The Qur'an and Its Study. Adnan Zarzour
must have memorised the relevant surah, which was revealed in Makkah, a long time earlier and he might not have heard it in a way that was different to what he had learnt. Moreover, it is perfectly possible that he might not have heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) speaking of the seven ḥarfs until that very occasion. Hence, he was quick to object to what he heard Hishām reciting, fearing that the Divine book might be subjected to alteration.239
3.2 Abū ‘Amr al-Dānī said: ‘The meaning of the ḥarfs mentioned by the Prophet may be explained in two ways. The first means that the Qur’an was revealed in seven ways of language. The Arabic plural form used in the Hadith is aḥruf, which suggests a small number. One meaning of the word ḥarf is “way”, as it is used in the Qur’anic verse that says: “Some people worship God in one situation. If good befalls such a person, he is content; but if a trial assails him, he turns away utterly” (22: 11). He is ready to offer his worship when he meets good fortune, feels his prayer answered and enjoys the good things of life. If these continue, he is content and reassured. But if God puts him to the test of hardship, he abandons his worship and reverts to disbelief. He thus worships only in one situation. This is why the Prophet calls these variant recitals ḥarfs meaning that every different version is a special way.’
The second is the one expressed by both old and modern scholars, saying that ‘each one of the seven ḥarfs is a particular type of variant’, as stated by ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Rāzi (371–454 AH/985–1062 CE). In other words, the seven ḥarfs represent the types of difference in Arabic speech. The variant recitals of the Qur’an, whatever their number, do not go beyond these.
These different types or ways are discussed in similar terms by scholars writing in Arabic. They were discussed first by Ibn Qutaybah (died 276 AH/891 CE), then by ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Rāzī and Makkī ibn Abī Ṭalib al-Qaysī (died 437 AH/1046 CE). The same line was taken by the well-known scholar from Damascus, Ibn al-Jazarī (died 833 AH/1430 CE).
We will now discuss these ways or types as al-Rāzī mentions them pointing out that these were generally accepted interpretations of the seven ḥarfs, or as he put it, ‘interpretations that the Hadith allows’. We will mention both the interpretations he was known to favour and those he merely presents as having been acceptable. We will also add some examples from the Qur’an, cited by scholars, to illustrate the same. Al-Rāzī said:
One: Differences in noun forms, reading the noun in the singular, dual or plural, on in the masculine or exaggerated forms, etc.
An example of this is the verse that says in citing the qualities of the believers: ‘Who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges’ (23: 8 and 70: 32). The Arabic word for ‘trusts’ is amānātihim. It is also read in the singular form amānatihim, with the only difference being the elongation of the ‘a’ after the ‘n’.
Two: Differences in verb tenses, past, present and imperative. The same applies to word attribution, as in attributing the masculine or the feminine, speaker or addressee, subject or object.
Example: ‘But they said: Our Lord! Make our journeys longer’ (34: 19). In Arabic their quoted words are read as Rabbanā! Bā‘id bayna asfārinā. A variant recital is Rabbunā bā‘ada bayna asfārinā. This second reading means: ‘Our Lord has made our journeys longer.’ The difference is very clear. The first is a supplication while the second is a statement of what has taken place. The phrase ‘our Lord’ is in the form of an addressee in the first reading, and a subject in the second, while the verb bā‘id is in the imperative tense in the first and in the past tense in the second.
Three: Differences in case markers, making a noun either a subject or an object.
Example: The verse that means: ‘Adam received from his Lord certain words, and He accepted his repentance’ (2: 37). The Arabic text reads: fatalqqā Ādamu min rabbihi kalimātin. In a variant recital, it is fatalqqā Ādama min rabbihi kalimātun, which would translate as: ‘Certain words were given to Adam by his Lord.’ In written form the two readings are identical, with the only difference being the case markers for ‘Adam’ and ‘words’. In this type of difference, the different case markers may apply to nouns as in the example above, or to verbs, or to both. In Verse 282 of Surah 2, which details the rules on loans, the Qur’an makes it clear that neither the writer of the loan agreement nor its witnesses may be harmed. The relevant statement reads: Lā yuḍārra kātibun walā shahīd, but a variant recital changes the case marker of the verb to make it Lā yuḍārru. This entails difference in meaning, with the first reading making the sentence an order and the second a statement. Case markers for both verb and noun differ in variant recitals of the sentence that means: ‘Would We thus requite any but the totally ungrateful?’ (34: 17). It is read: Hal nujāzī illā-lkafūra? A variant recital makes it: Hal yujāzā illā-lkafūru? Here there is no difference in meaning, but the first reading puts the question in the active voice and the second in the passive.
Four: Addition and omission.
An example of omission is in the sentence that means: ‘It was not their own hands that made all this’ (36: 35). In one reading this is: wamā ‘amilathu aydīhim. In a variant recital: wamā ‘amilat aydīhim. The difference is the omission of the pronoun hu, which does not change the meaning. To give an example of the addition we cite the verse that means: ‘They came with clear evidence of the truth, and books of Divine wisdom and with the light-giving revelation’ (3: 184). This reads in Arabic as: Jā’ū bil-bayyināt wal-zubur wal-kitāb al-munīr. A variant recital says: Jā’ū bil-bayyināt wa bil-zubur wal-kitāb al-munīr, and another variant reads: Jā’ū bil-bayyināt wa bil-zubur wa bil-kitāb al-munīr. These differences merely add the preposition bi. It occurs once in the first reading to include all three types of things God’s messengers bring, but it occurs twice in the second reading and three times in the third, making no difference in meaning.
Five: Changing word order.
An example is the verse that means: ‘The stupor of death brings with it the full truth’ (50: 19). In the Arabic text it reads wa jā’t sakrat al-mawt bil-ḥaqq. A variant recital that changes the word order reads: wa jā’t sakrat al-ḥaqq bil-mawt. Another example is taken from the verse that includes: ‘They fight for the cause of God, kill and be killed’ (9: 111). The Arabic text reads yaqtulūn wa yuqtalūn, and the variant recital is: yuqtulūn wa yaqtalūn. The meaning changes to ‘be killed and kill’. Scholars give an explanation of how the change in this last verse affects the meaning, but in the overall sense of the verse the effect is minimal.
Six: Substituting a word, or some of its letters.
Examples: the word fatabayyanū in Verse 6 of Surah 49 is substituted by fatathabbatū, and wa ṭalḥin manḍūd is substituted by wa ṭal‘in manḍūd in 56: 24. This can affect verbs or nouns alike. The first example here concerns a verb while in the second a noun is substituted.
Seven: Dialect differences.
This applies to how different dialects pronounce certain words or sounds. The ‘a’ sound is pronounced ‘ei’ by some, while the glottal stop is realised in certain dialects but not in others. Some sounds get assimilated in others according to certain dialects while they are realised in others. This type of difference applies to nouns, verbs and particles.240
3.3 A Different Classification of the Seven Ḥarfs
In the light of the seven types mentioned by ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Rāzī and Ibn al-Jazarī, which allow for the variant recitals ‘whether authentic, strange, unauthentic and rarely known’, we may re-classify these ḥarfs as variations of diacritics as well as letters and sounds, in addition to a couple of types more, as follows:
i.Variation of diacritics. This includes two types:
a.Varied diacritics without any difference in meaning or written form.
Example: the verse that means: ‘Fear God, in whose name you appeal to one another’ (4: 1). The Kufi readings of the word tasā’alūn (which means ‘you appeal’) is read by all others with a doubled ‘s’.241 Another example is the verse that means