Qur’anic Readings Prevalent in Iran in the Fourth Century: Case Study of Recorded Readings in Qur’anic Manuscripts in the Library of Āstan-e Quds-e Radawī

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, The University of Sciences and Teachings of the Holy Qur’an, Mashhad, Iran.

2 MA of The Qur’anic Exegesis, The University of Sciences and Teachings of the Holy Qur’an, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

The accounts of the Quranic readings prevalent in the various Islamic countries in the early centuries are scanty and sometimes inaccurate. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the objective evidence that remains from this period. One of the most important objective evidences is the readings recorded in the ancient manuscripts of each region. In order to determine the readings of the Quran in 4th century Iran, this study examines the recorded readings in three complete Quranic manuscripts and three groups of Quranic manuscripts in the library of Āstan-e Quds-e Radawī. By creating a table of 1001 words and statistically recording the similarity of the recorded readings of these words in each manuscript with ten readings, as well as the remaining cases from the authority of 'Abū Hātam and 'Abū ‘Ubayd, which were reportedly common in Iran at the time, it is concluded that in the fourth century the reading of a particular person was not common in Iran. For the readings of these codices are not only compatible with each other, but also with the reading of one of the famous readers. Their calligraphy most resembles the Basra codex and least resembles that of the Levant. At the stage of recording the readings, they are also remarkably similar to the readings of 'Abū ʿAmr and 'Abū ‘Ubayd. In fact, the readings of these codices are based on the Iraqi reading of ʾAbū ʿAmr, whose criteria include "agreement with the reading of most of the ten readers." This justifies the remarkable degree of similarity with both readings of ʾAbū ‘Ubayd and ʾAbū Hātam, especially that of the ʾAbū ‘Ubayd.
 

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 July 2022
  • Revise Date: 12 October 2022
  • Accept Date: 06 September 2022

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