al-Jawanib al-Sawtiyya fi Kutub al-Ihtijaj lil-Qiraat
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al-Jawanib al-Sawtiyya fi Kutub al-Ihtijaj lil-Qiraat (Phonetic Aspects in the Books of Justification for Quranic Readings) is a specialized linguistic study by Abd al-Badi al-Nayrabani examining the phonetic and phonological analyses presented in classical Arabic works dedicated to justifying Quranic variant readings (qiraat) .
Background and Purpose
The author completed the work in Aleppo on 16 Rabi al-Thani 1426 AH / 25 May 2005 CE . The study was prepared under the supervision of Mustafa Jattal, with earlier supervision by Salah Kazzara, and was prompted by the framework established in modern phonetic scholarship, particularly Ghanim Qadduri al-Hamad's al-Dirasat al-Sawtiyya inda Ulama al-Tajwid (Phonetic Studies Among Tajwid Scholars) .
The primary aim of the work is to investigate the extensive phonetic material found in classical ihtijaj literature—works that explain and justify the linguistic grounds of reading variants—and re-evaluate these classical discussions in light of modern phonetics . Al-Nayrabani notes that because reading variations often concern vocal and articulatory performance, phonetic considerations occupy a central position in books of ihtijaj .
Structure and Contents
The book consists of an introduction, a preliminary study, three core chapters, an evaluative conclusion, three appendices, and comprehensive indices :
- Preliminary Study (al-Tamhid): Covers the concept and linguistic definitions of ihtijaj, alternative designations, the motives and historical development of authorship in the field, key historical texts, genres of ihtijaj compositions, and types of argumentation .
- Chapter One (al-Jawanib al-Nutqiyya): Focuses on articulatory phonetics and isolated speech sounds, examining the inventory and categories of letters, the vocal organs, points of articulation (makharij al-huruf), phonetic designations, paired and individual phonetic attributes (sifat), the relative strength and weakness of attributes, the quantitative relationship between long and short vowels, vowel placement relative to consonants, and sound symbolism .
- Chapter Two (al-Jawanib al-Tashkiliyya: Ashkal al-Taghayyurat al-Sawtiyya): Examines combinatorial phonetics and sound modifications across two sections:
- Consonantal changes: General shifts (assimilation [idgham], substitution [ibdal], metathesis [qalb makani], and deletion [hadhf]) and specific treatments of the glottal stop (hamzah), the letters ta, ra, and lam, as well as unvoweled nun and nunation (tanwin) .
- Vocalic changes: Vowel quality, elongation (madd) and its causes, vowel insertion, deletion of short and long vowels, and vowel mutation .
- Chapter Three (al-Qawanin al-Sawtiyya): Addresses phonological rules and tendencies, opening with the concept of the underlying base (al-asl) and detailing eight phonetic principles deduced from ihtijaj works: assimilation (al-mumathala), dissimilation (al-mukhalafa), ease and lightening (al-suhula wal-takhfif), frequency of use (kathrat al-istimal), avoidance of ambiguity (amn al-labs), analogical uniformity (tard al-bab), compensation (al-tawid), and weakness of word margins (daf al-taraf) .
- Conclusion and Appendices: The conclusion provides a critical assessment of the methodologies, sources, and prominent characteristics of ihtijaj literature . It is followed by three appendices: a list of the Ten Readers and their transmitters with their death dates, biographical entries for the authors of ihtijaj treatises, and an analytical discussion on voicing and voicelessness (al-jahr wal-hams) in Arabic sounds .
Sources and Methodology
The study relies primarily on eleven classical works of ihtijaj :
- Maani al-Qiraat by Abu Mansur al-Azhari (d. 370 AH)
- Irab al-Qiraat al-Sab wa-Ilaluha by Ibn Khalawayh (d. 370 AH)
- al-Hujja fi al-Qiraat al-Sab also by Ibn Khalawayh
- al-Hujja lil-Qurra al-Saba by Abu Ali al-Farisi (d. 377 AH)
- al-Muhtasab fi Tabyin Wujuh Shawadhdh al-Qiraat by Ibn Jinni (d. 392 AH)
- Hujjat al-Qiraat by Ibn Zanjalah (d. c. 403 AH)
- al-Kashf an Wujuh al-Qiraat al-Sab by Makki ibn Abi Talib (d. 437 AH)
- Sharh al-Hidaya by Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ammar al-Mahdawi (d. c. 440 AH)
- Mafatih al-Aghani fi al-Qiraat wal-Maani by Abu al-Ala al-Karmani (d. after 563 AH)
- al-Muwaddih fi Wujuh al-Qiraat wa-Ilaliha by Nasr ibn Ali al-Shirazi, known as Ibn Abi Maryam (d. after 565 AH)
- Irab al-Qiraat al-Shawadhdh by Abu al-Baqa al-Ukbari (d. 616 AH) .
For consecutively transmitted (mutawatir) variants, the author relied on al-Nashr fi al-Qiraat al-Ashr by Ibn al-Jazari (d. 833 AH) . In classifying the intellectual sources used by classical ihtijaj authors, al-Nayrabani identifies internal sources—centered primarily on Abu Ali al-Farisi's al-Hujja—and external sources anchored in Sibawayh's al-Kitab and al-Farra's Maani al-Quran . Methodologically, the work highlights that classical ihtijaj writing was predominantly analytical rather than synthetic, prioritizing individual phonetic details over abstract systemic theorization .
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