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THE
QUR'AAN WAS REVEALED IN SEVEN DIALECTS
Allah Ta’ala
has created man so that man may worship Him. He sent the
Ambiyaa (Alayhimus
salaam) to teach man the correct method of worshipping and
had also given Saheefas (scriptures) to many Ambiyaa (Alayhimus
salaam).
For example, He had given the Zaboor to Dawood (Alayhis
salaam), the Tawraat to Moosa (Alayhis
salaam) and the Injeel to Isa (Alayhis
salaam). In the same manner, Allah revealed to our beloved
Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) the Qur’aan Kareem.
In the past, the
prophets and their books were sent to certain nations or
communities for a specific period of time, whereas Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and the Qur’aan were sent for the
entire world uptill the day of Qiyaamat.
Our Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) was sent as a mercy to the entire
mankind. It is for this reason that we find that he had always
had the concern that his Ummah should experience no
difficulty.
Hadhrat Ubayy Ibn
Ka’ab (Radhiallaahu
Anhu) narrates that once Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) met Jibraaeel (Alayhis
salaam) and said to him, ‘O Jibraeel (Alayhis
salaam)! I have been sent to an Ummat who are unable to
read or write. Amongst them are those who are weak, those who
are old, those who are slaves and those who have never read a
book in their lives.’ Hadhrat Jibraaeel (Alayhis
salaam) mentioned, ‘O Muhammad (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam)! Certainly this Qur’aan has been
revealed in 7 different dialects.’ (Tirmidhi)
In another Hadith
narrated by Ibn Abbaas (Radhiallaahu
Anhu), it is said that Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) has mentioned, ‘Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) has taught me to recite the Qur’aan in one
dialect. I turned to him and continued asking him to increase
it, and he continued increasing it until it reached seven
dialects.’
In another
narration by Ubayy ibn Ka’ab (Radhiallaahu
Anhu), it is stated that once Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) was in one of the fields of the Bani
Ghiffaar (Adhaat) and Jibraaeel (Alayhis
salaam) had come to him and said, ‘Allah commands you to
teach your Ummat to recite the Qur’aan in one dialect.’
Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi
Wasallam) said, ‘I ask Allah for his pardon and
forgiveness, most certainly my Ummah does not have the ability
to do that.’ Jibraaeel (Alayhis salaam) came to him for the second time and said, ‘Allah
commands you to teach your Ummat to recite the Qur’aan in
two dialects.’
Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) said for the second time, ‘I ask Allah
for his pardon and forgiveness. Most certainly my Ummat does
not have the ability to do this.’ Then Jibraaeel (Alayhis
salaam) came to him for the third time and said:
‘Allah
commands you to teach your Ummat to recite the Qur’aan in
three dialects.’ Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) gave the same answer: ‘I ask Allah
for his pardon and forgiveness, most certainly my Ummah does
not have the ability to do this.’ Then Jibraaeel (Alayhis
salaam) came to him for the fourth time and said,
‘Alla Ta’ala commands you to teach your Ummah to recite
the Qur’aan in seven dialects, and whichever one they
recite, they will be correct.’ (Muslim)
In another Hadith,
Hadhrat Umar (Radhiallaahu
Anhu) narrates that once I heard Hishaam ibn Hakeem ibn
Hizaam (Radhiallaahu
Anhu) reciting Suratul Furqaan in the lifetime of Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam). While listening to his Qiraat, he was
reciting in different letters which Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) did not recite to me. I was close to
pouncing upon him, but I controlled myself until he made
Salaam. Then I wrapped my sheet around him and said to him,
‘Who has taught you to read this Surah the way I have heard
you reciting it?’ he replied, ‘Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has taught me to read this Surah.’
I then said to
him, ‘Certainly Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) has taught it to me in a manner other
than which you have recited.’ Then I pulled him and took him
to Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and said, ‘O Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) he is reciting Suratul Furqaan in a
manner other than which you have taught to me.’ Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) then said, ‘Read, O Hishaam.’ He then
recited the same Qiraat which I had heard him reciting. Upon
this Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) said, ‘In the same manner it was
revealed.’ Then Nabi (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) said, ‘Read O Umar (Radhiallaahu
Anhu).’ I then recited the way he had taught it to me.
Upon this, Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), ‘In the same way it was revealed.
Certainly, the Qur’aan has been revealed in seven dialects.
Read whichever one is easier for you.’ (Bukhari and Muslim).
From all these
narrations, it is clear that the Qur’aan was revealed in
more than one way of recitation.
Meaning of Seven Dialects
The Ulama have
approximately forty opinions on the meaning of seven dialects.
Two opinions are the most accepted:
Imaam Abul Fadhl
al-Razee (RA) mentions that if we have to look at all the
changes and narrations of Qiraat, we will find that they have
one of the changes which are mentioned below:
1.
The changing of the noun concerning whether it should
be singular, dual or plural. For example, ‘ta’aam
miskeen’ which is singular is changed into plural
‘ta’aam masaakeen’ or the changing of the noun from
masculine into feminine or vice versa, e.g. the changing of
‘laa yuqbal minhaa shafaa’at’ which is masculine to
‘laa tuqbal minhaa shafaa’at’ which is feminine.
2.
The changes that take place in the Harkat (symbols
– fatha, dhamma, kasra), e.g. ‘kalimaatin’ to ‘kalimaatun’
3.
The changing by adding and subtracting letters, e.g.
‘saari’oo’ to ‘wa saari’oo’
4.
The changing of the sequence of the words, e.g. ‘wa
qaataloo wa qutiloo’ to ‘wa qutiloo wa qaataloo’
5.
The changing of the tense of verbs from the past
tense into future or present tense or command, e.g.
‘tatawwa’a khayran’ to ‘yatawwaa khayran’ and
‘qaala rabbiy’ to ‘qul rabbiy’
6.
The changing of one word into another, e.g. ‘wa
tawakkal’ to ‘fatawakkal'
7.
The changing of the pronunciation and accent, e.g.
full mouth into empty mouth, etc.
Imaam Abul Fadhl
Razi (RA) mentions that the 7 different dialects encompass the
above 7 changes.
Allaamah Jazri
(RA) mentions that he pondered over the Hadith of seven
dialects for more than 30 years, until Allah Ta’ala had
opened one meaning to him. After pondering over all the Qiraat,
he found that the changes that took place were the changes
which are mentioned below:
1.
The changing of the symbol of a word, though the
meaning and feature of the word does not change, e.g.
‘yahsabu’ to ‘yahsibu’
2.
The changing of the symbol and meaning, but the
feature does not change, e.g. ‘fatalaqqaa aadamu min
rabbihii kalimaatin’ to ‘fatalaqqaa aadama min rabbihii
kalimaatun’
3.
The changing of the letters and the meaning, but the
feature does not change, e.g. ‘as-swiraat’ to
‘as-siraat’
4.
The changing of the letters and the meaning, but the
feature does not change, e.g. ‘tubluw’ to ‘tatluw’
or ‘nunajjiyka’ to ‘nunjiyka’
5.
The changing of the letter, the feature and the
meaning, e.g. ‘ya-atali’ to ‘yata-alli’
6.
The changing of the sequence of words, e.g.
‘fayaqtuloona wa yuqtaloona’ to ‘wayaqutuloona
fayaquloona’
7.
The adding and subtracting of letter, e.g. ‘Wa
awsaw’ to ‘wawassay’
The changes of
the pronunciation and accent can be included in the changing
of words mentioned above.
The meaning of 7
dialects is clear from these 2 opinions.
Qari Ismail
Abdul-Aziz
Head and Senior Ustaadh: Department
of Qiraat – Madrasah In’aamiyyah
An Expert in the field of Qiraat (7 Dialects and 10 Dialects)
– lecturing both at the Madrasah
Last modified:
July 09, 2008
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