14. Ramzan Quiz

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاتة 

بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِٱلرَّحِيمِ

14. What is meant by (سبعة أحرف) sabha (seven) ahruf of the Quran?

Answer: The seven ahruf refer to the seven dialects (lughaat)/ styles/forms/ways of the Quran

Evidences from ahadhees:

1. Ibn 'Abbas (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, "Jibreel(AS) recited the Quran to me in one harf, and I recited it back to him, but I requested him to increase (the number of harf) and he continued to increase it for me, until we stopped at seven ahruf." [Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhree]. He also said, "It has reached me that these seven ahruf are essentially one (in meaning), they do not differ about what is permitted or forbidden."

2. 'Ubay ibn Ka'ab (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ was once on the outskirts of Madhina (near the tribe of Banoo Ghifaar) when Jibreel (AS) came to him and said, 'Allah has commanded that you recite the Quran to your people in one harf." The Prophet ﷺ replied, "I ask Allah's pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this!" Jibreel (AS) then came again and said, "Allah has commanded you to recite the Quran to your people in two ahruf." The Prophet ﷺ again replied, "I ask Allah's pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this!" Jibreel (AS) then came third time and said, "Allah has commanded you to recite the Quran to your people in three ahruf." The Prophet ﷺ replied for a third time, "I ask Allah's pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this!" At last, Jibreel (AS) came for the fourth time, and said, "Allah has commanded you to recite the Quran to your people in seven ahruf, and in whichever harf they recite, they would be right."

3. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (RA) narrated, "I was sitting in the masjid when I heard Hishaam ibn Hakeem (RA) recite Surah al-Furqaan. I was almost about to jump on him in his prayer, but I waited until he finished, and then grabbed him by his garment and asked him, 'Who taught you to recite in such a manner?'" He replied, 'It was the Prophet ﷺ himself!' I responded, 'You are mistaken, for indeed I learnt this surah from the Prophet ﷺ and it was different from your recitation!' Therefore, I dragged him to the Prophet ﷺ and complained to him that Hishaam (RA) had recited Surah al-Furqaan in a manner different from what he had taught me. At this, the Prophet ﷺ told me to let go of Hishaam, and asked him to recite Surah al-Furqaan. Hishaam recited the Surah in the same way I had heard him before. When he finished, the Prophet ﷺ said, 'It was revealed this way.' He then asked me to recite the same surah. When I had finished, he said, 'It was (also) revealed this way. Indeed, the Qur’an has been revealed in seven different ahruf, so recite whichever one is easy for you.” Like this there are three more ahadhess are collected.

Facts about ahruf:

■ The basic meaning of all these seven ahruf was the same.

■ The different ahruf are all directly revealed from Allah through Jibreel (AS) and neither from the Prophet ﷺ nor from the Companions.

■ each harf contain different words that are synonymous and convey the same meaning

■ Each one of these ahruf is complete in and of itself.

■ They were not radically different from each other, when being recited and can be recognized.

■ Prophet ﷺ stated that "whichever one of them they recite, they are correct."

■ The differences were not in many places of Quran.

■ The number of ahruf is exactly seven — not more, not less.

The various verses would be pronounced according to the pronunciation of that particular tribe, and words from one dialect would be replaced by synonymous words used by that particular tribe.

The seven dialects (lughaat) belongs to the Arab tribes prevalent at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, namely, the Quraish, Hudhayl, Tameem, Hawaazin, Thaqeef, Kinaanah and Yemen.

Some examples of the variations among the Ahruf:

In Surat Al-Fatiha, in the verse that says “The Owner of the Day of Judgement,” one of the Ahruf reads as "Maaliki Yawm Ad-Deen" مالك يوم الدين (meaning "Owner of the Day of Judgement"), and another reads as "Meliki Yawm Ad-Deen" ملك يوم الدين (meaning "King of the Day of Judgement")

In Surat An-Noor, in the verse that speaks of “In Houses (Masajid) that were raised to remember Allah,” one of the Ahruf reads as “Buyut” بُيوت, and another reads as “Beeyut” بِيوت, which is simply a difference in dialect among the various Arab tribes and both have the same meaning.

In Surat Al-Baqarah, in the verse near the beginning that says “Those who disbelieve, it is equal for them if you warn them or don’t warn them, they won’t believe,” one of the Ahruf reads as “A-Anthartahum” أأنذرتهم, and another reads as “Aaanthartahum” أَنذرتهم (with an elongated “a” and without adding a second Hamza), which are also two different dialects among the Arab tribes and have the same meaning.

In Surat Al-Hujurat, in the verse that says “If a Fasiq comes to you with news, verify it,” one of the Ahruf reads as “Fatabayyanu” فتبينوا (verify it), and another reads as “Fatathabbatu” فتثبتوا (establish proof for it). Here is an example of two different words, but with the same meaning, and both were revealed by Allah to the Prophet (saw).

Why Prophet wanted more ahruf:

1) To facilitate the process of understanding and the memorization of the Quran by different tribes. If there is only one harf the different Arabic tribes found difficult to understand and memorize.

2) By this Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had shown his eagerness and concern to reach the revelation most fluently and eloquently to different tribes.

3) To make Quran superior, honourable and widespread than other Scriptures as he said in a hadhees: “Earlier Scripters were released from one gate of Jannah in one hurf, whereas Quran was revealed in seven ahurf from seven gates of Jannah’.

4) To make Quran unique and miraculous. Prophet said, "The first Book came down from one gate according to one harf, but the Koran came down from seven gates according to seven ahruf: "The first Book came down from one gate according to one harf, but the Koran came down from seven gates according to seven ahruf:

Whether these seven ahruf are still present today?

Bilal Philips writes that these seven ahruf existed till the middle of 'Usman (RA)'s rule. After Usman’s order of compiling Quran second time the variations or differences in the dialect were eliminated and the Quran which is available throughout the world today is written and recited in only one style."

There are three strong opinions with regards to this issue:

The first group of scholars:

This group composed of at-Tabaree, at-Tahaawee, Ibn Hibbaan and those who follow them, argue that only one harf is in existence today. The recitation of the Quran in seven ahruf was a concession given to the Companions at the time of the Prophet but when Usman (RA) officially compiled the Quran, he specifically ordered the committee assigned to write the mus-haf to preserve only one hurf.

The second group of scholars:

This was the opinion of Aboo Bakr al-Baaqillaani, and a small group of scholars. They claim that the companions would never abandon a recitation that they used to recite during the lifetime of the Prophet. Usman (RA) was written in such a way to preserve all seven ahruf with the consultation of all companians.

 The third group of scholars:

It composed of Ibn Taymiyyah, ash-Shaatibee, arRaazee, Ibn Katheer, Ibnal- Jazaree and others. They were of opinion that 'Usman (RA) preserved the ahruf to the extent that the script of his mus-haf allowed him to do so. Thus, these scholars hold that a portion of the seven ahruf are preserved.

On what basis did 'Usman (RA) decide which portions of the ahruf to preserve?

Zaid ibn Thabit (RA) was in charge of the recording Quran when the Prophet recited lastly to Jibreel (AS). It can be assumed, then, that Zaid (RA) was aware of the portions of the ahruf that the Prophet recited, and he must have chosen those to the exclusion of the others. The 'Usmanic mushafs, as was mentioned earlier, were devoid of dots and vowel points. It still allowed for the diversity of oral transmission.

Qiraat is different from ahurf:

Qiraat refers to the various recitation styles of the Quran. Companions directly receiving the recitation from the Prophet, in course of time developed different recitation styles and they passed on to their students. To preserve the Quran’s original pronunciation and accent each qiraat developed its unique set of rules and principles based on the system of pronunciation and grammar. Whereas Ahruf deals with the variation in dialects, in the text.

The true wisdom of the ahruf was known only to Allah, and thus to attempt to investigate into this issue was futile! Surely All powerful, All-Knower Allahuthala must had taken steps to preserve the Originality of Quran by some means which human mind cannot understand.

Reference: Revelation of Qur'an in Seven Ahruf: A Critical Analysis by Dr. Muhammad Kabiru Sabo - Review Article. Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty Of Arts And Islamic Studies, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto Nigeria.

الحمدلله