al-Unwan fi al-Qiraat al-Sab
- Author died
- 455 AH
- Editions
- ʿĀlam al-Kutub
al-Unwan fi al-Qiraat al-Sab (The Title in the Seven Recitations) is a treatise on the seven canonical Quranic recitations composed by the Andalusian grammarian and reciter Abu Tahir Ismail ibn Khalaf al-Muqri (d. 455 AH / 1063 CE; another report gives 445 AH).
Composition and Purpose
Ibn Khalaf composed the work to outline the differences among the seven canonical authorities of Quranic recitation in a concise and accessible manner for memorizers and students of the discipline. Having already elaborated upon the underlying chains of transmission (isnad) and detailed grammatical and phonetic rationales in his broader work Kitab al-Iktifa', he deliberately omitted them in al-Unwan, presenting this abridgment as an introductory guide and epitome for the larger treatise.
Structure and Content
The work is organized into two primary divisions:
- General Rules (al-Usul): Covers regular and systematic phonological rules applied across the Quran, including vowel prolongation and shortening (al-madd wa-l-qasr), consecutive hamzas occurring in single or multiple words (al-hamzatan), consonant assimilation and manifestation (al-idgham wa-l-izhar), and vowel shifts and inclination (al-fath wa-l-imala).
- Individual Variants (Farsh al-Huruf): Comprises the larger portion of the text and catalogues specific variant readings verse by verse, arranged according to the sequence of the chapters (surahs) of the Quran.
Reception and Commentaries
The biographical historian Ibn Khallikan characterized al-Unwan as an authoritative reference in the discipline of recitation. The text served as an important manual in Egypt, where Ibn Khalaf had taught recitation at the Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas. The prominent scholar Abu al-Jud Ghiyath ibn Faris relied heavily upon it, which prompted his student Abd al-Zahir ibn Nashwan al-Judhami (d. 649 AH / 1251–1252 CE) to write a comprehensive commentary on the text, adding transmitted variants, biographical notices of the transmitters, and rationales for each reading. Later, Ibn al-Jazari included al-Unwan among the primary source texts upon which he constructed his monumental compilation al-Nashr fi al-Qiraat al-Ashr.
Editions
- Edited by Zuhayr Zahid and Khalil al-Atiyyah, published in its second edition in 1406 AH (1986 CE).
- Edited by Abd al-Muhaymin Tahhan as part of a master's thesis at Umm al-Qura University.
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