Imta al-Fudala bi-Tarajim al-Qurra fima bad al-Qarn al-Thamin al-Hijri
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- Dar al-Nadwah al-'Alamiyyah lil-Tiba'ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzi'
Imta al-Fudala bi-Tarajim al-Qurra fima bad al-Qarn al-Thamin al-Hijri (Delighting the Virtuous with Biographies of Reciters After the Eighth Hijri Century) is a biographical dictionary compiled by Ilyas ibn Ahmad Husayn al-Barmawi, an instructor of the Quran and tajwid at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, dedicated to documenting Quran reciters from the era following Ibn al-Jazari (d. 833 AH) up to contemporary times .
Background and Purpose
The work was published as the second entry in the author's Series on the Science of Recitations and Tajwid (Silsilat 'Ilm al-Qira'at wa al-Tajwid) . In his preface, where he initially titled it Imta al-Uqala bi-Tarajim al-Qurra fima bad al-Qarn al-Thamin al-Hijri, al-Barmawi stated that his objective was to document the biographies of reciters who lived after the period covered by classical biographical works such as Ibn al-Jazari's Ghayat al-Nihayah fi Tabaqat al-Qurra . He noted that he did not claim to provide an exhaustive survey of all reciters across the Muslim world, and urged students and transmitters of the Quran to research the figures in their own transmission chains (asanid) to help complete the biographical record of later reciters .
Structure and Content
The book is organized into two primary volumes :
- Volume One: Devoted specifically to reciters connected to Medina—including both native residents and those who settled or stayed there—as well as contemporary reciters .
- Volume Two: Encompasses reciters from other regions from the era following Ibn al-Jazari down to the contemporary period .
Sources and Methodology
For historical figures, the author drew upon post-eighth-century biographical collections and chronicle sources, including al-Muradi's Silk al-Durar, al-Jabarti's Aja'ib al-Athar, al-Baytar's Hilyat al-Bashar, as well as local biographical dictionaries dedicated to Medina and Mecca, legal biographical works, and general biographical lexicons . For modern and contemporary entries, al-Barmawi gathered information through written self-submissions or dictations by the biographees themselves, direct oral communication, telephone interviews, written correspondence, formal certificates of transmission (ijazat), and chains of transmission .
Reception and Critical Observations
The work opens with an introductory foreword by Shaykh Muhammad Tamim al-Zu'bi, an instructor of the ten minor and major recitations in Medina, dated 23 Jumada al-Akhirah 1419 AH . In his foreword, al-Zu'bi commended the initiative to gather the biographies of reciters after the eighth century while offering several methodological cautions . He pointed out that because the majority of entries in the first volume relied directly on autobiographical notes supplied or dictated by the individuals, the burden of accuracy for those details rested on the biographees themselves . Al-Zu'bi also observed that some individuals listed instructors whom they had only encountered in academic classrooms at institutes or universities; he clarified that classroom instruction alone does not constitute formal direct transmission (talaqqi), which traditionally requires reciting the entire Quran word for word with rigorous precision under an authorized master .
Publication
The author completed the second volume on Friday afternoon, 27 Dhu al-Hijjah 1418 AH . The book was published in two volumes by Dar al-Nadwa al-Alamiyyah li al-Tiba'ah wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi' in Medina (first edition, 1421 AH / 2000 CE) .
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