how to memorise the

Its been a while since we’ve posted and we apologise for the long  silence. We have been busy because we’ve recently moved to Egypt and it  has taken a while settling in. InshaaAllaah we will have internet set up  soon and the usual weekly posts will resume.

Qiraa’aat” linguistically: The plural of Qiraa’ah (a recitation) is the infinitive of the verb “Qara’a” meaning to read or recite.

Qiraa’aat technically: Articulation of the words of the Qur’aan as they were articulated by the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and was taught or heard from him by his companions.

The subject matter of this science is the words of the Glorious Qur’aan with regards to the manner and method of pronunciation of such words as well as that of implementing the said method. It is from the Noblest of sciences since it guards one from making mistakes when pronouncing the Qur’anic  vocabulary, thus protecting it from distortion and alteration, as well as helping to distinguish between that which is read and that which is not.

Qiraa’aat and Revelation: The sole source for the “Qiraa’aat” is the revelation send down from the heavens to the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. [The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam] then relayed this revelation in minute detail, with every diacritical mark, to his companions. He would recite to his companions as it was revealed to him; Ibn Mas’ood may Allaah be pleased with him, narrates: “He would recite to them ten [verses] and they would not continue on to ten others until they had learned that which was contained in them from knowledge and actions. After this, if he had taught them the Qur’aan and they had perfected its recitation, he would like to listen to them recite to confirm [their ability to recite properly.]“

Qiraa’aat and alteration: A Qiraa’ah (a varying recitation) is a followed Sunnah. It was transmitted through both oral and written narration from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It is the Qur’aan in and of itself, not in any way separate from the Qur’aan, nor is there any difference to be made [between one recitation and the other]. A Qiraa’ah are different wordings [and or pronunciations] which the Holy Spirit was sent down with on various occasions [to recite to the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam].

Imam Muslim narrates from Ubay Ibn Ka’b may Allaah be pleased with him, who said: “I was in the Masjid and a man walked in to pray, he then recited in a manner which caused me to censure him. Then another man entered and recited in a manner different than the manner in which the first one recited. After each of us had finished praying we went to the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam; I said to him “this man recited so I censured him, then another entered and recited differently than the first” The Messenger of Allah sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam then ordered both of them to recite. They did and he endorsed both of the manners [in which they recited]“.

The scholars of “Qiraa’aat” have divided the Qur’anic  recitations into two main categories: Acceptable Recitations and irregular recitations.

As for the Acceptable Recitations, then they are those in which three pillars are fulfilled:

1-     That it agrees with a sound principle from the principles of the Arabic language.

2-      That it agrees with the written scripture as collected by Uthm’aan may Allah be pleased with him

3-     That it has reached us through an authentic successive chain of transmission.

Every Qiraa’ah wherein these three pillars are met is then to be considered a Qur’anic recitation, permissible to recite in Prayer, as well as to recite separately as an act of worship. This is the opinion of the vast majority of the people of knowledge.

As for the irregular recitations, they are those in which one or more of the previous pillars are missing.

Those Qiraa’aat (recitations) that have reached us through an authentic successive chain of transmission are ten in number. They were transmitted by a group of Reciters who were known for precise narration and accurate pronunciation, as well excellent proficiency. Those mentioned in the following are the Narrators of these recitations along with their most famous students:

1.      The recitation of Naafi’ Al-Madani. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Qaaloon and Warsh.

2.      The recitation of Ibn Katheer Al-Makki. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Al-Bazzi and Qunbul.

3.      The recitation of Abu Amru Al-Basri. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Ad-Doori and As-Soosi.

4.      The recitation of Ibn ‘Aamir Ash-Shaami. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Hishaam and Ibn Thakwaan.

5.      The recitation of ‘Aasim Al-Koofi. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Shu’bah and Hafs.

6.      The recitation of Hamzah Al-Koofi. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Khalaf and Khallad.

7.      The recitation of Al-Kisaa’ee Al-Koofi. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Abu Al-Haarith and Hafs Ad-Doori.

8.      The recitation of Abu Ja’far Al Madani. The most famous of those who narrated from him are ‘Eesa Ibn Wardaan and Jimaaz.

9.      The recitation of Ya’qoob Al-Basri. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Ruwayis and Roouh.

10. The recitation of Khalaf Ibn Hishaam Al-Bazzaar Al-Baghdaadi. The most famous of those who narrated from him are Is-Haaq Ibn Ibraaheem andIdrees Ibn ‘Abdul-Kareem.

When attributing the Narration of a narrator from among those mentioned to the Imam which he narrates the recitation from we call the said narration a “Riwaayah”. Thus, for example, we would say this is the Qiraa’ah of ‘Aasim with the Riwaayah of Hafs, or the Qiraa’ah of Naafi’ with the Riwaayah ofWarsh, et cetera.

Attribution of the seven recitations to the seven reciters is one of selection and fame, not one of opinion and desire; rather it is done through following transmission and narration. The Qiraa’aat are based on learning and narration, not opinion and interpretation. All of the Qiraa’aat which have reached us with an authentic chain are revelation from Allah the Most High, having been revealed to the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It is for this reason that we find the scholars warning about learning the Qur’aan in a method other than one based on education, audition, and oral transmission.

Allah Alone grants success and guides to the right path. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

Taken from: Islamweb

This is the final part of this series and we will be talking to you about what is known as the mutashaabihaat. From the perspective of the Huffaadh and students of the Qur’aan, this is a name given to the verses of the Qur’aan which resemble one another. Allaah says in the Qur’aan;

اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِيَ

“Allaah has sent down the best statement, a Book (this Qur’aan), its parts resembling each other in goodness and truth, oft repeated.” [az-Zumar 39:23]

There are many examples of them, some are very very similar with only a letter setting them apart whilst others are not so similar. Paying great attention to these verses as you come across them and being fluent in their differences is from one of the distinct signs and proof of how strong your memorisation of the Qur’aan is.

When you come across an aayah that resembles one you have previously memorised, get in to the practice of highlighting the similar aayaat (either the entire aayah or just the part of it which is distinguishes it from the aayah it is similar to) and then on the margin of the Mushaf, get a sharp pencil and write down the reference for the verse/s which it resembles (write both the soorah number and aayah number).

Let’s take an example of two similar verses where the difference is the addition/omission of a letter. The following aayah is from Soorah at-Teen (95:6):

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُمَمْنُونٍ

“Save those who believe and do righteous deeds, then they shall have a reward without end (Paradise).”

And it is almost exactly the same as the last aayah from soorah al-Inshiqaaq (84:25):

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌغَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ

“Save those who believe and do righteous good deeds, for them is a reward that will never come to an end (i.e. Paradise).”

The difference between the two is that the latter has the word لَهُمْ whereas the former adds the letter فَ so it reads فَلَهُمْ. I prefer to highlight only the two distinguishing words rather than the entire aayah, so you would highlight them both and on the margin of soorah al-Inshiqaaq you would reference the aayah in soorah at-Teen and vice-versa.

So you would do this each time you come across similar Aayaat and know that there may be cases where a particular verse is similar to more than one other verse. An example of this is the following three verses from Soorah al-Baqarah, al-A’raaf and Taa-Haa:

وَقُلْنَا اهْبِطُواْ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ

…We said: “Get you down, all, with enmity between yourselves…” [al-Baqarah 2:36]

قَالَ اهْبِطُواْ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ

(Allaah) said: “Get down, one of you an enemy to the other…” [al-A'raaf 7:24]

قَالَ اهْبِطَا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ

(Allaah) said: “Get you down, both of you together, some of you are an enemy to some others…” [Taa-Haa 20:125]

InshaaAllaah, we will soon start posting a series of the mutashaabihaat and highlight for you the ways to remember the differences between similar verses.

It is worth mentioning here that what we discussed in Part 3 concerning the importance of reading the tafseer and translation of the aayaat, is clear when it comes to the mutashaabihaat. And it is a good argument for Qur’aan students to learn the Arabic Language or at the very least, the basics of it.