al-Qiraat Riwayatay Warsh wa Hafs Dirasah Tahliliyah Muqaranah
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al-Qiraat Riwayatay Warsh wa Hafs Dirasah Tahliliyah Muqaranah (Arabic: القراءات: روايتا ورش وحفص دراسة تحليلية مقارنة, lit. 'The Qira'at: The Transmissions of Warsh and Hafs, an Analytical and Comparative Study') is a specialized contemporary treatise on Quranic variants by Halima Sal . Originally written as an academic thesis, the work offers a comparative and analytical investigation into the systemic rules (uṣūl) and individual word variations (farsh) between the transmissions of Warsh 'an Nafi' and Hafs 'an 'Asim, along with their linguistic and exegetical justifications (tawjīh) .
Origin and Purpose
The work was prepared as a master's thesis in Tafsir and Hadith at the University of Sharjah during the 1428–1429 AH (2007–2008 CE) academic year . It was supervised by Muhammad 'Isam Muflih al-Qudah and defended on 28 Jumada al-Ula 1429 AH (15 June 2008 CE) before an examination committee comprising Ibrahim al-Dawsari, Ahmad Muhammad Muflih al-Qudah, and Ahmad 'Abbas al-Badawi .
The author was prompted to write the book due to the widespread recitation of these two transmissions across the Muslim world—Hafs predominantly in the eastern Islamic world, Egypt, Turkey, and South Asia, and Warsh across North and West Africa, including the author's home country, Senegal . Noting that earlier classical works either surveyed all seven readings broadly without extensive linguistic justification or documented variants without focusing specifically on the two most common contemporary transmissions, the study was designed to provide a focused, accessible reference highlighting their phonological, grammatical, and interpretive differences .
Structure and Scope
The book consists of an introduction, a preliminary entrance (madkhal), three main chapters, and a conclusion :
- Preliminary entrance (al-Madkhal): Defines the science of Quranic readings ('ilm al-qirā'āt), examines its emergence and historical development, and outlines its technical terminology across three subsections .
- Chapter 1: Contains biographical notices of the two eponymous readers and their transmitters: Nafi' ibn Abi Nu'aym, his transmitter Warsh (via Abu Ya'qub Yusuf al-Azraq), 'Asim ibn Abi al-Najud, and his transmitter Hafs ibn Sulayman (via Abu 'Ubayd ibn al-Sabbah al-Nahshali) .
- Chapter 2: Dedicated to the systemic rules (uṣūl). It outlines the foundational principles of Warsh's reading, those of Hafs, and provides a comparative analysis of their differing phonetic and morphological rules (such as the realization or easing of the hamzah, and the emphatic pronunciation or thinning of letters like rā' and lām) alongside their linguistic reasoning (tawjīh) .
- Chapter 3: Focuses on individual lexical variants (farsh al-ḥurūf). It catalogs and compares the specific textual differences between the two transmissions from Surah al-Fatihah through Surah al-Kahf, pairing each variant with its grammatical, rhetorical, and exegetical justification .
- Conclusion (al-Khātimah): Summarizes the primary findings and offers recommendations for future field and academic research in Quranic studies .
Methodology
In presenting the rules, the author follows the concise method established by classical scholars such as Ibn al-Jazari, focusing on points of divergence between Warsh and Hafs rather than reiterating shared principles common to basic tajwid treatises . Quranic citations are documented according to Uthmanic orthography, with specific visual distinction applied in the comparative farsh tables to separate the readings for clarity .
The analytical component emphasizes the linguistic and exegetical dimensions of Quranic variation, demonstrating that differences between the two transmissions represent complementary diversity (ikhtilāf tanawwu') rooted in authentic oral transmission from the Prophet ﷺ rather than contradiction, textual corruption, or mere scribal variation .
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