Qawaid al-Tajwid ala Riwayat Hafs an Asim ibn Abi al-Najud
- Author died
- 1444 AH
- Editions
- Mu'assasat al-Risalah
Qawaid al-Tajwid ala Riwayat Hafs an Asim ibn Abi al-Najud (Rules of Tajwid according to the Transmission of Hafs from Asim ibn Abi al-Najud) is a manual on the rules of Quranic recitation by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz al-Qari (d. 1444 AH / 2022 CE), focusing specifically on the transmission of Hafs from Asim ibn Abi al-Najud.
Composition and Purpose
Abd al-Aziz al-Qari completed the book in Medina in the month of Muharram 1393 AH. A primary motive for its composition was fulfilling an initiative of his father and teacher, Abd al-Fattah al-Qari, who had intended to author a treatise on the transmission of Hafs at the request of the administration of the Islamic University of Madinah and its president, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, before passing away prior to its realization.
Al-Qari sought to provide modern students with an accessible distillation of classical treatises on the recitation of Hafs, emphasizing precise definitions and classifications. While teaching Quran at the Secondary Institute of the Islamic University of Madinah, he tested various scholars' explanations through practical classroom application, particularly in the chapters on points of articulation (makharaj al-huruf) and phonetic attributes (sifat al-huruf), to arrive at formulations that facilitate study.
Sources and Methodology
The work relies primarily on authoritative classical texts of the discipline, centered on Ibn al-Jazari's didactic poem al-Muqaddimah fima ala Qari'ihi an Ya'lamah (al-Jazariyyah) and its commentaries. Among the specific commentaries utilized are the manuscript commentary by Ibn al-Musannif, the commentary of Mulla Ali al-Qari, the commentary of Zakariyya al-Ansari, and the glosses of Khalid al-Azhari.
Structure and Contents
The book opens with introductory material covering a concise historical overview of tajwid and the Quranic readings (qira'at), the consecutively transmitted readings (al-qira'at al-mutawatirah), biographies of the reader Asim and the transmitter Hafs alongside the author's own chain of transmission (isnad) back to Hafs, as well as the linguistic definition, technical meaning, purpose, and legal ruling of tajwid.
The main text is organized into four principal chapters followed by supplementary sections:
- Chapter 1 (Makharij al-Huruf): Points of articulation of the Arabic letters.
- Chapter 2 (Sifat al-Huruf): Phonetic attributes of the letters, followed by the titles of the letters (alqab al-huruf).
- Chapter 3 (Ahkam Ba'd al-Huruf): Rules governing specific letters and combinations, including the rules of the letters Ra and Lam; the rules of unvoweled Nun (nun sakinah) and tanwin (manifestation/izhar, assimilation/idgham, conversion/iqlab, and concealment/ikhfa); unvoweled Meem (meem sakinah); doubled Nun and Meem; elongation and shortening (al-madd wa-l-qasr); and the pronominal Ha (ha al-kinayah).
- Chapter 4 (al-Waqf wa-l-Ibtida): Rules of stopping and starting, distinguishing between stopping (waqf), severing (qat'), and pausing without breath (sakt); classifications of stops; variations in stopping according to exegesis, recitation variants, and syntax; scribal stop symbols (rumuz al-waqf); and starting with connective and disjunctive hamzas (alfat al-wasl wa-l-qat').
The concluding sections cover the formulas of seeking refuge and the basmalah (al-isti'adhah wa-l-basmalah), modes of recitation (anwa' al-qira'ah), word-specific variants (farsh al-huruf), and a bibliography of cited sources.
Reception and Publication
The work received an endorsement (taqriz) dated 20 Jumada al-Thaniyah 1395 AH (29 June 1975 CE) from Abd al-Fattah al-Qadi, head of the Department of Quranic Readings at the Islamic University of Madinah, who commended its treatment of practical performance rules, clarity of expression, and conciseness. In curricula and study guides, it is categorized as an intermediate text among al-Qari's works on tajwid, positioned after his beginner text al-Tajwid al-Muyassar and before his advanced compilation Majmu'at al-Tajwid.
The book was printed in Jeddah by Sharikat al-Madinah al-Munawwarah li-l-Tiba'ah wa-l-Nashr in 1391 AH, and reached its fifth edition published by Maktabat al-Dar in Medina in 1404 AH.
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