نشریه مطالعات قرائت قرآن
سال پنجم شماره 9 (پاییز و زمستان 1396)

The writing of the Qurʾān is one of the fundamental issues discussed in the science of variant readings. For this reason, the knowledge of Qurʾānic scripts (rasm al-maṣāḥif) has an important place in relation to maintaining the authenticity and immutability of
the Qurʾān. Since after the death of the Holy Prophet (s) and the spread of Islam to far off lands, there existed the fear of obliteration or distortion of the Qurʾān. On the other hand, given the importance of vowelization in the structure of Arabic language, when non-Arabs joined the Islamic community, the idea of including vowelization points in the Holy Qurʾān was put forward. According to the famous accounts, Abul Aswad al-Duwalī carried out this task with the advice of Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a), and formulated the science of syntax i.e. the science of vowelization of the Qurʾān (iʿrāb al-qurʾān). In the present article, the complementary processes of vowelization and dotting of the Holy
Qurʾān by al-Duwalī and his disciples have been examined. Explicating the meanings of the different types of dotting and voweling as well as the script of the Qurʾān, the special features of the ʿUthmānī script and the stages of the development of Arabic epigraphy, the historical factors that led to the introducing of dots and the need for vowelization of the Qurʾān, as well as the personality, erudition and social status of al-Duwalī are among the issues discussed in this article.

Analysis of readings attributed to the infallibles (peace be upon them) is one of the most important topics in the field of exegesis. Analyzing and reviewing the exegetical and jurisprudential traditions gives interesting results, the most striking of which is realizing the value of these readings and the related traditions, even though other readings need to be considered in tandem while interpreting the verses. In addition, attention to some of the narrated readings of the infallibles (a) have a significant impact on Shīʿī exegesis. However, Shīʿa commentators and jurists have unfortunately paid little attention to the narrations about the readings just as they have done with other exegetical traditions.
This being despite the fact that these traditions are of great importance and substantially beneficial [in the field of exegesis]. The importance of this is further magnified in the case of Surah al- Māʾidah.

Since the beginning of the Prophet’s mission, the heavenly verses of the Qurʾān have been attacked by the enemies and ignorant people. Orientalists who study the Qurʾānic revelation have considered the variant readings as a good pretext for presenting the text of the Qurʾān as a confused jumble. They sometimes equate it to the presence of distortion in the Qurʾān, and at other times attribute it to the permissibility of abrogation, or as evidence of defects and redactions in the Qurʾān, or the result of
changes introduced into the text of the Qurʾān. Blacher, like other Orientalists, latches on to this idea and has to some extent been caught up in this fallacy. The present paper carefully studies his statements, as well as some of the roots, causes and factors that led
to the variant readings (such as the influence of the centers where [famous] reciters lived on the modes of reading, the different manuscripts and their relation to the variant readings, the large number of reciters, the long time gap from the era of revelation, the
influence of political factors and the preference of a particular reading by certain sovereigns). After a systematic analysis of this, we show that none of these factors could have led to weakness, defects, or distortions in the text of the Qurʾān.

The collection of the Qurʾān (into a unified manuscript) during the period of ʿUthmān was in fact the process of transferring the Qurʾānic manuscripts of the companions, including the muṣḥaf of Abū Bakr, and referring to the memorizers of the Qurʾān in order to come up with a single prototype (known as the imām), which could then be sent to various Islamic lands and territories. ʿUthmān had sought to unify the recitations, prevent division among the Muslims and protect the Book of Allāh from change and alteration. He thus instructed that the Qurʾān should be unified in such a manner as to have the capacity to bear various readings, but this action was contrary to his goal. For this reason, not only were the positive aspects of ʿUthmān’s endeavor overshadowed, but criticisms can also be levelled at his method which resulted in the paling of his initial objective, especially since ʿUthmān was a wealthy caliph whose caliphate lasted longer than that of the other caliphs. Therefore, it can be surmised that aside from the religious aspect of his action, he had some political motives on the side as well. Moreover, history shows that he did not fully succeed, even in his religious mission, because not only did the scope of the differences not reduce, but it actually spread from [differences among] the reciters to [differences in] other towns as well.

Verse 204 of Surah al-Aʿraf instructs the audience of Qurʾānic recitation to remain silent and listen to the recitation. This verse has been studied in many exegetical and jurisprudential works and different opinions regarding it have been presented, including the requirement of silence and audition in prayer and outside prayer, its being obligatory in congregational prayers and recommended in prayers offered alone, or the necessity of maintaining silence while the Qurʾān is being revealed. Of course, some exegetes have also interpreted the instruction to listen as a metaphor for acting upon the verses of the Qurʾān. In order to make the case for it being obligatory to listen and remain silent, the apparent meaning of the aforementioned verse as well as verse 21 of Surah al-Inshiqāq and some traditions [of the infallibles] have been used, and to make the case for it not being obligatory, reference is made to consensus among scholars, traditions, and the phrase “maybe you will receive [Allāh’s] mercy” (laʿallakum turḥamūn) at the end of the
aforementioned verse. This paper, after examining the proof presented by both sides using the method of exegetical and jurisprudential analysis, concludes that the requirement for silence and audition applies both in prayer and outside prayer.

The phrase “ḥattā idhā” in the Qurʾān has not been interpreted in the same manner by grammarians, exegetes, and experts in the field of ‘pause and continuation’. According to the scholars of syntax and rhetoric, when “ḥattā” comes before “idhā”, it is no longer
possible to interpret the combination as a term denoting purpose (ghāʾiyyah), but from the viewpoint of the exegetes, the denotation of purpose is not detached from “ḥattā” even if it follows the particle “idhā”. Scholars in the field of pause and continuation [in
recitation] also, in most cases, regard the sentences that commence with “ḥattā idhā” and its semantic syntax as denoting purpose and take the subsequent sentence as being related to the preceding one. Those exegetes who have a tendency towards syntactic discussions in interpreting Qurʾānic verses consider this phrase to be inceptive (ibtidāʾī) in terms of grammar and conclusive (ghāʾī) in terms of meaning. Additionally, for each instance of “ḥattā idhā” in the Qurʾān, they have defined the referent of the purpose, whether it is mentioned explicitly, as a pronoun, or implicitly. However, the way “ḥattā idhā” has been used in the verses of the Qurʾān confirms the opinion of the exegetes, as in most cases it is used to indicate the ultimate action or incident that has been stated in the preceding verses as having commenced. The mention of these actions or incidents may be explicit or implied. Therefore, when the reciter of the Qurʾān comes across this phrase, it is better for him to connect it with the related sentences that come before and after it, and if he suffers from lack of breath, he should employ the intonation of expectation or choose the most appropriate point to pause the recitation after “ḥattā idhā” in order to demonstrate this connection to the listener.

The study of sounds in language has long been the focus of many Islamic and Western scholars. The juxtaposition of theoretical and oral linguistics with regards to the production, transmission and audition of letters using empirical research methodology in the fields of medicine, physics and physiology, which is a branch of biology, has led to the creation of a new branch of knowledge in phonetics. The study of different types of books on phonography, especially from the writings of Muslim scholars, is the main subject
of this paper, which has been prepared using a descriptive and sometimes analytical methodology by referring to library resources. Books on phonetics can be divided into specific phonological resources and general resources. By studying the sources on phonetics, it becomes clear that these works have several different approaches such as comparative, historical and analytical, and that the effects of the science of phonology on Qurʾānic sciences such as literary and rhetorical exegesis, reading and enunciation etc. have been explored by contemporary Arab writers with the goal of making practical use of this subject in the Islamic sciences.