178 



'iLM-I-TAJWID. 



A tradition records that Abu Ibn Kab being troubled in 

 mind when he heard the Quran recited in various ways 

 spoke to the Prophet about it. " His Highness said, ' 0 Abu 

 Ibn Kab ! intelligence was sent to me to read the Quran in 

 one dialect, and I was attentive to the Court of God, and said : 

 4 Make the reading of the Quran easy to my sects.' These 

 instructions were sent to me the second time saying : i Bead 

 the Quran in two dialects.' Then I turned myself to the 

 Court of God saying : ' Make the reading of the Quran easy 

 to my sects.' Then a voice came to me the third time 

 saying : i Read the Quran in seven dialects.' " 



This justifies the use of ' seven readings ' c^a&). 



Jalal-ud-dm in his famous commentary follows the qira,at 

 of the Qari Imam Abu Umr. Those who belong to the 

 Mazhab (sect) of Imam As Shafa'i prefer this qira,at. Imam. 

 'Asim had two famous disciples, Abu Bakr and Hafs. The 

 qira,at of Hafs, or rather of 'Asim as made known by 

 Hafs, is the one almost universally used in India. The 

 qira,at of Nafi of Madlna is preferred in Arabia, and is 

 highly valued by most theological writers. 



In many cases the sense is not at all affected, but the 

 difference has given rise to many disputes. In the year 323 

 A.H. Ibn Shanabud, a resident of Baghdad, recited the 

 Quran, using a qira,at not familiar to his audience. He 

 was severely punished and had to adopt a more familiar 

 4 reading.' 



In order to show the nature of the changes thus made, 

 I shall now give in a tabular form all the various readings 

 of the last juz (y> ) of the Quran. I select this portion 

 because it is the part most commonly used in the Namaz. 



Each of the seven Qaris had two Ravis, or disciples, from 

 whose testimony the qira,at approved of by their master is 

 known. The three Qaris of lesser note also had two disciples 

 each. It occasionally happens that there is a difference of 

 opinion between the two followers of some particular Qari 



