reading the Quran for Muslims is not only by repeating words, but also worship and a way to win in the world life and the life after, so seeking to learn and improve qirat of quran is a step in the Quran learning way, and it will lead you to the higher degrees of paradise.
The first command in Islam and the first word that was revealed to the prophet peace be upon him was” Iqraa” which means “read”, and the noun of this verb is qirat, that’s why qirat of Quran in Islam has a special place and Muslims always took care of the science of qirat and many scholars dedicated their lives studying and teaching this science., so recognizing that the special place and great reward of the student and teacher of Quran will be your motivation and engine to learn and improve yourself in it.
Through this article, we will get deeper into the qirat science, and how you can learn and improve your reading via this science.
qirat meaning
the Arabic word qirat means recitations, it’s the noun of the verb “Iqraa” which is the first command in Islam as Allah said in Surat Al Alaq:
Recite in the name of your Lord who created(1) he created the human from clinging substance(2) recite, and your Lord is the most generous(3) who taught by the pen(4)he taught the human what he doesn’t know(4)
The scholars of the Quran and hadiths defined qiraat in different ways, but before we get into the definitions, we should talk about the seven letters of the Quran, and whether it’s the same as the 7 qirat of quran.
Seven letters
Quran was revealed to the prophet, peace be upon him, in different dialects and accents considering the differences between Muslims, those accents and dialects are called the seven letters, but the seven letters and qirat are not the same, however, it’s an indication that Quran was revealed in different aspects.
The revelation of the Quran in seven letters was mentioned in authentic hadiths as follows:
- on the authority of Ubayy bin Kaab – may God be pleased with him, he said: “The Messenger of God, peace, and blessings be upon him, met Gabriel, and he said: O Gabriel, I have been sent to an illiterate nation, among them are the old man, the boy, the maidservant, and the man who has never read a book. He said: O Muhammad, the Quran was revealed in seven letters.”
- Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with him, said that the prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Gabriel recited to me a letter, so I reviewed it, and I kept asking for more and recited more until it reached seven letters”
Qiraat definitions
Ibn Al Jazari definition of qiraat
Ibn Al jazari May Allah give him mercy, the sheik of the reciters, and one of the prominent Islamic scholars in several branches. He defined the qiraat as follows:
It’s the performance of the words of the Quran and their differences attributed to the transmitter.
Abd al Fattah al Qadi qiraat definition
Abd al Fattah al-Qadi one of the most prominent scholars of Al Azhar Al sharif, defined the science of qirat as the science of how the qur’anic words are pronounced and performed considering the agreement and differences attributed to the transmitters.
how many qirat of quran?
the Islamic scholars set 4 mandatory conditions for the reliable qirat of Quran, al-Imam Ibn Al jazari mentioned them in his millennium poem” the good publishing in the ten qiraat”.
reliable qirat conditions
- Compatible with the Arabic language in one of its aspects such as grammar, and pronunciation.
- Compatible with one of the ottoman’s books.
- The Isnad, which means the chain of narrators who transmitted the qirat from the prophet peace be upon him, and this chain must end with the prophet PBUH.
- Al tawator, which means that the qirat was narrated by a large group of narrators who are known for their honesty.
According to the previous conditions, the scholars of the Quran determined 10 qirat of quran, 7 qirat of quran compatible with all four conditions, and the last three qirat met only the first three conditions.
Now, we will mention the best qirat of Quran in the world according to the previous conditions.
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qirat of quran
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Nafi’e qirat
this qiraat is famous in al Madinah and it’s attributed to Nafi’e bin Abdurrahman who was born in Isfahan and died in al Madinah.
This qiraat has two branches according to the narrator of each branch, Warsh, and Qaloon.
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Ibn Katheer qirat:
This qirat of Makkah was attributed to the late follower Ibn Katheer, and he has two narrators, Al Bizzy, and Qunbul.
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Abou Amr recitation:
Abou amr was Imam of al Basra, and sheik of the reciters of Iraq, this recitation has two narrators al Dori and al sussi
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Asim recitation
Imam of al kufa and this recitation was narrated by two narrators Hafs and Shua’bah.
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Bin amer recitation:
He was the imam of the levant, and the caliph Omar bin Abdulaziz performed prayer behind him.
The two narrators of this recitation are bin Zakwan and Hesham bin ammar.
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Al Kofy recitation
Hamza bin Habib Al Kofy the imam of al Kofa, and his narrators were Khalad bin Khaled Al Kofy and Khalaf bin Hesham Al Baghdadi.
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Al Kisai recitation:
He was one of the prominent scholars in Al kofa, and his narrators were Al Laith bin Khaled, and Al Doori.
Those seven qirat met the four conditions of the correct recitation, now we will mention the last three recitations which are not compatible with the Last condition” al tawator”:
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The recitation of Abu Jaafar:
He was one of the followers, and reciter of Al Madinah, he had two narrators, bin werdan and ibn Jamaaz.
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The recitation of jakoub:
This recitation is attributed to the writer of “al Jame’e book” which is considered a reference in the interpretation and other science of quran.
This recitation is well known in al basrah, and its narrators are rowais and rawh.
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Khalaf recitation:
This recitation was well known in Baghdad, and its narrators are Isaaq and Idrees.
how to learn qirat of quran?
at the beginning of the learning of Quran, you might not have to study the different types of qirat, you just must learn Tajweed then after memorizing the whole Quran our journey with qirat will begin:
- We will search for the sheik and we will read the Quran between his hands, at this point, you can’t start without the sheik, this sheik will have a license in qirat which is called” Ijazah”.
- Now he will recite the whole Quran from memory in the narration of Hafs by Asim, after that we will repeat this step with the narration of sho’ba by Asim.
- Now we will recite the first part of surah al bakarh in the 10 qirat of quran.
- Then recite the whole quran in the 10 qirat of quran.
Now, you will have the Ijazah by your Sheik.
benefits learn qirat of quran online
1-we could imagine the virtues of learning the Quran and reciting it, and because finding a sheik and teacher licensed in qirat is not easy for everyone, learning qirat of quran online will solve this problem.
2-On the authentic Hadith attributed to Ottoman Bin Affan may Allah be pleased with him and pleased him, said that the prophet PBUH said that: the best one among you who learn the Quran and teach it, so the students of qirat have a special place in Islam.
3-accompanying the righteous in the life after, as the prophet PBUH said that” the reciter of Quran will be with the righteous, and noble companions”
4-on the authority of Umar Bin Al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him and pleased him said that the prophet PBUH said: Allah raises people with this book and lowers others” these hadith mean people who learn Quran and not only learn but take the Quran as living curriculum in all their affairs, they will have a special place in their lives, as Quran not only stories of the past nations, it’s our curriculum in our religion and our lives.
Summary
Qirat of Quran is a science that is concerned with the readings of the Quran according to what was revealed to our beloved prophet Muhammad, PBUH.
The holy Quran is the greatest book on the earth, so learning its recitation and being skilled in it is a great honor each Muslim aims to reach, so the scholars of Islam dedicated their lives to learning and establishing the science of qirat with restricted conditions.
Best qirat of quran in the world is attributed to ten reciters whom Al-Imam Ibn al Jazari mentioned in his millennium poem” the good publishing in the ten readings”
