Usool at-Tafseer (The Fundamental Principles of Qur'aanic Interpretation)

Usool at-Tafseer (The Fundamental Principles of Qur'aanic Interpretation)

Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips.

DIALECTS AND RECITATIONS

Although Arabic was the common language throughout the Arabian peninsula, the different environments and histories of the various tribes produced a wide variety of dialects. In some cases, each tribe used different words to
describe the same object. For example, some tribes called the lion an “asad,” while other tribes called it a “ layth,” “hamzah,” “hafs,” or a “ghadanfar.” In
other cases, differences occurred in the way certain letters were pronounced due
to vowelling differences. However, in time the dialect of the tribe of Quraysh
emerged from among the various dialects as the most prominent dialect. The
Qurayshee dialect became the most respected of all the dialects for the following
basic reasons:
1. Makkah and its surrounding area, including the shrine of the Ka‘bah, were
part of the tribal lands of the Quraysh. Each of the various tribes had idols
representing their various tribal gods placed in and around the Ka‘bah. Thus
the Ka‘bah was considered the spiritual center for all of the Arabian tribes,
and pilgrimage to the shrine was made throughout the year.
2. During the month of hajj, pilgrims from all of the tribes used to come to
Makkah in order to perform the rites of hajj. This practice was started by
Prophet Ibraheem and his sons when they first built the Ka‘bah and it remained
a practice among their Arabian descendants; however, many false rituals
involving idolatry and superstition were added to the original rites. The
Quraysh took personal responsibility for supplying drinking water (siqaayah)
for all of the pilgrims and their animals. This was done free of charge as
evidence of their generosity and nobility. Thus, the Quraysh were held in a
highly praiseworthy position among the Arabs.

3. Makkah stood at the junction of all the major trade routes between Syria and
Persia to the north, and Yemen and Africa to the south. As a result, the
Qurayshee trading class became the richest class among the families in Arabia,
which in turn led to the great respect that was given to the Qurayshee tribe by
the various tribes of Arabia.
SAB‘AH AHRUF (THE SEVEN FORMS)
In order to take into account the various differences which existed among the
Arabian dialects, Allaah revealed the Qur’aan in seven different forms. The forms
matched the dialects of the following seven tribes: Quraysh, Huthayl, Thaqeef,
Hawaazin, Kinaanah, Tameem, and Yemen.21 These various forms did not
represent different Qur’aans, as Jibreel only conveyed verses from a single
Qur’aan written on a protected tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfooth) in the heavens.
However, Jibreel was instructed to recite the verses that he brought in seven forms
corresponding to the dialects of the major tribes. The various forms represented
the various ways in which the same word might be said according to the various
dialects. However, the meanings were all stated the same. The Prophet (r)
informed most of his companions (sahaabah) of the existence of various readings
so that the variation in their readings would not create any discord or division
among them. The sahaabee Ibn ‘Abbaas reported that he heard Allaah’s
Messenger (r) say,

“ Jibreel recited (the Qur’aan) to me in one form, and after I had revised it I
asked him to recite some more, which he did, until he completed seven forms.” 22
However, not all of the companions were aware of the various readings at the
same time. Consequently, some minor disagreements did take place, which were
resolved by the Prophet (r) himself. An example of such cases can be found in
21 Exactly which dialects is a matter of dispute among those who accept this interpretation of the
seven ahruf. See al-Itqaan, vol. 1, p. 135-6.
22 Collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 6, p. 481, no. 513) and Muslim (Sahih
Muslim, vol. 2, p. 390, no. 1785).

the following incident narrated by one of the Prophet’s closet companions. ‘Umar
ibn al-Khattaab said, “Once during the lifetime of Allaah’s Messenger (r), I
heard Hishaam ibn Hakeem reciting Soorah al-Furqaan in salaah, and I noticed
that he recited it differently from the way in which the Prophet (r) had taught me.
I was on the verge of jumping on him during his salaah, but I managed to control
my anger until he completed his prayer. Upon its completion, I grabbed him by
the neck of his cloak and said, ‘Who taught you this soorah that I heard you
reciting?’ He replied, ‘Allaah’s Messenger (r) taught it to me!’ I said, ‘You are a
liar, for Allaah’s Messenger (r) has taught it to me in a different way from the
way you recited it!’ I then dragged him to Allaah’s Messenger (r) and said to
him, ‘I heard this person reciting Soorah al-Furqaan in a different way from the
way that you taught me.’ Allaah’s Messenger (r) then said, ‘Release him ‘Umar!
Recite Hishaam!’ Hishaam recited in the same way that I heard him reciting
previously. Then the Messenger of Allaah (r) said, ‘It was revealed in this way!’
He then said, ‘Recite ‘Umar!’ When I completed reciting it the way he had taught
me, he said,

‘It was also revealed in this way. This Qur’aan has been revealed in seven forms,
so recite whichever is easiest for you.” 23
Ibn ‘Abdul Barr argued on the basis of this incident that the interpretation of
the seven forms as meaning seven tribal dialects is flawed, since ‘Umar and
Hishaam were both from the Qurayshee tribe. He interpreted it as meaning seven
facets of harmonious meaning conveyed by varying words; for example, words
like halumma, t‘aala, and aqbil, which all mean ‘come.’ Ibn Hajr, after quoting
him, offered the opinion that the two interpretations are not mutually
contradictory. It may be that the variation consists of differing words for the same
meanings and that the variations are from the dialects of seven Arabic tribes.
Ibn Qutaybah proposed a different interpretation of the seven forms:
23 Collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 6, p. 482, no. 514) and Muslim (Sahih
Muslim, vol. 2, pp. 389-90, no. 1782). Similar hadeeths are reported on the authority of Ubay ibn
Ka‘b, ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf and Aboo Hurayrah. In fact, Ibn al-Jazaree collected the reports
on this issue and found that nineteen of the sahaabah reported it. It is thus considered a
mutawaatir hadeeth in its meaning.

1. variations in vowel markings, while the letters and meaning are unchanged; for
example laa yudaarra and laa yudaarru in verse 282 of Soorah al-Baqarah:

“Neither the scribe nor the witness should be harmed.”
2. variations in the form of a verb; for example: ba‘‘ada and baa‘id in verse 19 of
Soorah Saba’:

“They said, ‘Our Lord, make the stages between our journeys
longer.’ ”
The variation in this example is in two aspects: between the past tense and the
imperative and between the second form and the third form of the root, i.e. fa‘‘ala
and faa‘ala.
3. variations in dots of letters that have the same basic shape; for example, raa’
and zaa’ in the words nunshiruhaa and nunshizuhaa, two variant wordings of
verse 259 of Soorah al-Baqarah:

“And look at the bones (of your donkey), how We raise them up.”
The variant wording, nunshiruhaa, means ‘We restore them to life.’
4. variations due to substitution of one letter for another that is pronounced from
a nearby location in the mouth or throat; for example 'ayn and haa’ both
originate from the middle of the throat. In verse 29 of Soorah al-Waaqi‘ah, the
word, talhin (banana trees or a kind of acacia tree) is also recited tal‘in (spadix
of a palm tree).

5. variations due to the transposition of words in a phrase; for example, in verse
19 of Soorah Qaaf,

“And the stupor of death will come in truth,”
a variant recitation attributed to Aboo Bakr is:

“And the stupor (ordained by) al-Haqq (Allaah) will come,
accompanied by death.”
6. variations due to the addition or subtraction of letters or words; for example, in
verses 1-3 of Soorah al-Layl:

“By the night when it veils, and the day when it shines in brightness,
and Him Who created the male and female...”
The recitation of Ibn Mas‘ood and Aboo ad-Dardaa’ omitted the first three
words of verse 3, wa maa khalaqa, (and [by] Him Who created).
Some recitations added words to what is recorded in the Mus-haf
‘Uthmaan. Al-Bukhaaree collected the statement of Ibn ‘Abbaas, “When the
verse was revealed,


“Warn your clan of nearest relations, and (especially) the sincere
among them,”
the Messenger of Allaah (r) went out, climbed atop the hill of as-Safaa and
shouted...”24 The verse referred to by Ibn ‘Abbaas is verse 214 of Soorah ash-
Shu‘araa’. However, only the first half of it, “Warn your clan of nearest
relations,” appears in the Mus-haf ‘Uthmaan. Some scholars say this is really
an example of naskh (abrogated recitation).25
7. variations due to the use of one synonym in place of another. This is what Ibn
‘Abdul Barr was referring to. An example of this is Ibn Mas‘ood’s recitation of
verse 5 of Soorah al-Qaari‘ah. Instead of كَالْعِھْنِ الْمَنْفُوشِ , he recited .كَالصُّوفِ
الْمَنْفُوشِ Both phrases mean ‘like carded wool.’26
Other scholars, such as Ibn al-Jazaree and Abul-Fadl ar-Raazee, proposed
their own variations on the same principle. Ar-Raazee wrote, “The variations of
language do not go outside seven aspects:
1. variations of nouns between singular, dual and plural and between masculine
and feminine;
2. variations in verb tenses between perfect (past), imperfect (present and future)
and imperative (command);
3. variations in i‘raab (vowel endings that indicate the role of the word in the
sentence);
4. addition and deletion of letters;
5. flipped word order;
6. substitution of one word for another;
7. variations in pronunciation such al-imaalah, al-fat-h, at-tarqeeq, at-tafkheem,
al-idghaam and al-ith-haar.27
24 Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 6, p. 467, no. 495. Note: The translator did not translate the second half
of the Qur’aanic reference cited in the Arabic.
25 See Chapter 12.
26 Quoted by Ibn Hajar in Fat-h al-Baaree, vol. 8, p. 645.
27 Quoted by Ibn Hajar in Fat-h al-Baaree, vol. 8, p. 646. This view was favored by az-Zarqaanee
in Manaahil al- ‘Irfaan, vol. 1, p. 148.

Ibn Hajr pointed out that there is considerable overlap between all these various
explanations.28
Significance of the Seven Forms
The revelation of the Qur’aan in seven different dialects made its recitation
and memorization much easier for the various tribes. For example, the phrase,
“‘alayhim” (on them), was read by some as “‘alayhumoo,” and the word
“ siraat” (path, bridge), was read by some as “ siraat” and by others as “ ziraat,”
and the word “mu’min” (believer) was also read as “moomin.” As a result, a
greater number of the Prophet’s followers were able to memorize large portions of
the Qur’aan while the Prophet (r) was still alive. Since the majority of the Arabs
could neither read nor write and most of the Qur’aan was preserved during the
Prophet’s lifetime by memorization, any factor which eased its memorization was
of great importance. Hence, it could be said that the revelation of the Qur’aan in
seven forms played a vital role in the actual preservation of the Qur’aan. It should
also be noted that during the compilation of the Qur’aan after the Prophet’s death,
the only means of verifying the correctness of what had been written of the
Qur’aan during the Prophet’s lifetime was by comparing it with what had been
memorized. Hence, the more people who were able to memorize it, the more
accurately it could be compiled and verified. Consequently, the ease in
memorization also played a key role in the accurate compilation of the Qur’aan.
In many places in the Qur’aan, Allaah challenged the Arabs of that time to
produce a chapter similar to even its smallest chapter. The inability to imitate the
Qur’aan’s style was a miracle which proved that the Qur’aan had to be from
Allaah. This miracle became even more obvious when none of the seven major
tribes could imitate it even in their own dialects, as no one could claim that it was
difficult to imitate due to it not being in their own dialect.
The Dialect of Quraysh
The Qur’aan continued to be read according to the seven forms until midway
through Caliph ‘Uthmaan’s rule, when some confusion arose in other outlying
provinces concerning the Qur’aan’s recitation. Some Arabic tribes had begun to
boast about the superiority of their readings and a rivalry began to develop. At the
28 Fat-h al-Baaree, vol. 8, p. 645.

same time, some new Muslims also began mixing the various forms out of
ignorance. Caliph ‘Uthmaan decided to make official copies of the Qur’aan
according to the dialect of Quraysh and send them along with Qur’aanic reciters
to the major centers of Islaam. This decision was approved by all of the sahaabah,
and all unofficial copies of the Qur’aan were destroyed. Following the distribution
of the official copies, all the other dialects were dropped and the Qur’aan began to
be read in only one dialect. Thus, the Qur’aan which is available throughout the
world today is written and recited only according to the dialect of the Quraysh.29
The discontinuance of the other six forms does not in any way represent a loss of
any part of the Qur’aan. The sahaabah were given the option by the Prophet (r)
to recite the Qur’aan in any of the seven dialects they wished because the meaning
was the same and the variations were synonymous; and it is they who
unanimously decided to discontinue the use of the other six. Such a decision
could not have been unanimously approved if it in any way entailed the loss of
even the smallest part of the Qur’aan. Thus, the Qur’aan according to the
Qurayshee dialect is, without doubt, a perfect and complete compilation of
Allaah’s revealed word to the last of His prophets and messengers, Muhammad
(r).
QIRAA’AAT (THE RECITATIONS)
A qiraa’ah is, for the most part, a method of pronunciation used in the
recitations of the Qur’aan. These methods are different from the seven forms or
modes (ahruf) in which the Qur’aan was revealed. The seven modes were reduced
to one, that of Quraysh, during the era of Caliph ‘Uthmaan when he ordered that
the Qur’aan be copied in the Qurayshee dialect and distributed among the
Islaamic centers of the time. Hence, only the Qurayshee mode remains today and
all of the methods of recitation are based on this mode. The various methods have
all been traced back to the Prophet (r) through a number of the sahaabah who
were most noted for their Qur’aanic recitations. That is, these sahaabah recited
the Qur’aan to the Prophet (r) or in his presence and received his approval.
29 This is the opinion of a group of scholars. Others maintain that some aspects of the different
dialects have been preserved in the varying qiraa’aat, but only those which are reconcilable with
the ‘Uthmaanee Mus-haf. They say the sahaabah wrote the ‘Uthmaanee Mus-haf in such a way as
to maximize the number of ahruf compatible with it. As-Suyootee, Ibn Hajar and Ibn al-Jazaree all
supported the second opinion and attributed it to the majority of scholars. See al-Itqaan, vol. 1, p.
142, and Ma‘ al-Masaahif, p. 34.

Among them were the following: Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, ‘Ali ibn Abee Taalib, Zayd ibn
Thaabit, Ibn Mas‘ood, Aboo ad-Dardaa’, and Aboo Moosaa al-Ash‘aaree. Many
of the other sahaabah learned from these masters. Ibn ‘Abbaas, the master
commentator of the Qur’aan among the sahaabah, learned from both Ubayy and
Zayd. 30
Among the next generation of Muslims, referred to as the taabi‘oon, there
arose many scholars who learned the various methods of recitation from the
sahaabah and taught them to others. Centers of Qur’aanic recitation developed in
Madeenah, Makkah, Koofah, Basrah, and ash-Shaam (Greater Syria), leading to
the evolution of Qur’aanic recitation into an independent science.31 By the mideighth
century CE, there existed a large number of outstanding scholars, all of
whom were considered specialists in the field of recitation. Most of their methods
of recitation were authenticated by chains of reliable narrators, ending with the
Prophet (r). Those methods on each level of their chain were called mutawaatir
and were considered to be the most accurate. Those methods in which the number
of narrators were few or one on any level of the chain were referred to as shaath.
However, some of the scholars of the following period began the practice of
designating a set number of individual scholars from the previous period as being
the most noteworthy and accurate reciters.
By the middle of the tenth century CE (6th century AH), it became a popular
convention to limit the number of best reciters to seven, since this number
coincided with the number of dialects in which the Qur’aan was revealed.
Similarly, during this period the number of schools of Islaamic law (math-habs)
were reduced to the famous four after a period in which there were many. The
first to limit the number of authentic reciters to seven was the ‘Iraaqi scholar,
Aboo Bakr ibn Mujaahid (d. 936 CE), and those who wrote books on qiraa’ah
after him followed suit.32 This limitation is not an accurate representation of the
classical scholars of Qur’aanic recitation. There were many others who were as
good as the seven and a number who were greater than them. In fact, the
classification of scholars was really a classification of how well their methods of
recitation were preserved. Hence, the famous seven were those early scholars
from different generations whose methods of recitation had the most chains of
narrators with many narrations on each level of the chain. However, there were
30 Al-Itqaan, vol. 1, p. 204.
31 Ibid., vol. 1, pp. 204-5.
32 Al-Itqaan, vol. 1, p. 224.

other classical scholars whose methods of recitation were just as authentically
(mutawaatir) recorded as the famous seven. A list of the ten scholars of Qur’aanic
recitation whose methods were best preserved is as follows:
1. Aboo ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alaa (d. 771 CE/154 AH) of Basrah
2. Ibn Katheer (d. 738 CE/119 AH) was among the students of the sahaabah of
Makkah.
3. Naafi‘ (d. 786 CE/169 AH) was originally from Isfahaan, and his recitation, as
transmitted by Warsh (d. 812 CE/196 AH), was of Madeenah.
4. Ibn ‘Aamir (d. 737 CE/118 AH) was the chief judge (qaadi) of Damascus
during the reign of al-Waleed ibn ‘Abdul Maalik, who, along with the other
Umayyad caliphs, made that city his capital.
5. ‘Aasim (d. 746 CE/128 AH) of Koofah was the narrator of the dominant
recitation in current use. His narration, as transmitted by Hafs, is the most
common method of narration used in the Muslim world today with the
exception of Africa.
6. Hamzah (d. 773 CE/156 AH) of Koofah.
7. Al-Kisaa’ee (d. 805 CE/189 AH) of Koofah was one of the foremost
grammarians. He played a major role in the formulation of Arabic grammar
rules.
8. Aboo Ja‘far (d. 750 CE/132 AH) of Madeenah.
9. Ya‘qoob (d. 820 CE/204 AH) of Basrah.
10.Khalaf (d. 844 CE/229 AH) of Baghdaad.
At the same time that scholars of hadeeth laid down conditions to determine
the authenticity of statements or actions attributed to the Prophet (r), scholars of
Qur’aanic recitation also formulated conditions to facilitate critical analysis of the
existing recitations. For any given recitation to be accepted as authentic (saheeh),
it had to fulfill three conditions. If any of the conditions were missing, such a
recitation was classified as shaath (unusual). The first condition was that the
recitation have an authentic chain of narration; that is, that the chain of narrators
had to be unbroken, that the narrators were known to be righteous, and that they
were known to possess good memories. It was also required that the recitation be

conveyed by a large number of narrators on each level of the chain of narration
below the level of the sahaabah (the condition of tawaatur). Narrations which
had authentic chains but lacked the condition of tawaatur were accepted as
explanations (tafseer) of sahaabah, but were not considered as methods of
reciting the Qur’aan. As for narrations which did not even have an authentic chain
of narration, they were classified “baatil” (false) and rejected totally.
The second condition was that the recitations’ variations match known Arabic
grammatical constructions. Unusual cons-tructions were verified by their
existence in passages of pre-Islamic prose or poetry. The third condition required
the recitation to coincide with the script of one of the copies of Qur’aan
distributed during the era of Caliph ‘Uthmaan. Hence, differences which result
from dot placement (e.g. ta‘lamoon and ya‘lamoon) are considered acceptable,
provided the other conditions are met. If no support for an unusual condition
could be found, the recitation of that construction would be classified shaath.33
This classification did not mean that all aspects of the recitation were considered
shaath; in fact, none of the accepted ten methods are totally free from some
shaath constructions. Shaath narrations of this type also serve as explanations for
the authentic narrations, as they are obviously statements of the sahaabah.
TAJWEED (PROPER QUR’AANIC RECITATION)
From the beginning of the final phase of prophethood, great stress was placed
on the recitation of the Qur’aan. The very name “Qur’aan” means a “reading” or
“recitation,” and the first verse of the Qur’aan to be revealed was,
( ÇÊÈ t,n=y{ “Ï%©!$# y7nÎ/u‘ ÉOó™$$Î/ ù&tø%$# )
“Recite, In the name of your Lord Who created.”34
The Prophet (r) himself urged his companions to recite as much of the
Qur’aan as they could. Ibn Mas‘ood reported that the Prophet (r) once said,
33 Al-Itqaan, vol. 1, p. 214.
34 Soorah al-‘Alaq (96):1.

“Whoever reads a single letter from Allaah’s book will receive a blessing and
each blessing is worth ten times its value.” 35
Aboo Umaamah reported that he said,
( ا ْ قرءوا اْلقُ  رآن فَإِنَّه يأْتِي ي  وم اْلقِيامةِ شَفِيعا لِأَ  صحابِهِ .)
“Recite the Qur’aan, for verily on the Day of Resurrection it will act as an
intercessor for its companions (those who read it often).” 36
In fact, the Messenger of Allaah (r) encouraged us to read all of it once per
month. ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr reported that when Allaah’s Messenger (r) told him
to read the whole Qur’aan in a month, he said, “Verily I have strength to do
more.” The Prophet (r) then told him to do it in ten days, but he still insisted that
he could do better, so the Prophet (r) told him to read it in no less than seven
days.37 The Prophet (r) also warned us to beware of forgetting what we have
memorized of the Qur’aan. He said,
“Be regular in your reading of the Qur’aan. For by the One in whose hand lies
the soul of Muhammad, it will run away more quickly than a camel from its
restraining cord.” 38
Consequently, from the early days of Islaam in its final form, great care has been
paid to the recitation of the Qur’aan. Care was taken to see that the Qur’aan was
recited as closely to the way it was revealed as possible. Scholars who specialized
in the recitation of the Qur’aan formulated rules of recitation based on the
35 Collected by at-Tirmithee and authenticated by al-Albaanee in Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmithee, vol.
3, p. 9, no. 2327. See footnote 94.
36 Collected by Muslim (Sahih Muslim, vol. 2, p. 385, no. 1757).
37 Collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 6, pp.516-7, no. 572) and Muslim (Sahih
Muslim, vol. 2, p. 563, no. 2588).
38 Collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 6, pp. 505-6, no. 552) and Muslim (Sahih
Muslim, vol. 1, p. 379, no. 1725).

authentic recitations which they had learned. These rules, in fact, formed the basic
science of Arabic phonetics, outlining the correct method of pronunciation for the
letters of the Arabic alphabet, individual words, and sentences. The science which
evolved out of this concern over the correct recitation of the Qur’aan came to be
known as the science of tajweed. Tajweed was defined as the articulation of each
Arabic sound correctly and distinctly and the pronunciation of each consonant,
vowel, word, and sentence according to the standard of Arabic spoken by the
Prophet’s generation. The scholars also insisted that this should take place without
excessive embellishment and unnatural mannerisms. However, one should recite
the Qur’aan in the best natural voice possible, based upon the Prophet’s
recommendation,

“Beautify the Qur’aan with your voices.” 39
It should be noted, however, that in spite of the great emphasis laid on the art
of recitation, it is not a goal to be sought in itself. Recitation is only a means, a
vehicle by which one may absorb the message so as to implement whatever the
message entails. Recitation is, generally speaking, superior to mere reading with
the eyes because it also involves the organ of speech and sense of hearing, all of
which serve to reinforce the message when recitation is done consciously and not
ritual-istically.
39 Collected by Aboo Daawood (Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 1, p. 384, no. 1463), Ibn Maajah, Ahmad,
ad-Daarimee and Ibn Hibbaan, and authenticated by al-Albaanee in Saheeh Sunan Abee Daawood,
vol. 1, p. 275, no. 1303.