ,. - cAnha-5 as an examp 1e 0 f th'lS k'In.
d 6

According to Makki and Ibn al-Jazarl, shadhdh is the reading

which contradicts the orthography of the c Uthmanic
- -
masahif
. . or the
Arabic although it might be authentic in its chain. Alternatively
it has been transmitted in an unauthentic chain although it corresponds
with the orthography and fluent Arabic.

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.75-77.

2. ibid., p.98.
3. Edited by a1-Qa91 and Qam~awi, 1st ed., 1393-1973, Cairo, Aleppo.
4. Edited by al-Qabba-c , Cairo, (n.d.).
5. Edi ted by Nas.if and others, 2 vol s., Ca i ro, 1386-89/1966-69 .
6. a1-Murshid a1-Wajiz, p.184 and Munjid, p.18.

207
 Alternatively again it corresponds with the three conditions,
but it is not famous (mashhur) and was not accepted by the people. l
However, according to the majority of scholars shadhdh is the reading
which is not transmitted in a successive manner.2
Thus al-Qas~allanl states that shadhdh is not regarded as Qur1an
because it lacks the condition of tawatur. In support of his view
he quotes u~ulis, Fuqaha ' and other scholars, referring to al-Ghazzali,

.
Ibn al-Hajib, al-Qadl
. cAdud al-Din, al-Nawawi and al-Sakhawland the
majority of scholars as objecting to shadhdh readings. 3
al-Nawawi is reported to have said that it is not permitted to
read shadhdh in or outside prayers. Moreover Ibn cAbd al-Barr is
reported to have stated that the scholars agreed unanimously in
- - c- .
rejecting shadhdh readings. 4 al-Qastallani refers to al-Adhru i,
al-Zarkashi, al-Asnawl, al-Nasa'i- al-Tirmidhi- and al- c Asqalani
- -
as
having forbidden reading with shadhdh. 5
Furthermore al-Sakhawl is quoted by his pupil Abu Shamah with
his approval as having said that it is forbidden to read the Qur1an
with shadhdh readings, because they contradict the consensus of the
6
Muslims and the tawatur.

1. al-Qira'at al-Shadhdhah, p.10. See 197 above.

2. ibid.
3. Lata'if al-Isharat, vol.I, pp.72-73.
4. ibid., p.73.
5. ibid., p.74.
6. al-Murshid al-Wajiz, pp.181-l82.

208
 As regards use of the anomalous readings al-~afaqisl quotes
al-Nuwayrl as having allowed the use of shadhdh in the
interpretation of the Qur1an for linguistic purposes and also its
use as a source to substantiate arguments in Islamic law, although
this is only according to a certain group of jurisprudents, since
the majority of scholars disagree with this opinion. According to
al-Nuwayri the earlier scholars who were reported to have read with
shadhdh must have read it only for the two purposes mentioned above,
but never as Qur,an. l
How does one distinguish shadhdh? Ibn al-Jazari answering this
question states that the books composed on Qira'at are divided into
two categories according to their authors:
a. Those who compiled the accepted readings and whose
readings the people agree with unanimously, like the
two books entitled al-Ghayah of Ibn Mahran and al-
Hamadanl, Ibn Mujahid, al-Sabcah, al-Qalanisl,
Irshad al-Mubtadi ' , al-Danl, al-Tayslr, al-Ahwazl,
Mujaz, Makkl, al-Tab~irah, Ibn Shurayb, al-Kafl,
Abu Macshar al-Tabarl,
. al-Talkh;s,
.al-Safrawi,
.
al-Iclan, Ibn al-Fahham, al-Tajrld and al-Sha~ibl,
Hirz al-Amanl.
b. Those who compiled books or readings which they
received irrespective of their successiveness or
anomalousness, like the books of Sibt. al-Khayyat,
.
Abu Macshar, al-Hudhall, Shailhazuri, Abu
cAll al-Malikl, Ibn Faris and Abu cAll al-~hwazl.2

1. Ghayth al-Nafc , p.7.

2. Munjid, pp.18-19.

209
 Ibn al-Jazarl elsewhere attributes to certain unnamed
scholars the practice of accepting shadhdh readings which were
attributed to the personal codices of some companions and their
followers. He states that the majority of scholars object to
the shadhdh readings on the grounds that they are not mutawatir
and that even if they used to be authentic in transmission they
are now abrogated by the final revised version or by the consensus
of the companions on the CUthmanic masahif; or they had not been
transmitted as mutawatir; or they might not have been from the
seven ahruf. l

Development of the concept of shadhdh

After the compilation of the CUthmanic masahif, the readings
differing from the CUthmanic ones were regarded as shadhdh.
Thus it was made an obligatory condition for the authenticity of
any reading, that it should correspond with the orthography of
the CUthmanic masahif
. . and accordingly the readings contradicting
the CUthmanic masahif were abandoned and destroyed.
The first development was that Ibn Mujahid after introducing
his al-Sabcah, regarded the other readings rather than his
al-Sabcah as shadhdh. In this stage Ibn Jinnl composed his book
al-Muhtasib and Ibn Khalawayh wrote his two books al-Bad,c and
al-Mukhtasar. They both regarded the other readings over the

1. a1-Nashr, vol.I, pp.14-15.

210
seven readings compiled by Ibn Mujahid as shadhdh. Ibn Jinni
regards shadhdh as the readings which were not included in
Kitab al-Sabcah of Ibn Mujahid. l He attributes to the people
of his time the description of them as shadhdh. 2 Accordingly
thus what is meant by shadhdh here does not necessarily mean that
it is linguistically anomalous or Lughah Shadhdhah. 3
The next step was the introduction of the three conditions
for the accepted readings as a result of which any reading missing
one of the three conditions is regarded as shadhdh. This had the
effect of accommodating the other three readings while four
readings over the ten readings were finally regarded as shadhdh.
These four anomalous readings are as follows:
The Qari' His district 1st Rawl 2nd Rawi
1. al-Hasan al-Basri Basrah Shuja C al-Durl
.
(d.2l/614) (190/805) (246/860)

2. Ibn Muhaysin Makkah al-Bazzi Ibn Shunbudh

. .
(d.123/ 740) (250/864) (328/939)

3. al-A cmash a l-Shunbudhi a l-Mutawwi ci

(d.148/765) (388/998) (371/981)

4. Yahya Baghdad SUlayman b. Ahmad b. Farah

. al-Yazidi
(d.202/8l7) al-Hakam (303/915)4
(235/849)
•
1. al-Muhtasib,
. vol.I, P.32 .
2. ibid., pp.. 32-33.
3. ibid.
4. al-Qira'at al-Shadhdhah

211
 _I

These four readings are included in the work of al-Banna

al-Oimyati, Ithaf Fudala ' al-Bashar bi-al-Qir~'at al-ArbaCata
cAshar.l

The relationship between the Qira'at and the Qur1an

al-Zarkashl followed by al-Qastallanl and al-Banna ' differentiates

between the Qur1an and the Qira'at. According to him the Qur1an
is the revelation miraculously revealed to the Prophet while the
Qira'at are the orthographical, phonetical and linguistical
differences in the variations of readings of the Qur ' an. 2
. I n f a c. t- there is no major difference between the
authentic reading and the Qur1an and that the relation between them
is that of
'-
the part to the whole.
Howey e r,
connection between
although there 1S
-
an overlapping and close
the Qur1an and Qira'at this does not unite and
make them the same thing. Thu s the di fference between them
remains clearly distinguishable.
Ibn al-Jazarl does not make a comparison between the Qur1an and
'--

the Qira'at in their definitions, but he seems to have opted for the
definition of the Qira'at given byal-Zarkashl. He states that
Qira'at is the science of knowing the agreement of the transmitters

1. Edited by al-~abbac, Cairo, 1359.

2. al-Burhan f, cUlum al-Qur'an, vol.I, p.318, Lata'if al-Isharat,
vol.I, po..17G-171an·dIthaf fudala ' al-Bashar, p.S.
o

212
and their differing in the transmission of the Qur1an as regards
lughah and iCrab, and the orthographical differences between the
masahif. l

The compilation of Qira'at and the earliest compilers

The first step in the collection of Qira'at was that certain scholars
started collecting Qira'at and composing books on them, without
restricting· themselves to a fixed number of Qira'at. The first
scholar known to us as having composed a book on Qira'at is
-
Ya~ya b. Ya c mur (d.129/746) who is reported as having authored a
book on the Qira'at according to the CUthmanic masahif~ followed
by YaCqub b. Ishaq al-Hadraml (d.205/820) who composed a book on
.
Qira'at called al-Jami c . 3
According to Ibn al-Jazari the first author on the subject is
Abu CUbayd al-Qasim b. Sallam (d.224/ 83 8). His book is reported to
have included twenty five readings. 4 He was followed by many other
scholars who composed books on the Qira'at of the cities. Ahmad b.
Jubayr al-Kufl (d.258/87l) is reported to have written a book on the
~

- I
readings of the five cities, selecting a Qari' from each city. This
-c - --
was followed by the book of Isma il b. Is~aq al-Maliki (d.282/895)
which is said to have contained readings of twenty Qurra ' . After

1. Munjid, p.3.
2. Qurtubl, vol .1, p.63.
3. al-Zabldi, labagatal-Lughawiyyin wa-al-Nabwiyyfn, p.5l.
4. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.34 and Lata'if,
. vol.I, p.85 .

213
this came al-Tabari (d.3l0/922), whose book on Qira'at 1S reported
to have contained more than twenty readings and was followed by that
of al-Da3~n~ (d.324/935) which is reported to have included eleven
readings. They were followed by Ibn MUjahid (d.324/935) , the first
scholar known to have introduced the seven Qurra and to have
l

selected them from the five cities, Mad~nah" Makknh, Kufah, Basrah
.
and Sham (Damascus).l His book is entitled Kitab al-Sab cah. 2
The Qurra l whose readings were compiled by Ibn Mujahid are the
following:
The Qari ' His district
Nafi c (d.169/785) M~d;nah

Ibn Kath~r (d.120/737) Makkah

Ibn cAmir (d.118/736) Damascus
Abu cAmr (d.154/770) Basrah
.
cAsim (d.128/744) Kufah

Hamzah (d.156/772) Kufah

.
al-Kisa'i (d.189/804) Kufah
This work of Ibn Mujahid was criticised by certain scholars
of his time on the grounds that it had created confusion among the
common people between the two terms of the seven ahruf and the
. 1 rea d'1ngs. 3
seven canon1ca Accordingly for the purpose of removing

1. Lata'if, vol.I, pp.85-86 and al-Nashr, vol.II, pp.33-34.

2. Edited by Shawql Dayf,
. Cairo, 1972 .
3. al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.36-37 and Munjid, pp.70-71.

214
this claimed confusion certain scholars are reported to have
composed books on the Qira'at of only one Qari', or eight or ten
Qurra I • 1

In support of Ibn Mujahid's book, his pupil Abu Tahir

Ibn Abi Hashim states that people went too far and misunderstood
Ibn MUjahid, who was far beyond what people thought about him and
was more intelligent than to confuse the seven ahruf and the seven
readings. 2 Furthermore, it is argued that his intention in
selecting seven was simply that he wanted this number to agree
with the number seven which occurs with regard to the revelation of
the Qur1an in seven ahruf. 3 Ibn Mujahid mentions in his
introduction his reasons for selecting these seven Qurra', basing
his arguments on the evaluation of the men rather than their
,
Qira at. 4
Although the ruwat of his al-Sabcah were very numerous he select-
ed onlv two Olr: thr"eeF ruwat for each Qari I. His reason for
'"
reducing them was to facilitate readings by choosing the two most
prominent among the ruwat who, according to him, were the most
knowledgeable and reliable.
They may be classified as follows:

1. al-Nashr, pp.43-44.
2. Munjid, pp.72-73.
3. La ta ' if, vo 1 . I, p. 86 .
4. Kitab al-Sabcah, pp.45-46.

215
The Qari His first Rawi His second Rawi
Nafi c Qalun (d.220/835) Warsh (d.197/8l2)
Ibn Kathir al-Bazz, (d.250/854) Qunbul (d. 291/903)
Ibn cAmir Hisham (d.245/859) Ibn Dhakwan (d.242/856)
Abu c Amr al-Dur, (d.246/860) al-Susl (d.26l/874)
c-Asim Shucbah (d.193/809) Hafs
. . (d.180/805)
Hamzah Khalaf (d.229/843) Khallad (d.220/835)
Abu al-Harith
. (d.240/854) al-Durl (d.246/860)'
Ibn Mujahid's work was adopted and revived among his followers
like Makk, b. Ab, T~lib al-Qaysl in his al-Tabsirah
. . Ffal-Qira'at
al-Sab c2 and al-Kashfcan Wujuh al-Qira'a-t-a-l---S-a-bc~3--a-nd--a-1---Da-n-,--

whose book al-Taysir was adopted and followed by the scholars and
has become to the present day the standard work for students of the
seven readings in their fourteen versions.
Ibn Mujahid regards the readings other than his al-Sabcah as
shadhdh~ This was objected to by certain scholars on the grounds
that there were many Qurra whose status was argued to be the same
l

as his al-Sabcah or even greater, like Abu Jacfar of Madinah(d.128/

747), the teacher of Nafi c , whom Ibn MUjahid himself mentioned in
his introduction as a learned and respected Qari'. Furthermore,
YaCqub al-Hadram, of Basrah (d.205/820) was one of his own al-Sabcah

1. ibid. , al-Bu"ctUr"' a.l-Z~hirah, "p·p.~-9. .;: .

2. Edited by al-Nadawi, India, 1983.
3. Edited by Ramadan,
. 2 vols., Damascus, 1974 .
4. al-Muhtasib, vol.I, pp.32-33.

216
before he replaced him by al-Kisa'i. The reading of Khalaf
al-Baghdadi (d.229/843) in addition to these two has been argued
to be as authentic as al-Sabcah of Ibn Mujahid. Thus according
to this view the successive readings are ten, these three latter
readings being added to the seven of Ibn Mujahid. l
However, according to certain other scholars, some or all
readings of the following Qurra l
are argued to be authentic and
accepted readings:
Ibn Muhaysin
. . (d.123/740 A.D.) of Makkah
al-Yazldi (d.202/8l7 A.D.) of Basrah
.
al-Hasan al-Basri (d.llO/728 A.D.) of Basrah
• 0

al-Acmash (d.148/765 A.D.) of Kufah

In their support it is pointed out that the acceptability of
a reading should be subject only to the conditions for the accepted
readings, and that the transmission of some or all these readings is
authentic according to certain districts or people who received it
in the manner of tawatur. 2 However, al-Qastallanl asserts that
o

the readings which were agreed to be Qira'at Shadhdhah are these

remaining four after the ten. 3 Moreover, according to Ibn al-Salah,
.
Abu Nasr al-Subki, his son Abu'l-Hasan and al-Baghawi all readings
• o

over the existing ten readings are anomalous (shadhdh).4

1. Munjid, po15 and al-Nashr, vol.I, pp.36-36.

2. Ibn Taymiyya, Fatawa, vol.XIII, pp.392-393, Ibn Hazm, al-Qira'at
al-Mashhura-h, pp.269-27l, al-Nashr, vol.I, p.39o
3. Lata'if,
. vol.I, pp.77,170 .
4. Munjid, p.16.

217
 In conclusion to this chapter we may say that variations in
readings have existed since the lifetime of the Prophet and that
everyone of those who differed in reading used to refer to the fact
that they had been taught by the Prophet in this way. The
successors followed the companions in this practice and among
them certain distinguished Qurra)were sent to different cities to
teach the people the Qur'an. The number of the Qurra l
increased
and certain of them became famous and devoted themselves to the
Qira'at; hence the readings are attributed to them and eventually
the seven highly esteemed readings dominated and were canonised by
the selection of Ibn Mujahid, although an additional three readings
are argued to have the same position as the seven of Ibn Mujahid.
The successive readings have been studied together with the definition
of shadhdh and its development. Thus we find that the acceptability
of any reading is subject to the conditions ruling accepted readings
whose development has been studied. It is confirmed that the seven
readings are entirely different from the seven ahruf since the first
compilers and books on the subject used to collect readings without
limited number. It is emphasised that riwayah is the most important
condition for acceptability of any reading, and that any reading
which does not correspond with riwayah or the other two conditions,
i.e. agreement with the masahif and the Arabic language is regarded
as shadhdh, obscure or completely unacceptable.

218
 CHAPTER 7

IKHTIYAR IN THE QIRA'AH AND ITS BASES

CHAPTER 7

IKHTIYAR IN THE QIRA1AH AND ITS BASES

The question of ikhtiyar concerns the fact that certain qualified
scholars may select one or more readings from among a number of
readings~ basing their ikhtiyar on the most authentic and fluent
ways of reading in their judgement. l The method of the Qurra l

who are reported to have chosen certain Qira1at is based on the

three conditions for accepted readings, fluency of Arabic,
correspondence with the masahif and agreement of the cAmmah on
accepting them. 2 This term camma is interpreted either as meaning
the people of Madinah and Kufah, this being a strong reason for
ikhtiyar, or as the people of Makkah and Madlnah. 3
Discussing the attribution of Qira1at to the Qurra l
,

Ibn al-Jazarl states that they selected certain readings and

preferred them in their own readings and teaching of their students.
This ikhtiyar is only exercised in respect of selection from
existing readings, and never extends to inventions or their own
composition. 4 In this connection we find the word ikhtiyar

1. al-Tibyan, p.99.
2. See pp.186~196, Chapter 6.
3. al-Murshid al-Wajlz, p.172 and al-Ibanah, p.89.
4. al-Nashr, vol.I, po51.

220
occurring frequently in the books of Qira1at, for example:
a. - c -
liThe iktiyar of Va qub is followed by the common
[people] of Basrah. 1I1
.
b. liThe people agreed upon the ikhtiyar of them
(i.e. the Qurra of the ten readings).2
l

c. IIIn this book I have mentioned the readings of

distinguished Qurra who were famous by their
l

Qira1at and ikhtiyarat. 3

d. Ibn Khalawayh in the work attributed to him
al-Hujjah
. Fi al-Qira1at al-Sab c4 mentions of the
seven Qurra i that they based their ikhtiyar
on the athar (traditions).5
There is no doubt as to the essentiality of depending on the
athar for any ikhtiyar in the Qira1at, nor that it is not left to
the discretion of anyone to adopt or select readings which are not
subject to the conditions for accepted readings mentioned above.
Accordingly, any reading which does not conform to these conditions
- 6
is rejected and regarded as shadhdh.
The next step after ikhtiyar and the compilation of the Qira1at
was that certain scholars started composing books to establish the
authenticity of certain selected readings on the basis of
transmission, correspondence with the masahif and fluency of Arabic,

1. Ghayat al-Nihayah, vol.II, p.43.

2. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.37.
3. ibid.
4. Edited by Mukarram, 2nd ed., Dar al-Shuruq, Beirut, 1397/1977.
5. ibid., p.62.
6. See p 23f. be low and p.190 Chapter 6.

221
bearing in mind that the philologists differed concerning the
degree of fluency required for accepted readings or preferred
ones. Accordingly views differed among the Qurra and the
l

philologists and hence their ikhtiyar differed. The first

author known to us as having composed a book on this subject lS

al-Mubarrid (d.285/898) who was the author of a book entitled

Kitab Ihtijaj al-Qira'at. l He was followed by Abu Bakr b.
al-Sarraj (d.3l6/928), Kitab I~tijaj al-Qira ' ah,2 Ibn Darastuwayh
(died after 330), Kitab al-I~tijaj Li-al-Qurra I , 3 Ibn Miqsam
(d.332/943), the author of several books on Qira'at, Kitab
Ihtijaj
. al-Qira'at, Kitab al-Sabcah bi-cIlaliha al-Kablr,
Kitab al-Sabcah al-Awsat. and Kitab al-Sabcah al-Saghlr known as
Shi fa- I a 1- Sud'lJ- r . 4 Abu- Tahir
- c -
Abd al-Wahid -
. al-Bazzar
(d.349/960) a pupil of Ibn ~1ujahid and author of Kitab al-Intis-ar li-
Hamzah,5
. Muhammad
. b. al-Hasan
. al-An~ar' (d.35l/962) to whom is
attributed Kitab al-Sabcah b, cIlal,ha al-Kabir~ Ibn Khalawayh
(d.370/980) to whom is attributed Kitab al-~ujjah fi'l-Qira'at
al-Sab c ,7 Abu cAli al-Farisl the author of a large

1. al-Fihrist, p.65.
2. i bid., p. 86 •
3. i bi d. , pp.38 and 68-69.
4. i bi d", pp.35-36.
5. i bi d. , p.35.
6. ibid., p.50.
7. Edited by Mukarram, 2nd ed., Beirut, 1397-1977. The authenticity of
this attribution to Ibn Khalawayh is disputed; see MUQammad al-
cAbid al-Fasl, "Nisbat al-Hujjah ila Ibn Khalawayh La Ta~ihh",
Majallat al-Lisan al-cArabl, vol.VIII, pt.I, p.5 21 and
al-Afghanl, (ed.) ~ujjat al-Qira'at, p.24.

222
book in support of his teacher Ibn Mujahid's Kitab al-Sabcah
entitled Kitab al-~ujjah li""l~urra' al-Sabcah,l Abu Zarcah cAbd
al-Ra~man b. Mu~ammad b. Zanjalah (one of al-Farisl's students)

whose ~ujjatu al-Qira ' at 2 was composed before ~03/lm2)3 and Abu Bakr
Ahmad
. b. CUbayd Allah b. Idrls whose al-Mukhtar fl
Macani Qira'at Ahl al-Am~ar includes the reading of YaCqub al-
Hadrami in addition to the seven of Ibn Mujahid. 4
. .
In the fifth century we find Makkl's (d.437/l080) book
al-Kashf cAn Wujuh
- al-Qira'at
-- al-SabWa-
c c Ilaliha- Wa-~ujajiha.
-5

Refutation of free exercise of choice in selection of readings

Ibn al-Baqillani is concerned that certain ignorant people might
misinterpret the differences between the Qurra l
as meaning that
they were absolutely free to choose whatever way of reading they
desired. He asserts that this view is groundless and that it is
agreed unanimously that no single reading should be accepted unless
it has been transmitted with authentic chains. The condition of
riwayah, he says, is most essential and obvious from the practice of all
Qurra l
of the Qur'an, since they used not to react immediately
themselves by rejecting any reading they heard from each other for

1. al-Fihrist, p.69. This book of Ibn Faris is edited by al-Najj~r

and others, vol.I, 1st ed., Cairo 1966.
2. Edited by Sacld al-Afghanl, 2nd ed., Beirut, 1399-1979.
3. i bi d. , pp.30 and 39.
4. i bi d. , p.22.
5. Edited by Ramadan, 2 vols., Damascus, 1394-1974 .
.

223
the first time, fearing that it might be authentic and based on
the riwayah according to the other readers. In this connection
al-Acmash is reported as having said that when he used to read
in a different way from what he had been taught by his teacher
- c-
Ibrahim al-Nakha i the latter used not to say 'it is wrong' but
said 'read so and so,.l
Ibn al-Baqillani comments that since this was the practice of
the salaf, how it could be that they would allow the Qur'an to be
read without fulfillment of the condition of riwayah?2 In support
of the condition of riwayah we also find a large number of statements
attributed to distinguished and famous Qurra' of the Qur'an among
whom we may quote the following:
a. Nafi c is reported to have said that he had been
taught the Qur'an from seventy Qurra among the
Followers, and that he based his ikhtiyar on the
3
agreement of two of them.
b. Ibn MUjahid states that Nafi c \'1as following the
athar of the Qurra' before him.4
c. Sufyan al-Thawri is reported to have supported the
reading of ~amzah on the grounds that "he had not
read a single Har.f of the Qur'an without depending
- - 5
on athar".

1 . Nukat al-Intisar, p.415.

0

2. i bi do, p.416.
•
3. Ibn Mujahid, Kitab al-Sabcah, p.62.
4. i bi d. , p.54.
~ ibid. , p.82.
oJ •

224
 - c c -, .
d. Abu Amr b. al- Ala 1S reported to have said that
if he had been free to read in certain ways as he
desired, he would have read so and so.l
e. He is also reported as having been asked concerning
his own reading and ikhtiyar whether he had heard it
all from the salaf. To this he replied that if he
had not heard it, he would not have read it, because
reading of the Qur'an should be according to the
sunnah (i.e. riwayah).2 Accordingly, Ibn al-Baqillanl
states that it is forbidden to read in a way not
corresponding with riwayah. 3
As regards the grounds on which the Qurra' support their
ikhtiyar, using grammatical and other evidences, Ibn al-Baqillanl
says that the Qurra' who substantiate their own readings all agree
that they have been transmitted from the Prophet himself and that
there is no objection to adding the evidence of riwayah other
-J
logical evidence in support of riwayah. No one among the Qurra
is doing more than supporting his ikhtiyar, explaining why he
selects this reading but not rejecting or refuting the readings of
other Qurra'. He only says in support of his own ikhtiyar that
this way is the most fluent in Arabic and more beautiful than the

others. 4
Furthermore al-Qastallanl states that preference as between
certain readings is based only on the grounds of conformity to the

1 . Ghayat al-Nihayah, vol. I , p.290.

. p.417.
2. Nukat al-Intisar,
3. ibid. , p.418.
4. ibid. , pp.419-420.

225
most eloquent and best known ways in the Arabic language, Slnce
they are all authentic and accepted readings,l Hence, linguistical
evidences in support of the Qira'at are used only to substantiate
the reason for choosing or selecting this way of reading other
than others, but never as the sole reason for ikhtiyar. In this
connection Ibn al-Munayyir objects to al-Zamakhsharl who thought
that the seven distinguished Qurra' had exercised their ikhtiyar
at will as if they were free from the condition of riwayah. 2
The right of using ikhtiyar among the various authentic readings
is still permissible among the scholars provided that it
is according to the riwayah and used by qualified and authorised
Qurra' .3
The right of ikhtiyar is restricted to use only in accordance
with riwayah. A free hand in using synonyms or reading according
to the meanings of the vocabulary of the Qur'an is not regarded as
ikhtiyar because it contradicts the conditions for accepted
readings, hence it is strongly rejected and considered beyond the
shadhdh. 4 The scholars agreed unanimously that this kind is
forbidden and should be stopped and destroyed. Certain examples
which represent this, which are attributed to the personal codices,
were regarded as either unauthentic in their transmission or
- 5
abrogated according to the final revealed version of the Qur'an.

1. Lataif al-Isharat, vol.I, p.170.

2. al-Intisaf with al-Kashshaf, vol.II, pp.69-70 .
.-
3. al-Nashr, vol. I, pp.44.
4. Nukat al-Inti~ar, pp.32l-330 and Munjid~ pp.17-l8.
5. See, for more information, chapter 4, p.122f.

226
 Goldziher uses examples of this latter kind of reading to
conclude that they were used to make fundamental changes in the
successive readings,l ignoring the fact that all readings of this
kind in contradiction of the common accepted readings are regarded
as shadhdh and isolated reports opposed to the mutawatir. 2
Abu CUbaydah on the other hand is reported as having said that the
purpose of this kind of anomalous reading is to explain the meanings
of the well known (mashhur) readings. 3
The text of the Qur'an is agreed to represent in its written
form the first Harf in which it has been revealed. 4 Thus the
other various ways of reading in accordance with the permission
to read the Qur'an in seven ahruf, regardless of the differences
of the scholars in their interpretation, were only variations in
the ways of reading, which had to correspond with riwayah. In
this respect we notice the companions and their followers referring
their readings to the teaching of the Prophet himself, taking as an
example the case of c Umar b. al-Khattab
..
-
and -
Hisham b. - 5
Hakim.
.
Thus Ibn Khalawayh in his Kitab ICrab Thalathln Surah min
al-Qur'an al-Karlm 6 states that the only authentic and accepted
reading in the beginning of (S.LXXXVII, 1) is Sabbi~ Isma Rabbika

1. Goldziher, al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah, p.17. c.f. Madhahib al-

Tafslr al-Islaml, p.19.
2. al-Qira'at wa-al-Lahajat, pp.192-193.
3. Itqan, vol. I, p.82.
4. See p.106, Chapter 3.
5. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.48, (quoted ln pp.1-2 of Chapter 1).
6. Published in Cairo 1360-1941.

227
although, linguistically it could be read as Sabbih (bi) Ism(i)
Rabbika, as we find elsewhere in the Qur'an Fasabbih bi-Hamdi
. .
Rabbi ka (S. XV, 98) but t his i s not accepted because the
Qira'ah should be according to the riw~yah.l
Ibn al-Jazarl asserts that to use free analogy ln selecting
certain readings is forbidden. He attributes to certain companions
and their followers (cUmar , Zayd, Ibn al-Mukandir, cUrwah, cUmar
b. cAbd al-cAziz and al-Shacbl) the statement: "Qira ' ah should be
according to the sunnah (i.e. transmission of generations, one
from each other) and everyone should read as he has been taught". 2
The CUthmanic mas~hif are said to have been freed from
vocalisation and dotting in order to preserve various authentic
readings which correspond with the orthography of the masahif, but
not to create readings according to every possible way of reading
the text. 3
For example Slbawayh ln his al-Kitab 4 supports certain
Qira'at and objects to certain other ways although they might be
substantiated linguistically, only on the ground that the Qira'ah
should be according to the sunnah, and it should not be disputed
or not accepte d by th e ca-mmahS.

1. ibid., p.S4.
2. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.17.
3. Munjid, p.S6.
4. Published in Bul~q, 1316/1898.
S. ibid., vol. I, p.74.

228
 Furthermore he uses certain Qira'at 1n support of grammatical
substantiat~~the authenticity of certain grammatical
arguments( "~,..to . ---~~.-::-:::~:;..~::
.... ... .. ,.,~ ~--

constructions; for example he says the evidence for the

authenticity of a certain construction is the reading of the
people of Madinah. 1

We find earlier among the companions and their followers the

phenomenon of supporting certain chosen Qira'at, mentioning the
reasons for which this way or that is to be preferred. The first
man among the companions known to us as having adopted the practise
of choosing certain Qira'at and explaining the reasons for his
choices is Ibn cAbbas2 who is reported as having read Nanshuruha
(S.II, 259) substantiating his reading by quoting Thumma Idha
Sha'a Ansharah (S.LXXX, 22).
Among the earlier philologists we find al-Khalil b. Ahmad
followed by his student S1bawayh using grammatical, morphological
and phonetical evidences to substantiate the authenticity of certain
Qira ' at. 3
We also notice this phenomenon of choosing and selecting certain
Qira'at, and supporting them with various evidences in the
discussions of Quranic scholars and in the form of books on such
- 4 Ma c-ani- al-Qur an, 5 an d ICra-b al-Qur ' a-n. 6
topics as Tafsir, 1-

1. al-Kitab, vol.I., p.417 and passim.

2. al-Bahr
. al-Muhlt,
.- vol.II, p.293.
3. al-Kitab, Passim.
4. .
i.e. Abu Hayyan, al-Bahr
. al-Muhlt in 8 vols.
5. i.e. al-Farra ' , Ma can1 al-Qur'an in 3 valse
6. ie. Ibn Kh.alawagh, ICrab Thalathln Su'ran Min al-Qur'an
al-Karlm, Cairo 1360-1941.
229
 For example al-Zajjaj ln his Macani al-Qur'an Wa-l c rabuh 1
studies linguistically the various ways of readings for al-Hamdu
.
c
(1, 2) and adopts raf because it corresponds with the authentic
riwayah which should be followed in the Qur ' an. 2
- - - - c
Harun b. r~usa al-A war (d. before 200/815) ;s reporfed to have
used to gather certain readings and to have investigated their
transmission and other evidences in order to authenticate them. 3
This work of al-Acwar was objected to by the people of his time on
the grounds that the acceptability and authenticity of any Qira'ah
should be subject only to its successive transmission. 4
In thi s connection Abu Hayyan reports Abu a.1---cAbbas Ahmad
. b.
Yahya as having been accustomed not to make preferences between
the seven readings and having said "when the seven Qurra l
differ
concernlng the iCrab in the Qur1an 1 do not prefer one to another,
but when 1 turn to the ordinary speech of the people I prefer the
form which is stronger". Abu Hayyan approves the above statement,
•
referring to Abua.l-cAbbas as reliable, a man of religion and a
scholar of grammar and language. 5
According to certain writers numerous variations ln ways of
reading came about because the masahif were free from vocalisation
• •

1. Edited by cAbd al-Jal,l Shalab" Cairo, 1394-1974.

2. i bid., vo 1 • 1, p. 7.
3. Mu nj i d, p. 69.
4. ibid., pp.69-70.
5. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.IV, p.87.
• •

230
and dotting and hence differences of opinions took place among
the Qurra' as a result of the different possible readings. l An
early example of this tendency is provided by Ibn Miqsam (d.328/939 )
who is said to have relied only on the written text of the mushaf
..
and the Arabic language. He was prevented from propagating his
~~ .~

views by the Abbasidauthorities, backed by the consensus of

Quranic scholars of his time. This approach however is not valid,
for as we have seen the Qira'ah was subject to the riwayah, and we
have the example of the argument between cUmar and Hisham where
each of them referred to the Prophet as his authority.2 The
various readings were only according to the riwayah, and were in
existence before the compilation of the Qur'an and the distribution
of the CUthmanic masahif to the amsar
. which were themselves
accompanied by distinguished Qurra' to teach the people of their
cities according to the riwayah. 3 Moreover, if the people had
been left free to read according to their incl inations in any way
possible compatible with the orthography of the mushaf it might
have been expected that all such readings would have been accepted.
For example, from· the grammatical point of view the Quranic phrase
kun fayakun (S.III, 47 and S.XXXVI, 82) can be read either with
c
nasb or raf c , but the only way accepted in (S.III, 47) is raf
•
- 4
while both ways are accepted in (S.XXXVI, 82).

c
1. See for example Brockelmann, Tarlkh al-Adab al- Arabl, vol.I, p.134,
al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah, p.4. c.f. Goldziher, Madhahib al-Tafslr
al-Islaml, p.8. al-Kha!ib, al-Furgan, p.22 (also 17), aT-Ibyari, ~­
Maw5uc ah al-Qur'aniyyah, vol .r, p.80 and al-Khu'i, al-Bayan, p.18l.
2. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.482-483.
3. al-Qira'at wa-al-Lahajat, p.183 and p.48 of Chapter 2.
4. al-Kurdl, Tarlkh al-Qur'an wa-Ghara'ib Rasmih wa-~ukm;h, p.llS.

231
 Another example of this kind is found in (S.XXII, 23)
..> 6)

#) ~ \ J .. \
where the word ~ ~ is written with altf while the same
word is written without alif in S.XXXV, 33. If the Qurra l had
followed only the orthography they would have read it with nasb
in the first example and with khafd in the latter. However,
c
Nafi and cAsim read them both with nasb,
. while the rest of the Qurra'
read the first with nasb and the latter with khafd. l
.
As regards dotting the only way of reading found in S.II, 123
tanfa c uha shafa-c atun while a similar example is read in
both ways, with ya l and tal, in the same surah, i.e. wala yugbalu
minha shafaCatun and wala tuqbalu minha shafaCatun (S.II,48)2
In S.IV, 94 the word 1~ is read both possible ways
fatathabbatu and fatabayyanu, because both were transmitted, while ln
S. IX, 114 the word 6l> \ is readabl e accordi ng to the orthograpy as
, ,w:' ~\ iyyahu
6 7,>
- thi s bei ng the authenti c readi ng attri buted to the

cammah,while the other possible way, \..) ~\ abahu, bei ng an

'6 ,...-

anomalous reading contradictory to the common reading, is regarded

as a strange reading, although it is attributed to ~ammad al-Rawiyah.
Furthermore, in S.VII, 48 the word <J3~ is read by the
cammah as tastakb;rij'n~_. as opposed to the strange reading tastakthirun
which is regarded as shadhdh on the grounds that it contradicts the
riwayah. 3

1. Abu Shamah, Ibraz al-Macani, p.406.

2. a1-Kurdl, Tarikh al-Qur'an, pp.114-l15.
3. Shalab" Rasm al-Mushaf wa-al-Ihtijaj
. bi li-al-Qira'at, p.28 .

232
 On the other hand in certain words we find various authentic
readings, e.g. jibrll, jabrll, jabra'll and jabra'il, while the
orthography itself does not provide them all, which also confirms
the essentiality of riwayah. l Some other Quranic words are written
in a way different from the usual one, but only indicate a single
reading, which is that which is according to the riwayah.
? -;;.; ././ 0. /5 '"

Examples of this kind are K..6.)''J (S.XXVII, 21)

/0
()
W
/

(S.XVIII, 23) and ~'-'c::: \. /"

\..;7./
./
(S. LXXX I X, 23)
with the addition of an alif, which are read Ja-adhbahannah~,
. o
./
.5
li-shay'in and {i'a. In this connection also we find J..J...? G
(S.Ll, 47 ) and M;-'\
> (5 .LXVI II,6) with the add~ t;~n 0: a

ya which are read bi-aydin and bi-ayyikum. 2

l
Accordingly the
original basis of any Qira'ah is agreed to be the riwayah, while
the orthography is always dependant on this. 3 Hence we find in
practice that the Qurra l
read in certain places with consensus and
differ in certain others although they are orthographically the
same. For example they agree unanimously in S.III, 26 (Malik al-
Mulk) and in (S.CXIV, 2) (Malik al-Nas), but they differ in S.I, 4
as certain Qurra l
read (Malik) and other read (Malik), these
readings all being authentic because of the soundness of their
.. 4
t ransmlSSlon.

1. al-Kurdi, Tarikh al-Qur'an, pp.115-116.

2. ibid., p.1l6.
3. Abu- Shamah,
- -
Ibraz al-Ma c-anl,
,.
p.406.
4. al-Nashr, vol.II, pp.239, 405 and vol.I, p.271 and Tahbir al-Tayslr,
pp.96, 200 and 41.

233
 Moreover, we find certain theoretical ways of reading which
correspond wi th the orthography of the masahi
. . f and agree wi th the Arabi c
language but which no one among the Qurra l
is reported as having
read; this also tends to confirm the essentiality of riwayah.
In this connection scholars refer to (S.XVII, 106) Wa-Qur1anan
FaraqnahuLi"taqra'ahu cala al-nasi cala mukthin, which from the
linguistic point of view could be read mukth, makth and mikth, but
is only read by the consensus of the Qurra l
as (mukth).l
Goldziher
"',
,~-,
advances the theory that these different readings
"":,,,~~g1I" '-«-::;:;.#~;;,,~ "-H;~~~A~~~~1':""

arise from certain Qurra l

interpreting a vocalised and undotted text
in accordance with their own understanding at a relatively late
date. However as we have seen above this theory overlooks the
importance of riwayah and ignores the existence of the vast number
of scholars who had devoted their studies to this subject.
Whatever the reasons for the existence of variant readings, whether
accepted or shadhdh, the explanations which Goldziher offers do not
seem to~~~ any real evidence. An examination of some of the
examples discussed by Goldziher will serve to clarify this. For
example he refers to a report that Qatadah (d.117/735) in S.II,54
read [a-Aq~l~ Anfusakum) instead of the authentic reading [a-Uqtul~
Anfusakum). Goldziher maintains that Qatadah considered the latter
reading to convey a severe punishment which was incompatible with
the sin mentioned and thus recited the passage in the alternative

1. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.VI, p.88.

• •

234
way attributed to him above; commenting on this he says IIIn this
example we see an objective point of view which was the reason
behind the differing reading l ll
•

However, against this we find that all verSlons except one

report Qatadah as having read f-a'gtulu anfusakum and having
interpreted it as meaning that they stood fighting each other ln
two rows until they were asked to stop and that it was martyrdom
for those who were killed and repentence for those who remained
2
alive. . who reports Qatadah as having read
al-Qurtubl,
Fa-aqllu anfusakum interpretes the word aqllu (save) as meaning
II save yourselves from error by killingll, thereby giving it the
same meaning as aqtulu. 3 Another example of this is Goldziher's
treatment of XLVIII, 9, in which on this occasion he uses certain
authentic readings as opposed to others. Thus he notes that
Tucazziruhu is read by certain Qurra as Tucazzizuhu using zay
l

ins tead of ra I • The reason behind this supposed change, he

suggests tentati~ly, is that they may have wished to avoid the
e;;::::~

former word because it implies, according to him, material aid,

while the latter word is less restricted in meaning. 4 In fact,
however, both words occur in different places in the Qur1an, for

1. al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah, p.5. c.f. Madhahib al-Tafsir al-Islaml, p.ll,

2. al-Tabarl, Tafslr, vol.II, po76 cof. Ibn Kathlr, Tafs;r, Vol .1, p.92 0

3. al-Qurtubl, vo-f.;'r, p.342.

4. Madhahiob a'l-TafslT al-olslaml, poll.

235
example in S.VII, 157 and S. ALVIII,),with no apparent difference
in meaning. Furthermore, in the Arabic lexicon, there are no
differences between cAzzara and Nasara. Ibn Manzur
. interprets
cAzzarahu as fakhkhamahu, wa-cazzamahu, sa-acanahu, wa-qawwahu,
via -na sarahu. He quotes in support of his interpretation (S.XLVIII, 9)
Li-tuCazziruhu wa-tuwaqqiruhu) and (S. V, 12) Wa- c,azzartumuhum. 1

He adds that in the Arabic language al-Taczlr means al-Nasr by

.
tongue and sword. He reports Waraqah b. Nawfal as having said in
support of the Prophet at the very beginning of the revelation, if
he is sent while I am alive I will aid him (sa-ucazziruhu wa-
ansuruhu).
wa-al-tawqir wa-al-nasr marratan bacd marra. 2 Thus it cannot
really be maintained that there is any difference in meaning between
cazzara and cazzaza.
Continuing the same general approach, Goldziher considers that
certain differences between the Qurra
- l
are due to their fear of
attributing to God and his Apostle something which may detract from
their attributes.
In support of this theory he quotes S.XXXVII, 12 Sal CAjibta
wa-yaskharun (Truly dost thou marvel while they ridicule), in
which some of the Qurra l
of Kufah read CAjibta with fath, while the
common reading of the rest of the Qurra l
is with damm, i.e.

1. Lisan al-cArab, vol.VI, p.237.

2. ibid.

236
CAjibtu. He argues that the Mufassirun interpreted the word
cajab as referring to God with a difference of opinions, while
some preferred to attribute the 'marvelling' to the Prophet,
since it is inappropriate to attribute this to God. He maintains
that the original reading is CAjibtu with damm
. and quotes
al-Tabarl. In fact, however, al-Tabarl authenticates and accepts
both readings on the grounds that the Qur1an has been revealed in
1
two ways although he does mention that Shurayh. (d. 80/699 ) used
to read CAjibta with fat~ and objected to the other reading, on
the grounds that cAjab cannot be attributed to God. However
Ibrahim al-Nakha~tis reported as having objected to Shurayh's
.
argument and stated that CAbd Allah Mascud who used to read CAjibtu
with damm was more knowledgable than Shurayh. 2 According to
Goldziher the two readtngs contradict one another, and the acceptance
by al-Tabarl of both readings indicates that it was difficult at his
•
3
time to abandon one reading in favour of the other. However,
al-Tabarl in his discussion confirms the authenticity of both
readings and states that although they differ in meaning, they are
both correct and sound. He states in support of this view that the
Prophet marvelled at the verses which he was given, that the
polytheists ridiculed him for this and that God marvelled at what the
polytheists said.

1. al-Tabari, Tafsir, vol.XXIII, 29 .

•
2. al-Kashshaf, vol.IV, pp.37-38.
3. Madhahib al-Tafslr al-Islaml, pp.33-35.

237
 - , -
Furthermore, al-Qurtubi reports Ali b. Sulayman as having said
that both readings agree to give one meaning and that the reference
in both CAjibta and CAjibtu is to the Prophet. He also quotes
Abu Jacfar al-Na~~as as having approved this interpretation and
regarded it as a sound one. al-Qur~ubl adds that the meaning of

Sal CAjibtu may be something like "truly their action ;s heinous

in my eyes" and he quotes al-Sayhaqi in support of this as having
connected the word Cajiba in this context with the Hadlth CAjiba
Rabbuka. l Moreover, al-Naqqash is reported as having interpreted
Sal r ajibtu as Sal ankartu. al-Hasan
. b. al-Fadl is reported as
having supported this by stating that cajab when it refers to God
means inkar and -
taCzlm
-. - and that this is an old Arab usage
(wa-huwa lughat al- cArab).2
In fact if readings were really not subject to the riwayah, or
if a supposed fear of attributing to God and his Apostle certain
defects had led the Qurra l
to change certain ways of reading, as
Goldziher thought, one might expect the Qurra l
to have changed
many similar examples in the Qur1an, while in actual fact they have
done nothing except to interpret them according to the Arabic
language. Examples may be quoted as follows:

a. "God disdains not (la Yastahl) to use the similitude

of things lm'lest as well a~ highest." (S.II, 26 )

b. "They plot and plan and God too plans, Sut the best of
planners is God. (5. VIII, 30).
II

1. For the text of this Had,th and others see Qur~ubi, vol.XV
pp.70-71.
2. ibid., p.7l. 238
 c. Nay, both his hands are widely outstretched.
1I • • •

He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty, as He

pleaseth .... (S.V, 67)
11

d. "Soon shall we settle your affairs 0 both ye worlds!II(S.LV,3l)1

Moreover Shurayh1s opinion was rejected and regarded as
unacceptable, and thus was not followed by anyone, on the grounds
that he contradicted the tawatur. 2 Finally, there is no evidence
whatever for Goldziher1s hypothesis that CAjibtu with damm is the
original reading.
The mUfassirun interpret the verse so that both readings
confirm one another,3 and the Qurra l
accept and authenticate the
two readings, because they agree with the conditions for accepted
. 4
rea d1ngs.
Goldziher further argues that in S.XII, 110 the original reading
is Kadhabu and that the Muslims were confused and faced with the
problem of finding a way out from this reading. According to him
many solutions were suggested, a fact which indicates that it was
the original reading, and the readings Kudhibu and Kudhdhibu were
introduced subsequently by the Qurra 5 l
•

1. Hammudah, al-Qira1at wa-al-lahajat, pp.199-206.

c- -
2. ~l-Zamakhsharl, al-Kashshaf, vol.IV, p.38 and al-Alusi ,Ru~ al-Ma ani
vol.XXIII, p.70.
------
3. al-Tabari, Tafslr, vol.XXIII, p.29, al-Zamakhsharl, al-Kashshaf
.
vol.XXIII, p.70. I

4. al-Nashr, vol.II, p.356, al-Kashf, vol.II, p.223 and Hujjat al-Qira at

pp.606-608.
5. Madhahib al-Tafslr al-Islaml, p.42.

239
 Once agaln, however, it seems pointless to assert that
this way or that is the original reading, since the text of the
Qur1an does not provide any evidence for such a claim. This
reading ln fact is not attributed to any Qari'except Mujahid.'
Indeed, it has been argued that the original readings are Kudhibu
and Kudhdhibu, which are the common ones, and that the anomalous
reading which is attributed solely to Mujahid is derived from the
two authentic readings,2 and not as Goldziher maintained the opposite. 3
Mujahid is reported as having interpreted the verse as meaning
"when the Apostles gave up hope of their people (who rejected their
message) being punished and that their people thought that the
Apostles told a lie, there reached them our helpll.4
However, al-Tabari states that this reading has been
unanimously rejected on the grounds that it contradicts the authentic
readings of the amsar
. . He argues that if the reading was
permissible it would have been interpreted in a way not contradicting
the successive readings and better than that of Mujahid. The best
interpretation for Mujahid's reading according to al-Tabarl is as
•
follows: "Until when the Apostles give up hope of their people who
treated them as liars being punished by God and the Apostles
knew that their people lied ... ".

1. al-Tabarl, Tafslr, vol.XVI, pp.309-3l0, Ibn Khalawayh, Mukhtasar

.
p.65 and Fat~ al-Barl, vol.VIII, p.296.
2. al-Qira'at\l.la-'a.'~ahajat, p.209.
3. al-Madha hib al-Isla.miyyah, p.25. c.f. Madhahib al-Tafslr al-Islaml,
pp.4l-42.
4. al-Tabarl,
. Tafsir, vol.XVI, p.3l0 .

240
 al-Tabarl offers this interpretation, utilizing the authority
of al-Hasan and Qatadah that :ann may give the meaning of c Ilm
(knowl edge) . 1 Thus both Mujahid's reading and his interpretation
contradict the consensus of the Qurr~1 and Mufassir~n.2
Ibn al-Jazari states that Abual-Qasim al-Hudhall in his al-Kamil
attributes to Mujahid certain readings with a non-authentic isnad 3
and elsewhere mentions of al-Hudhali that his book is full of errors
concerning the As~nld of Qira'at and that his book contains unaccepted
readings which have no authentic transmission. 4 Ibn Khalawayh also
puts this reading of Mujahid among the anomalous readings. S
Goldziher also mentions cA'ishah's contribution to this
discussion, but his account of it seems somewhat misleading, ln that
the discussion was purely concerned with the question of kudhdhib~

as opposed to kudhibu, which she rejected in favour of the former,6

although her objection was in fact to the interpretation attributed
to Ibn cAbbas rather than the Qir~'ah itself. 7
al-Qastallanl
. argues that her objection was to the Qira'ah
kudhibu on the grounds that she had not received it in the manner of

1. al-Tabarl, Tafsir, vo 1 . XV I, p. 31 O.
.
2. i bi d. , pp.309-310.
3. Ghayat al-Nihatah, vol. I I , p.A2.
4. ibid., vol.I, p.349.
5. Mukhtasar, p.65.
.-
6. al-Tabarl, Tafslr, vol.XVI, pp. 306-308, and Fat~ al-Bari, vo 1 . VI II ,
- •
p.367f·.
7. a 1-Tabari
. , Tafsir, vol. XV I , pp.306-307.

241
 - 1
tawatur. As for the reading Kadhabu, it does not appear at all
in this discussion, and Goldziher is incorrect in supposing that
she was objecting to Kadhabu.
While Mujahid's reading is regarded as shadhdh, being
attributed only to him, there are two authentic and successive
readings, being among the highly esteemed seven canonical readings.
The first is Kudhibu which is attributed to Ubayy ,cAl1.l Ibn Mascud
and Ibn cAbbas among the companions and to their followers
MUjahid, Talhah and al-Acmash and to cAsim , Hamzah and al-Kisa'l
who represent the Kufans among the seven distinguished Qurra- ' . 2
al-Zamakhshari based his Tafslr on this reading and interprets it
as meaning: "Until when the Apostles thought that their souls
told them a lie when they told them that they would be victorious",
or "their hope told them a lie". 3
Goldziher misunderstood al-Zamakhshari, believing that his
- 4
interpretation represented Kadhabu. However a careful reading of
it confirms that it is based on Kudhibu, and the matter is settled
by the fact that he mentions Kadhabu separately, attributing it to
o-hod
MuJa 1 •
5 The second authentic reading is Kudhdhibu which is

1. Irshad al-Sarl vol.VII, p.216.

2. al-Bahr . vol.V, p.354~
. al-Muhlt,
,

3. al-Kashshaf, vol.III, p.510.

4. al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah, p.25. c.f. Madhahib al-Tafsir al-Islami, p.42,
-
5. a1- Ka s hs ha f, vo 1 . I I I, p. 51 O.

24(~
attributed to cAlishahl and among the followers to al-Hasan,
.
- c - -
Qatadah, Mu~ammad b. Ka b, Abu Raja l , Ibn Abl Mulaykah, and
C
al-A raj 2 and among the seven distinguished Qurra l to Nafi c ,
Ibn Kathir, Ibn cAmir and Abu cAmr b. al- cAla. 3
cAlishah is reported to have interpreted this verse according
to her reading j5,udhdhibu as follows: IIUntil when the Apostles give
up hope of their people who treated them as liars becoming believers,
and the Apostles come to think that they were treated as liars among
their onw followers, there reached them the help of God ll . 4
al-Tabari attributes to certain other scholars who read
Kudhdhibu the following interpretation of the verse: "Until when the
Apostles gave up hope of their people believing in them and the
Apostles came to think that (meaning by zann in this contect cilm
(knowledge) that their people treated them as liars, there reached
them our helpll.5 This latter interpretation of the word zann to
mean c ilm is attributed to al-Hasan and Qatadah, but al-Tabarl
.
objects to it, basing his objection on the grounds that it contradicts
the views of the companions. He adds that the Arabs only use the
word zann in the place of c ilm where the knowledge is acquired by the

1. al-Tabarl,
. Tafsir, vol.XVI, p.308 .
? ibid., al-8abr al-Muhit,
.-. vol.V, p.354 .

Tabar;, Tafsir, vol.XVI, p.309.

~arl, Tafsir, vol.XVI, p.308.

243
means of reports or when it is not physically seen, and thus the
word zann in this verse cannot mean cilm.l
To take another example, which Goldziher also quotes in support
of his theory, Ibn cAbbas is reported as having read Fa-In amanu
bi -rna amantum bi - hi or Fa - I n amanu bi -a 1-1 adhl amantum bi -hi as opposed
to the common reading which corresponds with the CUthmanic

. . (S.II, 137) Fa-In imanu bi-mithli rna ~mantum bi-hi.

masahif
Ibn cAbbas bases his objection to the common reading on the grounds
that there is no being similar to God. 2
However al-Tabarl states that this report about Ibn cAbbas
contradicts the common masahif
. . of the Muslims and the consensus of
the Qurra- I.
3
Furthermore Ibn c Abbas himself is reported as having
agreed in reading with the CUthmanic masahif. 4 According to
al-Tabarl the interpretation of this verse should be that when they
believe in what are mentioned in this passage of the books of God
and his Prophets as you believe in them they are indeed on the right
path. He concludes that what is meant by similarity in this
connection is the similarity between two beliefs, not between what
they believe in. 5

1. al-Tabarl, Tafslr, vol.XVI, p.309.

2. i bi d. , vol. I I , p.114.
3. ibid.
4. i bi d. , p.113.
5. i bi d. , p.114.

244
 On this point al-Zajjaj argues that if someone were to ask if
there is anything similar to the Iman other than Iman itself, the
reply is that the meaning 1S clear, that is, if they believe as
you believe in the Prophets and believe in unity as you do, they
are therefore in the straight path and have become Muslims like you. l
Furthermore, the author of Kitab Muqaddimat Kitab al-Maban1 2
studies the construction of this verse linguistically and supports its
authenticity on the following grounds:
a. It means if they believe as you believe.
b. The letter ba' is only added for emphasis (ta'kid)
and the sense of the phrase is mithla rna amantum bihi.
c. The word mithl is added in order to give corroboration
(tawkld) and the sense of the phrase is thus
Fa-In Amanu bi-Ma Amantum bihi.
In this connection reference is made to S.XLII, 11 Laysa Ka-
Mithlihi Shay'un where the word mithl is added for the purpose of
intensification so that the meaning of the passage is that there
is nothing whatever like unto Him. Another example in support of
this interpretation is this poetic verse: Kamithl al-Shams Idh
Bazaghat Bi-Ha Nuhza
.. Wa-MiCtaru where the word mithl is added in
the same way. 3

1. Macanl al-Qur'an Wa-Icrabuhu, vol.I, p.195.

2. ano~) see Maqaddimatan, p.116.
3. Mugaddimatan p.116.

245
 Ibn Abl Dawud narrates this riwayah in different versions, but
objects to them all and states that it is written Bimith1 Ma
Amantum bihi in a1-Mushaf al-Im~m and all the masahif of the cities
and that it 1S accepted in the language of the Arabs. It is
impossible, he says, that the people of the cities and the companions
should have agreed on an error, particularly in the Qur1an and the
practice of prayers. He continues that it is right and accepted
in the speech of the Arabs to say to a person who meets you in a
manner of which you disapprove "Ayustaqba1u mith1i bi-nadha.?"
He quotes in support: (S.XLI, 11) Laysa kamith1ihi shay'un which
means Laysa kamithli Rabbi shay'un and the expressions La yuqalu
) i wa-la J i-mith1i and Layuqa1u I i-akhika wa-(3: I i-mith1i
akhlka
--------
in which these expressions mean Imyself",l
In conclusion, the report attributed to Ibn cAbbas like many
others which contradict the CUthmanic masahif is no more than an
isolated report (Khabar Ahad)
. in opposition to successive (Mutawatir)
l
readings, which are accepted by the consensus of the Qurra on the
grounds of their authenticity in transmission, orthography of the
CUthmanic masahif and accordance with the Arabic language.
Ibn al-Jazarl states that the readings may differ in various
meanings according to the revelation of the Qur1an in seven ahruf

..
1. Kitab al-Masahif, pp.76-77,

246
These variations in meanings do not contradict one another,
because it is impossible that contradiction could be found in the
Qur'an which states (S.IV, 82) "Do they not consider the Qur'an
(with care)? Had it been from other than God, they would surely
have found therein much discrepancy."l
Goldziher, considers that there are examples of contradiction
in the Qur'an and thinks that S.XXX, 2-4 could be a good example to
support his theory. Here he argues that the two readings
Ghalabat ... Sayughlabuna and Ghulibat ... Sayaghlibuna contradict
each other, because the victorious according to the former reading
are the defeated according to the latter reading. He maintains that
most of the Qurra l
read in accordance with the former reading,2 and
that the Muslim scholars regarded the victory of the Greeks in
625 A.D. as a miracle of the Prophet, because the event took place
according to his prophecy although according to Goldziher it
indicates no more than a hope. 3
In fact, however, the former reading is only attributed to
certain companions, cAli, Ab~ Sacld al-Khudrl, Ibn cAbbas and
Ibn c Umar and among the followers to MuCawiyah b. Qurrah and
al-Hasan. 4 It is not accepted by the consensus of scholars and
is thus regarded as shadhdh. The only authentic reading accepted

1. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.48.

2. al-~1adhahib al-Islamiyyah, p.18. c.f. Madhahib al-Tafsiral-Islami, pp.29-3l.
3. ibid.
4. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.VII, p.16l, Qurtubl, vol.XIV, p.4.
and ~l-AluSl:Ruh. al-Macanl, vol.XXI, ·p.l?

24~
by the camma and regarded as mutawa t'i r is the 1a tter readi ng. 1
The former reading, although it is regarded as shadhdh does not
in fact contradict the common reading in its meaning if the
historical accounts are carefully studied, or as al-Al~sr puts
it it is permissible for two readings to differ from each other as
regards their meaning provided that they do not contradict one
another, and there is no contradiction in a group of people being
victorious and defeated at two different times. 2 Thus around the
year 6'15 A.D. the Byzantine Empire was defeated by Persia while
Persia was defeated later by the Byzantines around the year 622 A.D.
which confirms the common reading:
liThe Roman Empire has been defeated in a land close by;
but they (even) after (this) defeat of theirs will soon
be victorious. Within a few years with God is the
decision. In the Past and in the Future: on the
Day Shall the believers rejoice with the help of God.
He helps whom He will and He is exaulted in Might,
Most Merciful."
As regards the other shadhdh reading we find ;n its support that
the Romans after their victory in Syria were defeated by the Muslims
in Jordan in 8 A.H. in the battle known as Ghazwat Mu'tah, which was
- in 14 A.H. 3
followed by the battle of Yarmuk
Finally the prophecy of these Qur'anic verses is accepted by
Muslims as a miracle in their mutawatir reading, irrespective of

1. al-Bahr al-Muhlt, vol.VII, p.16l.

. .-.
2. al-Al~si, Ruh al-Ma canl, vol.XXI, p.ll.
~.

3. ibid., and Hammudah al-Qira'atwa-al Lahajat, p.l~8 .

. '

248
the interpretation placed upon them by Goldziher. In this
connection al-Zamakhsharl asserts that this verse 1S one of the
greatest miracles which bears witness to the trueness of the
prophecy of the Prophet and to the fact that the Qur1an is
revealed from God, because it relates knowledge of unseen,
whi ch is not kno\'Jn except to God. 1

The CUthm~nic mas~hif and the problem of grammatical or

orthographical errors
When the masahif were compiled and brought before CUthman to look
through them, he is reported to have found lahn in certain ahruf
but to have told the committee of the masahif to leave them as they
2
were on the grounds that the Arabs would read them soundly.
According to another version he is reported as having added that if
the scribe was from Thaqlf and the reciter from Hudhayl there would
3
not be any lahn.
.
However, al-Danl states that this report is groundless and not
acceptable for the following reasons: first its chain is weak, being
mursal, and its matn (context) is mudtarib.
..
Secondly it seems impossible that CUthman who with the agreement of

1. al-Zamakhsharl, a1-Kashshaf, vol.III, p.467.

- -
2. a 1- Dan i, a 1-Mugn i c , p. 124.
3. ibid., p.125.

249
the companions compiled the masahif .
. ln order to unite the Muslims
and terminate the dispute among them, would have left any lahn
or error in the masahif to be corrected by those who come after him.l
Finally al-Dani argues that if the report is supposed to be
authentic, the word lahn means the recitation rather than the
•
orthography, because there are many words whi ch, if they are read
according to their orthography in the masahif, would have a
. ,
different meaning, for example ~j\'Y,,, ,~-',s~ )~}ILs ~ 0-
f= J ,\... otn" ) .!7! )\. CUthman may thus have meant thi s
latter kind which the Arabs would read soundly since the Qurlan
has been revealed in their language. 2
He goes on to report that when c-Alishah was asked about this
lahn she replied that the scribes made a mistake (akhtalu). The
passages in which she considered mistakes to occur are the following:
a. (S.XX, 63) In hadhani la-Sahirani
•
b. (S. IV, 162) Wa~al-muqimina al-salata wa-al-Mutuna
al-Zakata
c. (S, V, 72) Inna a l-ladhi na amanu 'IJa-a l-ladhi na .hadu
itia-al-sabi I una. 3
al-Dani argues that the meaning of this report is that she
considered these readings not to be the most fluent and regarded
her own ikhtiyar as the best, on the grounds that it is impossible
that she could have meant the word akhta'u
. literally, since the
scribes had written in this way with the consensus of the companions.

1. al-Muqni C, p.124.
2. ibid., pp.124-l25.
3. ibid .. pp.126-l28, al-Tabari, Tafsir, vol.IX, p.395 and
Mugaddimatan, pp.104-l05.

250
In support of his argument, he quotes certain scholars as having
interpreted the statement of cAlishah as meaning that the scribes
made mistakes in choosing the best a~ruf among the seven ahruf.
According to them la~n means recitation or lughah, as in the
statement or c Umar Ubayy Aqrauna Wa-Inna la-Nada Cu Ba c da Lahnihi
II ,- -
ll

(i.e. Qira1atihl - his recitation). 1

The author of Kitab al-Maban1 2 attributes to certain scholars
the view that cAlishah objected to these readings because they did
not correspond with the dialect of Quraysh, although they are sound
according to the other dialects of the Arabs. 3
In addition it is said that there are other orthographical
errors in the masahif as follows:
a. (S. II, 177) Wa-·al-mufuna bi-c.abdihim idha c.ahadu wa-al-
sabirlna
b. (S.LXIII, 10) Fa-assaddaqa
.. wa-akun min al-Salihln
.
c. (S.XXI, 3) Wa-asarru- al-najwa- al-ladhina
- -4
~alamu

However, al-Tabarl
. supports the authenticity of all the examples
mentioned above according to various Arab dialects,S and states that
if they had been written wrongly in the CUthmanic ma~a~if, we would
have found all earlier masahif disagreeing with the CUthmanic
..
masahif, whereas CUbayy is reported as having agreed in his reading

1. al-Muqni C, pp.127-l28.
2. Inc·luded in Muqaddimatan, edited by A. Jeffery, Cairo 1954.
3. ibid., p.1l5.
4. i bid., p. 104 .
5. Tabarl, Tafslr, vol.III, p.352-54 and vol.IX, p.394-97.

25:1
 ..
and mushaf with the CUthmanic masahif. For example in (S.IV, 162)
Wa-al-Muqlmlna al-Salata wa:-al-Mutuna al-Zakata is found in the
mushaf of CUbayy in the same way as in the CUthmanic masahif.
al-Tabarl concludes that the agreement of the CUthmanic masahif
with that of Ubayy indicates that what is in our masahif today is
sound and not wrong, and that if in fact there had been mistakes in
the orthography of the CUthmanic masahif the companions would not
have taught their followers except in the correct manner. Finally,
he states that the transmission by the Muslims of these readings in
accordance with their orthography as found in the CUthmanic
masahif is the strongest evidence for their correctness and soundness
and that this is nothing to do with the scribes and one should not
attribute to them any mistake in writing. l

.
The scribes of the CUthmanic masahif
. are reported to have
differed as to whether the word should be written with
CUthman is said to have commanded them to write
it with final tal according to the Qurashi d'ialect on the grounds that
2
the Qurlan has been revealed in their dialect.
Si nce the scri bes used to consul t CUthman whenever they differed
in writing certain words and he used to correct them it seems very
difficult to believe that he found certain cases of lahn in the ahruf
of the Qurlan and left it to the people to correct it in their readings.

c;

1. al-Tabarl, Tafsl!, vol.IX, pp.397-398 .

•
2. Bukharl, vol.VI, p.479.

252
If he had told the scribes to leave alleged lahn to be corrected
by the Arabs, it seems reasonable to suppose that he would have
done the same th i ng wi th the word U ~tJ \

Furthermore the author of Kitab al-Maban,l studies all examples

mentioned above and substantiates their acceptability as good Arabic
according to various Arab dialects, quoting in support of each
example many lines of Ancient Arabic poetry.2
As regards the authenticity of the examples mentioned above
from the linguistic point of view, we shall examine the views of the
commentators on each example in detail:
1. Ab~ CUbaydah is reported as having stated about the mushaf
of CUthman coneerning S.XX, 63 (:)~ l)ia:> t)\ that it
was with omission of alif, being marfu-c , and that the scribes used
- in cases of nasb and khafd. 3
to add ya' This -
Qur'anic passage is
read in variant accepted readings which we shall mention with their
different iCrab and interpretations as follows:
a. In Hadhani La-Sahirani being attributed to Hafs' the
- - of c-Asim .
rawi .
b.
- 4
In Hadhani la-Sahiranni being attributed to Ibn Ka thi r.
D

Both of these readings read U\~ as in

In both of these cases hadhani is mubtada' and its khabar is

1. Muqaddimatan, edited by A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1954.

2. i bid., pp. 104-116.
3. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.VI, p.255.
4. ibid., and al-Nashr, vol.II, pp.320-321.

253
 Secondly Inna Hadhani la-Sahirani. This reading 1S read by
Cammah of the Qurra'. .
I t 1S - C
attributed to Nafi , Ibn c-Amir,
ShuCbah (another raw, of Hafs),
. . Hamzah,
. al-Kisa'i Abu Jacfar,
Ya Cqub
-
and Khalaf. 1
The grammarians suggested various kinds of iCrab and
interpretations for this reading as follows:
a. It is damir
. al-shacn with the -hu
- omitted, and is
to be understood as meaning innahu hadhani ...
This view is regarded as weak. In support of
this interpretation cAbd Allah b. al-Zubayr is
reported as having said: Inna Wa-Rakibaha
to a poet who said to him Lacana Allahu
Naqatan Hamalatni Ilayka. 2
.
b. It is said that inna in this context means na cam 3
and that hadhani is mubtada' and its khabar is
La-sahirani (attributed to al-Mubarrid, Ismac,l b.
Ishaq
. and Abu al-Hasan
. al-Akhfash al-Saghir).
.
c. Abu Hayyan attributes to certain Arabs the use of
•
the dual of this word with alif in all cases.
He counts those who use this form among the Arabs as:
Kinanah, Banu al-Harith
. b. Kacb, KhathCam,
- -
Zabid and the people of that region, Banu al-Anbar,
Banu Hajlm, Murad and cUdhrah. Abu ~ayyan
considers this as the best explanation of this
·
rea d1ng. 4

1. al-Nashr, vol.II, p.32l.

2. Muqaddimatan, p.lll.
3. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.VI, p.255.
4. ibid.

254
 al-Zamakhsharl similarly states that certain Arabs treat the
alif of the dual as Alif Maq~urah (i.e. invariable).l The
author of Muqaddimat Kitab al-Maban1 2 claims that Quraysh adopted
this form from Banu al-Harith.
. He says of this latter tribe that
they say Akramtu al-Rajulani~ Rakibtu al-Farasani, and Nazartu
.
- c -
Ila al- Abdani. He reports al-Farra ' as having narrated on the
authority of a man belonging to al-Azd on the authority of certain
people of Banu al-Harith
. that they recited the saying of
al-Mutalammis as follows:
Fa'Atraqa Itraqa al-ShujaCi Wa-law Ra'a
Masaghan linabahu al-Shuja C lasammama
and that Banu al-Harith
. say:- Hadha Khattu Yada Akh, ACrifuhu .
He attributes to them also this poetic verse:- Inna Abaha wa-
- - 3
Aba Abaha Qad Balagha fi al-Majdi Ghayataha.
Finally Abu cAmr b. al-cAla ' is reported as having read
Inna Hadhayni la-Sahirani.
. This reading, however, Abu Hayyan
•
reports al-Zajjaj as having objected to on the grounds that it did
4
not correspond with the CUthmanic masahif.
..

1. al-Kashshaf, vol.III, p.72.

2. Included in Muqaddimatan.
3. Muqaddimatan, p.109.
4. al-Bahr al-Muhlt,
. . vol.VI, p.255.

255
2. (S.IV, 162) Wa-al-muqlmlna al-salata wa-al-mutunaal-zakata
The word al-Muqlmln is written and read with nasb being the
nasb of praise while according to Slbawayh al-Muqlmln is ln khafd
being in opposition to the word minhum. l al-Zamakhsharl states
that no attention should be paid to the claim that there is an
orthographical error, here or elsewhere. This claim, he says,
is only made by those who do not know the various ways the Arabs
use in their language. He argues that the salaf who were known for
their wide knowledge, their virtues and their vigorous support of
Islam, could not possibly have left any defect In the mushaf
..
to be corrected by the following generation. 2

3. (S.V, 69) Inna al-ladhlna arnanu wa-al-Ladhlna hjdu wa-al-

Sabi'una Wa-al-Nasara
The word al-Sabi'una is written and read with raf c being a mubtada'
whose khabar is omitted, which may be understood as meaning
Inna al-ladhlna amanu w-al-ladhlna Aadu wa-al-nasara
. hukmuhum
kadha wa-al-sabi'una kadhalika.
al-Zamakhsharl quotes S1bawayh In support as having quoted the
example: Wa-Illa Fa' ctamu anna wa-antum bughatun rna baglna
3
fl Shiqa~i meaning fa' c iamu anna bughatun wa-antum kadhalika.
4. (S.II,177) Wa-al-mufuna bl-c,ahdihim Idha cahadu If/a-al-sabirlna
The word al-Sabirln is read with nasb as it is written ln the masahif,
4
as being regarded as a nasb of distinction and praise. al-Tabari

1. al-Kashshaf, vol.I, p.590.

2. ibid.
3. ibid., pp.660-661.
4. ibid., p.220.

256
states that this form is found in the Arabic language and quotes
ln support certain lines. l
5. (S.LXII, 10) Fa-assaddaqa wa-akun mln al-s~lih~n
.. . .
The word akun is read with jazm as found in the masahif as being
• •

..
6. Abu Hayyan states that vari ous kinds of i crab, ra fC, nasb and
khafd. are suggested for al-Ladhina Zalamu
. in the Qur'anic passage
(S.XXI, 3) Wa-asarru al-najwa al-ladhlna ~alamu; they are
as follows:
Firstly, rafc , with various interpretations;
a. It is badal (permutative) of the noun of asarru
b. It is the agent (facil) belonging to the verb zalamu
.
while wa-asarru only indicates the plural.
According to this interpretation it would be an
example of lughat akalun~ al-baragh~th. This latter
interpretation is regarded by certain unnamed scholars
as being lughah shadhdhah, but according to certain
others it is lughah hasanah, being attributed to
•
lughat Azd Shanu'ah. This is supported by a
similar passage in the Qur'an (S.V,7l) Thumma camu
wa-sammu kath~run minhum and a poetic verse
att~;buted to a poet among Azd Shanu'ah:
Yalumunan~ . fi 'shtira'i al-riakh~li ahl~
wakull uhumu .al wamu.

1. al-Tabar~,
. Tafsir, vol.III, pp.352-353 .
2. al-Kashshaf, vol.IV, p.544 .

. 257
 c. According to certain other grammarians al-Ladhlna
is mubtada ' and its khabar is Wa-Asarru al-Najwa.
d. Or al-Ladhlna is facil and its ficl is omitted, being
understood from the passage; it may be reckoned to
be for example Yaqulu or Asarraha.
e. According to certain others al-Ladhlna is khabar
and its mubtada ' , which is hum, is omitted.
Secondly, it is suggested that the iCrib of al-Ladhlna is nasb
either to indicate blame or with the word aCnl understood.
Finally, it is suggested that the iCrab of al-Ladhlna is khafd,
on the assumption that it is an attributive of the word li-a~nasi

in the first verse, or that it is badal of this word,

However Abu Hayyan regards this as far-fetchedC~bcad al-Aqwal l )
while al-Zamakhsharl does not mention it at all. 2
Since the text of the Qur1an allows variant readings according
to the revelation of the Qur1an in seven ahruf, and since therefore
the language of the Qur1an being the common literary language of the
Arabs includes various Arab dialects there should have been no dispute
among the philologists and the grammarians concerning any reading
corresponding with one of the Arab dialects.
In fact, however many of them are reported as having
objected to certain authentic readings only on the grounds that they
do not correspond with the most fluent Arabic or because they are
according to them strange or wrong or uncommon in use.

1. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.VI, pp.296-297.

• •
2. al-Kashshaf, vol.III, p.102.

258
 The grammatical schools of Basrah and Kufah differed in their
views concerning the authenticity and acceptability of certain
readings only because they did not correspond with their analogies
or to their criteria of fluency for the various Arab dialects. l
The scholars of the Kufan school are in fact said to have
respected and accepted the Qira'at more than the Basran, although
•
we may find among the Kufans themselves a few cases in which they
object to certain accepted readings. In this connection we may
refer to a Kufan grammarian who is at the same time a Qa ri I ,

al-Kisa ' ,. He is reported as having objected to the reading of the

cammah in (S.LVIII, 11) Qad samica with the i:har of dal in qad,
preferring his own Ikhtiyar with idgham, (i.e. gas-sami ca)2 and
al-Farra- ' is reported as having refuted the reading of Ibn c-Amir
in S.VI, 137. 3
The scholars of the Basran school are known to have raised
more objections to certain linguistic features in the readings even
if they were as highly esteemed as the seven canonical readers of
In this respect we may mention Abu a1-"!ayyib a1-Lughawi
l 4
who denied the scholarship of the Kufan Qurra and grammarians.
He was followed by his student al-Mubarrid who went to exaggerated

1. Madrasat al-Kufah, p.337.

2. al-Bahr al-Muh,t,
. .vol.VIII, p.232.
3. Macan, al-Qur'an, vol.I, pp.357-358. and see pp.263-65 below.
4. Maratib al-Nahwiyyin, p.26.

259
lengths in rejecting any reading which did not correspond with his
Basran analogy.l For example he objects to the reading of
Hamzah in (S.IV, 1) Wa'- ttaqu Allaha 'l-Ladhl Tasa'aluna bihl
Wa'l-Ar~ami with khaf~ in al-Arhami 2 while the majority read it
3
with nasb. al-Qur~ubi reports al-Mubarrid as having said that
if he had heard any imam reading thus according to the reading of
Hamzah,
. he would have certainly left him and gone away.4
However, both ways of reading are accepted among the Qurra'
and the reading of ~amzah with khafd is accepted as fluent Arabic. 5
In fact the philologists and the grammarians agree in theory
that the Qurra' follow the sunnah in their ikhtiyar and that their
readings correspond with the orthography of the CUthmanic masahif
and agree with the Arabic language. In this respect Ibn Jinni
supports certain readings although he sometimes cannot find any
linguistic evidence in their support, but he accepts them on the grounds
that the Qari' must have heard it and that he could not have read
- 6
freely without relying on the riwayah.
However they failed to apply their theory ln practice
consistently, including Ibn Jinnl himself who, following his Basran
. rea d'lngs. 7
school, objects to certain authentlc

1. CUdaymah, ed., int., al-Muqtadab, vol.I, p.lll.

. .
2. a 1- Kami 1, vo 1 . I I I, p. 39.
3. al-Bahr al-Muhlt, vol.III, p.157.
. .-.
4. Tafsir, vol.V, p.2.
5. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.III, p.157. For !':lore informations~e pp.262-3below.
6. al-Muhtasib, ~oi .1, pp.85-86, vol.II, pp,.27 and 252.
7. al-Muhtasib, vol.I, pp.240-243 and al-Khasa'i:, vol .1, pp.72-73 .
.
260
 In fact we find this phenomenon even among certain Qurra l

who themselves are reported to have objected to certain accepted

readings. In this connection we may mention Abu CUbayd and
al-Zajjaj who are reported to have expressed their objection to
the reading in (S.XIV, 22) of Wa-ma antum bi-musrikhiyyi
. with
khaf9 as opposed to bi-musrikhiyya.' Abu cAmr b. alcAla ' is
also reported as having objected to the reading of Hamzah in
(S.XVIII, 44) Hunalika al-wilayatu and (S.VIII, 72) Malakum min
wilayatihim as opposed to the commoner al-wal~yatu and wal~yatihim,
regarding the former as lahn. 2 Likewise Harun al-Acwar is reported
as having objected to the reading of Ibn cAmir in (S.XIX, 42)
ja-abata which according to him is la~n as opposed to ya abati,3
We shall next quote some examples in which the grammarians
objected to certain accepted readings among the seven distinguished
readings, and then examine them and substantiate their authenticity
and acceptability in the Arabic language with references to their
origins among the various Arab dialects:
a. In (S.XIV, 22) the common reading is Wa-m~ antum
bimusrikhiyya
. with nasb. of the final y~1 while l
Ramzah, one of the seven distinguished Qurra read
.
b;-musrikhiyy;.
. al-Zamakhsharl considers this
latter reading weak. 4

.
1. al-Bahr al-Muh,t, vol.V, p.419.
~

2. al-Nashr, vol .11, p.277 and al-Ba~r al-Muhit, vol.VI, p.130.

3. al-Bahr al-Muhit, vol.VI, p.193.
4. a 1- Ka s hs haf, vol. I I, p. 551 .

261
 Abu Hayyan reports certain philologists and grammarians as
having rejected this latter reading, but he opposes this and
states that the reading is authentic and that it is sound Arabic,
though rare, being attributed to the dialect of the Banu Yarbu c .
He quotes Qutrub
. and certain other authorities in
support of this,l
In (S.IV, 1) the common reading is Wa l
ttaqu Allaha 'l-Ladhl
Tasa'aluna bihi Wa'l-Arhama,
. - while it is read by Hamzah being
attributed also to al-NakhqC" Qatadah and al-Acmash, as arhami. 2
Certain grammarians object to this latter reading on the grounds
that it is not sound Arabic and leading Basran grammarians do not
accept this form.] Abu Hayyan, however, supports this reading
on the grounds of its authenticity and the fluency of its Arabic,
as there are various examples in Arabic prose and poetry which
support this. He states that the Kufan school which accepts this
form and supports it is correct, and that the Basrans are not right
4
in their objection to this form.
In addition Abu Hayyan
. studies the transmission of the latter
reading and asserts that it is a successive reading and has been
received from the Prophet in the manner of tawatur and that

1. al-Bahr al-Muhlt, vol.V, p.420.

2. ibid., vol.III, p.15?
3. ibid., and al-Kashshaf, vol.I, p.462, al-Tabari, Tafslr, vol.III,
pp.5l9-520 and al-B'ahr
. al-Muhit, .
. vol.III, p.158.
4. i bi d., pp. 158-159.

262
Hamzah has not read any ~arf in the Qurlan except with athar. He
concludes that it is not necessary to follow in the Arabic
language either the Basran
. school or any other for there are many
-
things in Arabic which are transmitted only by the Kufans and
many others only transmitted by the Basrans. l .
Ibn al-Jazar, mentions of Hamzah that he was the chief Qar,1
of Kufah after cAsim and al-~mash and that he was reliable,
knowledgable in the Qurlan, the Arabic language and other fields
of I sl ami c studi es and a devout man.2 He elsewhere states that
Hamzah has not read a single 'harf except with athar. 3
Ibn c-Amir, one of the seven canonical Qurra ' , is reported as
having read (S.VI, 137) Wa-Kadhalika Zuyyina Likathirin Min al-
Mushriklna Qatlu Awladahum Shuraka'ihim, while the common reading of
the people of Hijaz and Iraq is Wa-Kadhalika Zayyana likathlrin
Min al-Mushrikln Qatla Awladihim Shuraka ' uhum4 which means "Even so,
in the eyes of most of the pag'ans, their I partners made alluring
I

the slaughter of their children". al-Zamakhsharl objects to the

c c -
former reading in which Ibn Amir read qatlu with raf , awladahum
with nasb and shuraka'ihim with khafd on the grounds that it is not
fluent and should not be used in the languaue of the Qurlan. He

maintains that Ibn cAmir read in this way because he saw the word
5
shuraka'ihim in certain masahif with ya l as ~\5f
• . -
1 . al-Bahr al-Muh,t, vo 1 . I I I , p.159
2. al-Nashr, vol.I, p.166.
3. Ghayat al-Nihayah, vol.I, p.263.
4. al-Bahr al-Muh,t, vol.IV, p.229.
5. al-Kashshaf, vol.II, p.70.

263
 However, Ibn al-Munayyir refutes this allegation of
al-Zamakhshari and supports the reading of Ibn cAmir on the grounds
that it has been transmitted with tawatur. He objects to
al-Zamakhsharl's idea that the Qurra' of the seven readings used to
read optionally or simply followed the orthography of the masahif
wi thout re 1yi'ng on riwayah. 1
Abu ~ayyan discusses and supports the reading of Ibn cAmir
and says that certain grammarians accept this form in Arabic,
although the majority of the Ba~ran school reject it except in the
case of poetical licence. He asserts that Ibn cAmir's reading is
correct on the grounds that it has been transmitted in the manner of
tawatur and is attributed to a fluent Arab, Ibn cAmir , who received
it from CUthman before the appearance of lahn
. in the tongue of the
Arabs, and that there are many verses of poetry in support of this
form. 2
Ibn al-Jazarl refers to Ibn cAmir as a great Imam, respected
follower and prominent scholar who led prayers in the Umayyad Mosque
c
in Damascus during the reign of cUmar b. cAbd al- Azlz and who was
also the chief qad, and qari' and that his reading is accepted with
.
the consensus of the salaf. 3
c c -
Moreover Ibn Hajar al- Asqalani points out that the I rab of
the Hadith Fa-Hal Antum rariku Ll Ashabi agrees with that of the

1. al-Intisaf, with al-Kashshaf, vol.II, p.69.

2. al-Bahr al-Muhlt,
. . vol.IV, p.229.
3. a 1- Na s hr, vo 1 . I, p. 114.

264
reading of Ibn cAm1r since in the latter passage the mudaf and
the mu?af ilayhi are separated by a prepositional phrase, while
ln the former they are separated by the direct object. l
The grammar of the Arabic language should perhaps have been
based on the whole Arabic literature in its various dialects and
the Qur'anic readings should have been accepted and used in the
construction of Arabic grammar, but the grammarians opted for the
opposite when they rejected certain Qira'at because they differed
from their analogy or the common rule.
al-Razl objects to this procedure and states that we quite
regularly find the grammarians in a dilemma concerning certain
Qur'anic words as regards how to support their fluency and
acceptability, and that when they find an unknown poetic line they
become happy. He comments that this practice is very surprising
to him and that whereas they regard this unknown poetic line as
an indication of the correctness of the Qur'anic words, the right
method would have been the opposite, i.e. to authenticate the words
2
of the poetic lines on the grounds that they are found in the Qur'an.
The grammarians in fact could not deal with all the constructions
found in the Qur'an and its readings. CUdaymah finds that there are
.
examples in which they objected to certain possible kinds of iCrab

1. Fath al-Barl, vol.VII, p.25f.

2. al-Razl, Mafatib al-Ghayb, vol.III, p.193.

265
although they are found in the Qur'an. l He adds that they used to
object to any reading if it did not correspond with their analogy or
if they could not find substantiation for it according to their
knowledge, or if it did not agree with what is in common use, or
because of their misunderstanding of certain Qira'at although they
are successive readings and are in accordance with their analogy. 2
In conclusion we may say that ikhtiyar was not left to the free
choice of the individual, but depended upon the three conditions for
acceptability discussed above. It was in no way dependent upon the
orthography of the masahif
. . or to do with the fact that they were
undotted and unvocalised, and although accepted readings may differ in
meaning, they do not contradict one another. Since the Qur1an was
revealed in seven ahruf, all of them good Arabic, there is little
point in rejecting any of them on grammatical grounds. In practice
some grammarians, particularly those of Basrah,may have rejected
certain accepted readings on the grounds of their analogy, but despite
this these readings are valid on the basis of other dialects, and
other grammarians have accepted them.

1. CUudaymah, Dirasat Li-Uslub al-Qur'an,al-Karlm, vol.I, pp.5-l3 .

.
2. ibid., pp.22-25. •

266
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Coming to the final conclusion we may review briefly the main
issues discussed in the seven chapters of this thesis,
Firstly the Qur1an has been revealed in seven ahruf. It is
concluded that the phenomenon of differences among the companions
apparently took place after the Hijrah in Mad'nah~ when the number
of Muslims from various tribes increased, and that the ahruf were
intended to facilitate the reading of the Qur1an among them.
The ahad,th which substantiate the revelation of the Qur1an
ln seven ahruf are regarded as sound and successive (mutawatir) .
•
The term seven ahruf
. means seven linguistical variations
reflecting various dialects of the Arabs in ways of recitation of
the Qur1an.
The Prophet used to have certain scribes to write down what
was revealed to him in verses or portions on materials available at
the time to aid the memories of the companions, among whom were a
considerable number who had committed to heart the entire Qur1an
or some parts of it, certain of them having their own codices. The
l
Qur1an was thus preserved in the heart of the Qurra as well as in

book form.
The first development in the field was that Abu Bakr gathered the
Qur1an from its suhuf and different materials as it had been
transmitted from the Prophet, and compiled them in the mushaf. The
word mushaf denotes the entire text of the Qur1an and this title was

268
glven to the Qur'an during the lifetime of the Prophet. It is an
ancient Arabic word used in pre-Islamic poetry.
The next step was the compilation of CUthman, who copied

. .
masahif from the mushaf
.. of Abu Bakr and distributed them to the
metropolitan cities accompanied by distinguished Qurra ' to teach
the people accordingly, in order to unite them and put an end to
disputes among the people in the encampments, the amsar and ln
Madlnah itself; hence he destroyed the personal codices. The
arrangement of the suras as well as the verses in the CUthmanic
masahif is shown by many sound reports to be based on the revelation
as they were found in the original supported by their transmission
from the Prophet.
The problem of ~askh is studied with the two episodes of the
gharanlq and the scribe of whom it is said that he used to make
alteration in the fawasil, the verse endings of the Qur'an, and as
a result the completeness and trustworthiness of the Qur'an has been
demonstrated, there being nothing missing or which used to be read
and was abrogated by Naskh al-Tilawah either with or without ~ukm.
As regards the relation between the c Uthmanic
- -
masahif
. .
and the
seven ahruf, the most acceptable two opinions among the scholars are
that the CUthmanic masahif accommodate either all or a certain
unspecified number of the ahruf which correspond with the orthography
•
of the CUthmanic masahif, which include what is transmitted by
..
Tawatur but not Ahad readings attributed to certain personal codices
and transmitted to us in unauthentic chains. The masahif
. . were

269
recorded in one harf with the permission of reciting ln seven
ahruf.
The additional interpolations attributed to the personal
codices are found to be their own explanations and interpretations.
They all generally are isolated reports (Akhbar A~ad), dubious or
rejected.
The accounts alleging that Ubayy added to his mushaf
. , the
ducal of al-Qunut as one or two suras and that Ibn Mascud denied
al-Fatihah
. . and al-Mucawwidhatayn are to be regarded as unauthentic.
The cUthmanic
- -
masahif remained unchanged, without vocalisation
or dottings, for they used to be read soundly according to the
riwayah and teaching of the Qurra ' . The former was introduced by
Abu al-Aswad al-Du'all due to the appearance of Lahn because of
the overwhelming numbers of non-Arabs in cIraq , and the second was
done by the students of Abu al-Aswad at the request of al-Hajjaj
.
during the reign of cAbd al-Malik b. Marwan.
The signs of vocalisation and dottings were further developed with
the adoption of the harakat
. of al-Khal,l b. Ahmad
. and have remained
unchanged since then. What can be attributed to al-Hajjaj is no
more than the introduction of Naqt al-ICjam into the CUthmanic masahif.
Thus no alteration or recension of the masahif
. . was introduced by him,
and the printed masahif of the present day represent the received
, .
text of the Qurlan without alteration.
The language in which the Qurlan has been revealed is studied in
ancient sources as well as in modern linguistical studies to
investigate the views of the scholars. It is found that the text of

270
the Qur1an reflects the influence of various dialects of the Arabs.
The views of the scholars who interpret the seven ahruf as seven
.
dialects of the Arabs differed in their identification,as to whether
the seven dialects belong entirely to Quraysh or to the most fluent
dialects of all the Arabs, and they differed according to their
criteria for fluency. An attempt is made to distinguish between
lughah and lahjah ln ancient sources and modern studies.
The language of the Qur1an is concluded to represent the common
spoken literary language of the Arabs which is based on all their
dialects with a predominance of Qurash, features.
The origin of Qira'at is investigated and it is concluded that
they go back to the teaching of the Prophet, for we find that every
companion when he differed in readings with someone used to say that
the Prophet had taught him this way. The following generation taught
the Qur1an accordingly. Any accepted reading is found to have
corresponded with the conditions governing accepted readings, while
any reading which does not correspond with them or anyone of them is
regarded as shadhdh, dubious or completely unaccepted. The
.
development of these conditions is studied. The theory of reading
the Qur1an in accordance with the meaning is shown to be groundless
and as the Qurra' used to teach their students according to the
conditions governing them and as they received the Qira'ah from the
companions who were taught it from the Prophet, bearing in mind the
fact that the companions whenever they differed in reading would refer
their reading to the Prophet or come to him to arbitrate between them.

271
 The first compilers of Qira'at used to compile a certain
unspecified number of Qira'at. Ibn Mujahid was the first who
introduced the seven readings of the seven Qurra ' of the distinguished
Amsar, regarding the other readings as shadhdh. In choosing this
specific number, although it corresponded to the number of ahruf , he
never intended to confuse the seven ahruf with his seven reading~ .
•
The. seven readings compiled by Ibn Mujahid were adopted in the
Am~ar and dominated the circles of the Qurra ' , although another three
readings in addition to Ibn Mujahid's al-Sabcah were supported and
strongly argued to have the same position as his seven. In this
connection we list a quite considerable number of books composed on
the subject.
Ikhtiyar ln reading, which is the selection of one reading (or
more rather than another or others), is next considered. The
Qurra ' do not have free hand in this, because any reading should be
subject to correspondence with riwayah, the orthography of the masahif
and the Arabic language. The emphasis is made to substantitate the
fact that there are no grammatical or orthographical errors in the
c Uthmanic
- -
masahif. The Qurra ' when they select certain readings
support their choice by mentioning the reasons behind their preference
or opting for a certain ikhtiyar, but without objecting to the other

accepted readings.
Although the philologists and grammarians agreed theoretically
that any reading agreeing with the conditions for accepted readings
should not be objected to, in practice they disagreed on the degree of

272
fluency required, and certain of them objected to some authentic
and highly esteemed readings. We have studied certain examples to
conclude that they are accepted readings on the grounds of their
sound transmission, fluency and correspondence with various Arab
dialects.
Finally, although the sound readings may differ in meanlng they
do not contradict each other, and the orthography of the masahif
preserves the authentic readings which are subject to the riwayah
and the orthography itself does not initiate or create any readings.

273
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