al-Qawaid wal-Isharat fi Usul al-Qiraat
- Author died
- 791 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qalam
Al-Qawaid wal-Isharat fi Usul al-Qiraat (Rules and Pointers on the Fundamentals of Recitations) is a treatise on the foundational principles of Quranic readings (qiraat) by the Shafi'i judge and scholar Ibn Abi al-Rida al-Hamawi (d. 791 AH / 1388–1389 CE).
Subject and Content
The work belongs to the genre of specialized treatises dedicated to the systematic rules (usul) governing Quranic variants—such as assimilation, vowel inclination, and pausing—which recur consistently across the text, as opposed to isolated word-by-word variations (farsh).
In this concise treatise, al-Hamawi addresses several preliminary topics in the sciences of the Quran before turning to recitation rules:
- The question of whether certain parts of the Quran hold superiority over others (tafdil ba'd al-Quran 'ala ba'd).
- The prophetic tradition concerning the revelation of the Quran in seven modes (ahruf) and the scholarly positions regarding its interpretation.
- The compilation of the Quran into the standardized codices during the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan.
- Thirty-two recurring recitational principles (usul), detailing phonetic and technical rules such as al-fath (open vowel quality), al-imala (vowel inclination), al-idgham (assimilation), al-izhar (distinct pronunciation), al-ikhfa (concealment), al-ikhtilas (vowel shortening), and al-ishmam (lip-rounding).
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the treatise are preserved in several collections, including Yale University Library (MS 589, dated 766 AH), the Chester Beatty Library (MS 4432/2, dated 879 AH), and the Raza Library in Rampur (MS 9044/295, copied before 975 AH).
The text was edited by Abd al-Karim ibn Muhammad al-Hasan Bakkar and published by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus in a first edition in 1406 AH / 1986 CE.
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