al-Iqna fi al-Qiraat al-Sab
- Author died
- 540 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Sahaba li-l-Turath
al-Iqna fi al-Qiraat al-Sab (The Persuasion Concerning the Seven Recitations) is a treatise on the seven canonical Quranic readings by the Andalusian scholar Ibn al-Badhish (491–540 AH / 1098–1145 CE) of Granada.
Sources and Scope
The work functions as an expansion, refinement, and commentary upon two classical Andalusian manuals of Quranic recitation: al-Tabsirah by Makki ibn Abi Talib and al-Taysir by Abu Amr al-Dani. Following their framework, Ibn al-Badhish selected seven primary reciters and two authoritative transmitters (ruwat) for each reciter. While he did not incorporate every transmission path (tariq) found in al-Tabsirah, he detailed the theoretical foundations (usul) and systematically attributed variant transmissions to their specific authorities. The text also preserves grammatical and morphological selections from the author's father, the grammarian Abu al-Hasan Ibn al-Badhish.
Structure and Contents
The treatise is organized into two primary divisions along with introductory and concluding sections:
- Biographical and Introductory Chapters: Begins with an introduction, followed by biographies of the seven canonical reciters and their fourteen transmitters, their transmission chains (asanid) reaching the Prophet ﷺ, and the author's own chains connecting to each transmitter. This is succeeded by dedicated chapters on seeking refuge (isti'adha) and the basmalah.
- General Principles (Usul): Systematically covers recurring phonological and recitational rules, including assimilation (idgham), vowel deflection (imalah), the pronunciation of the letters ra' and lam, the glottal stop (hamz), vowel prolongation (madd), pronominal suffixes (ha'at), pausing (waqf), the letters ya', variations in recitation styles and vocal performance (tajwid), and instances where transmitters departed from their eponymous masters.
- Surah-by-Surah Variants (Farsh al-Huruf): Forms the second major part of the treatise, detailing specific textual variations across individual Quranic surahs in scriptural order.
- Conclusion: Concludes with an exposition of the rules and practices regarding the magnification formula (takbir).
Reception and Editions
The book was praised by later authorities in the discipline. Ibn Farhun remarked that no comparable work had been authored in its genre. The recitation specialist Ibn al-Jazari described it as one of the finest books written on the seven readings and counted it among the authoritative texts through which he transmitted Quranic variants, while noting that it contained occasional oversights that he addressed in his own treatise al-I'lam.
al-Iqna was edited by Abd al-Majid Qatamish and published in two volumes in 1403 AH (1983 CE) under the auspices of the Center for Scientific Research and Islamic Heritage Revival at Umm al-Qura University.
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