The 10 Qira’at and the Proliferation of Hafs and Warsh

The Quran has been preserved through both writing and memory. The primary mode of teaching the Quran is through recitation. It might be interesting for readers to know that, while the Quran offers a singular message coming unadulterated through the Prophet (saw) from Allah, there are multiple ways of reciting the Quran. These ways are mostly similar, however, in certain places some pronunciation and at times word choice and/ or grammatical shifts are seen if one compares one with another. The most common recitation today is that of Hafs rendition of Asim’s recitation followed by Warsh’s recitation of Nafi’s. How did it come to be? Before delving further, it is important to know some basic terminologies related to Qiraat. As such primarily the tiers of the reciters will be explained first and then the background of the specified reciters will be divulged.

The Reciters (Qurra’)

The Qurra’ are those scholars who coalesced the Quranic recitation from various sources and their schools became well known. Historically there are 10 acceptable Qurra’ of the Quran who gained near unanimous recognition and their Qiraat came to be known as the accepted Qiraat. In addition to the 10, there are 4 more Qirat which are considered as shadhdh or anomalous which while of use in academic purposes, is fairly rejected. The anomalous recitation doesn’t necessarily mean that the recitation is linguistically anomalous rather the recitation to be taken as Quran may be seen as problematic. According to ibn Salah(rh) and ibn Jazari(rh), an anomalous recitation is a that recitation doesn’t have a transmission that is successive or well known (mashur) and accepted by the people. Additionally, it may also contradict the orthography of the Uthmanic mushaf and the known Arabic linguistics. Imam Nawawi states that anomalous recitation should not be recited in Salah on any occasion and ibn Abdul Barr notes of a unanimous rejection of such recitation to be seen as Quran.

Transmitters (Ruwat)

Those who narrated from these masters were known as the transmitters. Many of them were direct students of the Qurra’ while some were indirect students who became more well-known than the direct students. For each reciter, there are two transmitters, but that doesn’t mean that popular students of those Qurra’ other than two didn’t exist, rather the two became more well-known than others.

List of Qurra and Ruwat

	RECITER	SCHOOL	TRANSMITTER
	Qurra		Ruwat
Accepted Qiraat
1	Imam Nafi (d 169 CE/ 785CE)	Madinah	Warsh (d 197 AH/ 812 CE)
			Qalun(d 220AH/ 835 CE)
2	Imam Ibn Kathir al Makki (120 AH/ 737 CE)	Makkah	Al Bazzi (d 250 AH/ 854 CE)
			Qunbul (d 219 AH/ 903 CE)
3	Imam Abu Amr al Basri (d 154 AH/770CE)	Basrah	Al Duri (d 246 AH / 860 CE)
			Al Susi (d 261 AH, 874 CE)
4	Imam ibn Amir (d 118AH/ 736 CE)	Damascus	Hisham (d 245/ 859 CE)
			Ibn Dakwan (d 242/ 856)
5	Imam Asim (d. 128 AH/ /774 CE)	Kufa	Hafs (d 180 AH/ 805 CE)
			Shu’ba (193 AH, 809 CE)
6	Imam Hamzah al Zayyat (d 156 Ah/ 772 CE)	Kufa	Khalaf (d 229 AH/ 843 CE)
			Khallad (D 220 AH/ 835 CE)
7	Imam al Kisai (d. 189 AH/ 804 CE)	Kufa	Abul Harith (d 240AH/ 864 CE)
			Al Duri (246 AH/ 860 CE)
8	Imam Abu Jafar (d 130 AH/ 738 CE)	Madinah	Isa bin Wardan (d 160 AH/ 777 CE)
			Sulayman (d 170AH /786)
9	Imam Yaqub (d 205 AH / 821 CE)	Basrah	Ruways (d 238AH/852 CE)
			Abd al Mu’minm (d. 234 AH /848 CE)
10	Imam Khalaf ( d 229 AH / 844 CE)	Baghdad	Idris (d 292 AH/ 904 CE)
			Ishaq b Ibrahim (d 286 AH / 899)
Anomalous Qiraat
1	Hassan al Basri (d 21/ 614 CE)	Basrah	Suja (d 190AH/ 805 CE)
			Al Duri (246 AH/ 860 CE)
2	Ibn Muhaysin (d 123 AH/740 CE)	Makkah	Al Bazzi (d 250 Ah/ 864 CE)
			Ibn Shunbudh (d 328 AH/ 939 CE)
3	A’mash (d 148 AH/ 765 CE)	Kufa	Ibn Shunbudh (d 328 AH/ 939 CE)
			Al Mutawwi’ (d 371 AH/981 CE)
4	Yahya al Yazidi (d 202/ 817 CE)	Baghdad	Sulayman ibn Hakam (d 235 AH/ 849 CE)
			Farah ( d 303 AH/ 915 CE)
	RECITER	SCHOOL	TRANSMITTERS

Summary of the Qurra and the Ruwat

Biographical summary of the popular Qari and transmitters

Nafi

Imam Nafi ibn Abdur Rahman ibn Abi Nu’aim (rh) was born in 70 AH. He is not to be confused with the other Imam Nafi (rh) who was the freed slave of Ibn Umar and also a teacher of Imam Malik (rh). There is a difference of opinion if he was a Tabiin or tabe tabiin. A narration notes that some companion stood behind Imam Nafi in prayer, which puts him in the tabiin category. However, the opinion of him being from tabe tabiin is stronger given he doesn’t narrate anything from any companion. Rather all of his narrations come through Tabi’. He was originally from Isfahan. He had a dark complexion and was noted to have a pleasant demeanor and would sometimes give nicknames to his students.

Both Imam Malik and Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (rh) used to prefer Imam Nafi’s recitation over others. It is said that Imam Nafi read the Quran to around seventy Tabiin and he only retained what he found as common among the Tabiin, and left whatever isolated recitation that he found. Due to his prolific mastery of Qiraat, he was noted to be able to recite multitudes of the popular Qiraat available during his time. As such, he taught his students Qirat from various major reciters of his time including the one he coalesced.

His major teachers were Abu Jafar Yazid ibn al Qa’qa(rh), Shaybah ibn Nasah(rh), Abdur Rahman ibn Hurmuz(rh), Muslim ibn Jundub(rh), and Yazid ibn Ruman(rh). His main students were Imam Malik(rh), Ismail ibn Jafar(rh), Isa ibn Wardan(rh), Sulayman ibn Muslim(rh), Qalun(rh), and Warsh(rh). He is said to have taught Quran for 70 years. Due to Imam Malik(rh)’s strict preference for Imam Nafi’s recitation, this one became widely popular in the regions where Maliki madhab proliferated.

On his deathbed when his son asked for advice, he recited the following section of the verse Quran 8:1:

“(so) fear Allah and amend that which is between you and obey Allah and His Messenger, if you should be believers.”

Qalun

His name was Isa ibn Minha ibn Wardan but was widely known by his nickname Qalun. This nickname was given by Imam Nafi himself as Qalun in the Roman tongue meant excellent. Imam Qalun’s forefathers came from a Roman lineage as Roman captives of war during Hazrat Umar (ra)’s time. It is noted that Imam Qalun grew up in Imam Nafi’s household as a his mother married Imam Nafi.

Imam Qalun recited to Imam Nafi countless times and was assigned a column by Imam Nafi where he would send his students to practice with Qalun. An interesting fact about Imam Qalun was he had some hearing impairment and would rely primarily on lipreading to ascertain the correctness of the recitation. Today Qalun recitation is predominantly found in Libya and Tunisia.

Warsh

Imam Warsh’s name was Abu said Uthaman ibn said. He was nicknamed Warsh by Imam Nafi. It’s said that given his fair complexion Imam Nafi gave him the nickname Warsh which meant something made from milk. Others note that he was named Warshan, the common name for white doves, and it became shortened to Warsh. Regardless of the intended name, Imam Warsh would proudly use it as his name due to it being given by his teacher whom he greatly respected.

He traveled from Egypt to Madinah just to learn from Imam Nafi and it is said that he had such a beautiful recitation that people hearing it would become captivated. He would complete the Quran in seven days in front of Imam Nafi and four times in a month. Once he mastered the intricate language of the Quran and the recitation, he held his circle of learning calling it the maqra of warsh (place of learning of Warsh). He later returned to Egypt and became popularly known as Sheikh al Qurra. Today Warsh recitation is predominantly found in Algeria Morocco and Mauritania.

Asim

Imam Asim(rh) grew up in one of the busiest hubs in the Islamic world of the time, Kufa. His full name is Asim ibn Bahdalah Abu al Najud. He was the foremost student of Abu Abdur Rahman al Sulami (rh) who was the shiekh of Qurra in Kufa and taught Imam Hassan (ra) and Hussain (ra). After the death of Imam Sulami, Imam Asim rose to fill that position. His recitation is said to be very melodious and people of Kufa adored it. He was a practitioner of Zuhud and would never pass a masjid without entering and praying in it.

Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (rh) noted that after Imam Nafi’s recitation, he preferred Imam Asim’s. It is noted that he became blind and by profession, he would sell wheat. He liked to travel around to teach the Quran so that many people would benefit from his knowledge, rather than only those who could reach his location. He is noted to have been strict and would dislike to teach those who didn’t endeavor, appreciate, or understand the Quran.

His main teachers were Abu Abdur Rahman al Sulami, Zirr ibn Hubaysh, and Abu Amr Sa’d ibn Iyyas al Shaybani. Given his errant nature and his location in Kufa, he taught many major scholars of Islam such as Al A’mash(rh), Ibn Ayyash (Shu’bah) (rh), Hafs(rh), Imam Sufyan at Tawri(rh), Imam Sufyan ibn Uyaynah(rh), Imam Abu Hanifa (rh). Notably two of the 10 Qari Abu Amr(rh) and Hamza(rh) recited learned from him as well. His hadith are found in all of the 6 canonical works of Hadith. In summary, he was a wealth of knowledge and a highly respected individual during and after his time.

Shu’bah

His full name is Shu’bah ibn Ayyash and was an ardent student of Imam Asim. He noted that he learned the Quran from Asim just like how a child learns from his teacher, indicating his total imbibing of knowledge from Imam Asim. He completed the Quran around 3 times with Imam Asim and said that by the time he left Imam Asim, he was confident that he knew precisely how each letter should be read according to Imam Asim.

He was very punctual and became a highly learned scholar in his own right. The great scholar of Islam Imam Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (rh) when asked a question about hadith deferred it to Shu’bah after spotting him in the gathering and noted that when Shu’bah is present one shouldn’t ask questions about hadith from him. Imam Assim mentioned to Imam Hafs that he taught Shu’bah the recitation that he learned from Imam Zirr ibn Hubaysh who learned from Abdullah ibn Masud(ra).

He was also a prolific teacher of the Quran however he stopped teaching the Quran in the last seven years before his demise. During his deathbed, he comforted his crying sister by noting that he completed the Quran eighteen thousand times so she shouldn’t worry about his affairs.

Hafs

His full name was Hafs ibn Sulayman ibn al Mughirah. He was also known as Hufays and was born in 90 A.H. He lived in Imam Asim’s household as he was a stepson of Imam Asim, as such he was raised and trained continually by Imam Asim. He recited the Quran countless times Imam Asim. He initially settled in Baghdad and later in Makkah where he stayed till his death. During his stay in these places, countless people learned the Qiraa of Imam Asim from him.

While he is seen as a master of Quran recitation especially that of Imam Asim’s recitation he is deemed weak in Hadith. Imam Asim informed him that while he taught Imam Shu’bah the recitation that he learned from Zirr ibn Hubaysh(rh) who learned from Abdullah ibn Masud(ra), he taught Hafs the recitation that he learned from his master Abdur Rahman al Sulami(rh) who learned it from Ali (ra). Hafs noted that he followed the recitation of Imam Asim down to the specifics and differed with Imam Asim only in one place of Surah Rum 54, where Imam Asim used to recite ضَعْفٍۢ with a fathah (like that of the Quranic mushaf today) while Hafs would recite it with a dammah. The difference doesn’t mean that Hafs invented it. The reading with fathah and dammah are both found in the 10 recitations. It is said by Imam Baghawi that one with dammah is the norm of Quraysh and the one with fathah is in the vernacular of Banu Tamim. Both recitations are within the scope of the 10 qiraat and are found independently of Hafs’ rendition of Asim.  

Spread of Hafs and Warsh

The Qiraa of Hafs and Warsh particularly that of Hafs have reached a level of widespread that nearly all other Qiraa can be deemed as minor or even nonexistent to any onlookers of today. However, historically that was not the case. While Warsh and Qalun did gain popularity, especially among the Maliki madhab due to the strict preference of Imam Malik, Hafs of Imam Asim didn’t gain the level of widespread nature that it has today. In earlier times Qiraa’s popularity was region-specific. In Makkah, the dominant Qiraa was that of ibn Kathir, In Madinah, it was of Nafi. In Kufa, ironically, Asims Qiraa wasn’t as popular as the other two. Given, among the transmitter of Asim, Su’bah was preferred by the kufans and Shu’bah didn’t take many disciples other than those who were meticulous; the reading of Asim became overshadowed by that of Hamzah. As such, Shu’ba’s reading of Asim dominated Hafs’ reading of Asim, and Hamza’s Qiraat overshadowed Asim’s in Kufa for some time. In Basra, the dominant Qirat was that of Yaqub and later was replaced by Duri’s rendition of Abu Amr. In Syria overall the popular Qiraa was that of ibn Amr but later was displaced by Duri’s rendition of Abu Amr’s. In North Africa and onwards Warsh’s Qira of Nafi was the most popular one. Warsh was from Egypt and was a prolific reciter as such people from North Africa flocked to him taking his recitation back to their places. Concomitantly Maliki madhab spread over North Africa and as such both Warsh and later Qalun became the well-known Qiraat there, a status quo that persists. Other than that, Duris’s reading of Abu Amr became the dominant Qiraa of the Islamic world as it was the more popularly recited Qiraa in Iraq, Arabia Yemen Syria, Sudan, parts of Egypt, and eastern Africa and this was the norm till the 10^th century. Hafs, it seems, was popular among the Turkish region.

With the rise of the Ottoman Empire which later became the caliphate, the recitation of Hafs began to gain traction. With their madrassa and learning centers preferring to teach Hafs it became a popular recitation in the Ottoman regions. Gradually it started to displace Duri’s reading of Abu Amr which later became confined to parts of Yemen and Sudan which is a status quo of today. Ottomans didn’t have very strong control over the North African territory, also the dominant madhab of the North African territory remained Maliki. This a similar displacement of Warsh and Qalun by Hafs didn’t occur. The period of the Ottoman caliphate extended into the time of globalization via the means of mass transport, media and printing press; though concern regarding the use of the printing press to publish the Quran is an issue that is beyond the scope of this monograph. Regardless, late Ottoman period did coincide with the era of globalization which aided in a pronounced and more widespread reach of Hafs than any other Qiraa that ever did.

Additionally, the copy of the Quran the given to the pilgrims who came for Hajj, during the long period of Ottoman control, was that of Hafs. Finally, the first ever Quran recitation that was recorded and spread was in Egypt and it was of Hafs, due to the popularity of Hafs among the Egyptians of the time onwards. All these historical happenstances promulgated Hafs to have near ubiquitous presence when it came to Quranic recitation. It should also be noted that, the tajweed rules of Hafs were more consistent compared to other recitations. It’s known to have fewer exceptions and lack certain pronunciation requirements such as the requirement of “imala’” during the recitation like the other Qiraa. This provision made it easier for non-Arabs to adopt Hafs in comparison with the other recitations.

To summarize, the 10 Qiraat were the ones that had widespread accreditation due to their faithfulness to the Uthmanic writ, Arabic language, and more importantly a proper chain that traces the recitation back to the Prophet (saw). All of the recitations were seen as authoritative. Classically Duri’s Abu Amr and Warsh(perhaps Qalun as well) was the most dominant recitation among the Islamic world. However, Duri’s Abu Amr became displaced by a far wider margin by Haf’s Asim, the Qiraa which most of us are familiar with. This didn’t happen due to a perceived superiority of the Qiraa rather was due to historical reasons and ease of recitation. However, regardless of the material reason it cannot be denied that Allah willed this recitation to proliferate, perhaps it is a way that Allah bestowed his mercy on Imam Asim and Hafs  Imam Nafi and Warsh/Qalun as well as Imam Abu Amr and Duri, and may Allah bless them along with the others who ensured the Quran reached to us unadulterated and pristine.