Introduction
If the Qur’an is truly one timeless, unchanged book, how can it be read in multiple ways? What is the meaning behind these multiple readings (qirāʾāt), and how many are there? Did the Prophet ﷺ use all these different readings? Is this beneficial knowledge for non-experts? Will it enrich my Qur’anic experience? This article provides a brief account of the origins and canonization of the qirāʾāt, the nature of their differences, their number and geographical distribution, and an introduction to the concept of multi-formic Qur’anic modes of recitation and their concomitant layers of meaning.
The qirāʾāt are not marginal phenomena irrelevant to resolving practical challenges. Rather, they have historically played an important role in accommodating Arabic dialectal differences, and currently have been drawing academic attention given their importance in accessing under-researched studies of the Qur’an. More significantly, the qirāʾāt continue to expand and enrich readers’ lived experiences with revelation. Indeed, as will become clear, the study of qirāʾāt extends far beyond recital renditions or exegetical traditions to broach such subjects as theological conceptions of the Qur’an, its inimitability, and textual authenticity. The qirāʾāt also critically contribute to our understanding of the Qur’an as the primary source of Islamic law.
This article demonstrates how knowledge of qirāʾāt provides an opportunity for a deeper connection with layers of Qur’anic meanings. Part I defines the concept of the ‘seven aḥruf” and how they relate to qirāʾāt as we know them today. Part II lists the ten canonical qirāʾāt and introduces their imams/reciters (qurrāʾ) and their transmitters (ruwāh). Part III explains how all these readings are considered Qur’an and addresses the question of which reading is most authentic. Part IV documents the spread of qirāʾāt in the Muslim world throughout history until today. Part V highlights the wisdom behind revealing and allowing different modes of reciting the Qur’an, and provides tips for how qirāʾāt may assist with one’s tadabbur of the Qur’an.
The hadith of the seven aḥruf and the origins of the qirāʾāt
Any discussion of the Qur’an’s different readings is premised on understanding the term aḥruf (singular: ḥarf), which linguistically means ‘seven-sided.’ In an authentic hadith that reached the distinguished level of mass-transmission (tawātur),
the Prophet ﷺ said: “Jibrīl recited the Qur’an to me in one ḥarf. Then I requested him [to read it in another ḥarf] and continued asking him to recite in other aḥruf until he ultimately recited it in seven aḥruf.” In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ says, “O Jibrīl! I have been sent to an illiterate nation among whom are the elderly woman, the old man, the boy and the girl, and the man who cannot read a book at all.’ Jibrīl replied: ‘O Muhammad! Indeed the Qur’an was revealed in seven aḥruf [i.e., seven different ways of reciting].”
The practice of reciting in various aḥruf was also approved by the Prophet ﷺ when ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and Hishām ibn Ḥakīm disagreed in their recitation of Sūrah al-Furqān. The Prophet ﷺ commented on two different recitations by saying, “It was revealed to be recited in this way.” He added, “This Qur’an has been revealed to be recited in seven different aḥruf, so recite it whichever way is easier for you.”
So what exactly, are the seven aḥruf ? Our tradition furnishes us with a number of opinions. Three concepts encompass the overwhelming majority of them: that the seven aḥruf are seven dialects, seven modes (awjuh) of reading, or seven types of phrases. Although each concept may not independently explain the totality of the seven aḥruf, together they provide a holistic understanding of the ways in which different pronunciations of Qur’anic text are permitted. Irrespective of which definition of aḥruf is adopted, it is a matter of scholarly consensus that the seven aḥruf result in different, yet equally valid, readings.
In commenting on verse 4:83, “Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction,” al-Jaṣṣāṣ (d. 370/981) said, “Contradictory meanings do not exist in the Qur’an at all. Rather, all [seemingly contradictory] differences are perfectly coherent in meaning, wisdom, and proof-value.”
Ibn al-Jazarī also stated,
The reality, and the benefit, of the differences among the aḥruf established by the Prophet ﷺ is that they are differences of complementation and harmony, not contradiction or inconsistency. Indeed, [contradiction or inconsistency] cannot possibly exist in the speech of Allah.
The aḥruf hadiths established that the Qur’an is “inherently a multiform recitation,”
which unleashed a massive wave of traditional and modern scholarship seeking to tease out the theological and scriptural implications of this linguistic pluralism. The significance of the concept of aḥruf and its surrounding discourses are reflected in four critical topics related to Divine textual authenticity: the revelatory methods of the Qur’an, the compilation of the Qur’an, the orthography of the Qur’anic codex (rasm al-muṣḥaf), and the qirāʾāt.
The Prophet’s plea to ease Qur’anic recitation, as recorded in the aforementioned hadiths, was likely prompted by the particular sociocultural dynamics of Medina, where the growing Muslim population now comprised diverse tribal, dialectical, and ethnic backgrounds, while illiteracy was widespread.
These dynamics caused the Muslim community to need: 1) Qur’an teachers, since the Prophet ﷺ would not be able to individually teach each new Muslim; and 2) cultural accommodations, since people’s varying linguistic customs and mental capacities posed barriers to mastering the meticulous rules of recitation.
To address the first need, the Prophet ﷺ publicly identified Qur’an teachers such as ʿAbdullah ibn Masʿūd, Sālim ibn Maʿqil, Muʿādh ibn Jabal, and Ubayy ibn Kaʿb.
ʿUbādah ibn al-Sāmit narrated that, “the Prophet ﷺ would get busy; when an immigrant man came to him [to embrace Islam], the Prophet ﷺ would assign one of us to teach him Qur’an.”
To address the second need, the Prophet ﷺ asked Allah to ease the recitation of Qur’an for his ummah. Hence, the seven aḥruf were the result of a prophetic request honored by Allah, which indicates that the aḥruf are, in part, a concession (rukhṣah) to ease the reading of Qur’an for all Muslims. This means that reading in any of the seven aḥruf is permitted and that all of them are correct—not as variants of a fixed original text, but rather, as recitations of a singular but multiform text.
Despite the disagreement over the exact meaning of the aḥruf, there is widespread scholarly agreement that the qirāʾāt were a result of the aḥruf’s rukhṣah. The number seven provides a particular number of identifiable modes of recitation.
Jibrīl’s declaration that “the Qur’an was revealed in seven aḥruf ” signifies that these aḥruf are divinely mandated. It also means that the primary way to learn these aḥruf is through transmission connected to the Prophet’s direct teaching or approval. The Prophet ﷺ taught the companions the Qur’an according to the aḥruf by reading to them (iqrāʾ) or correcting their recitation to him (ʿarḍ)
and occasionally approving their tribal pronunciation of certain letters or words. Most of the differences between the aḥruf are related to dialectal variations.
There is no doubt that the [different] tribes would visit the Prophet ﷺ and he used to translate to each in their dialect. He would elongate [the lone vowels up to] one, two, and three vowels for those whose dialect was like that. He would also perform emphatic pronunciation (tafkhīm) for those whose dialect was like that, perform softening (tarqīq) for those whose dialect was like that, and inclination imālah for those whose dialect was like that.
This affirmation is also supported by the event which al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) narrated from the successor Abū ʿĀliyah al-Riyāhī that several people representing different tribes recited Qur’an to the Prophet ﷺ and every one of them “differed in the language [in which they recited]. The Prophet ﷺ approved the reading of all of them. Banū Tamīm were the most eloquent (aʿrab al-qawm).”