Qiraa'ah ni, kwa sehemu kubwa, njia ya matamshi inayotumika katika usomaji wa Qur'ani. Njia hizi ni tofauti na herufi saba au namna saba (ahruf) ambazo Qur'ani iliteremshwa kwazo. Namna saba hizo zilipunguzwa hadi moja, ile ya Quraysh, wakati wa Khalifa 'Uthmaan alipoamuru Qur'ani inakiliwe kwa lahaja ya Kiquraysh na kusambazwa katika vituo vya Kiislamu vya wakati huo. Kwa hiyo, ni namna ya Kiquraysh pekee inayobaki leo, na njia zote za usomaji zimejengwa juu ya namna hii. Njia mbalimbali zote zimefuatiliwa hadi kwa Mtume (ﷺ) kupitia idadi ya Maswahaba waliojulikana zaidi kwa usomaji wao wa Qur'ani. Yaani, Maswahaba hawa walimsomea Mtume (ﷺ) Qur'ani au walisoma mbele yake, na wakapata idhini yake. Miongoni mwao walikuwa wafuatao: Ubayy bin Ka'b, 'Ali bin Abii Twaalib, Zayd bin Thaabit, Ibn Mas'ud, Abuu ad-Dardaa' na Abuu Muusaa al-Ash'ariy. Maswahaba wengi wengine walijifunza kutoka kwa mabwana hawa. Ibn 'Abbaas, mfasiri bora wa Qur'ani miongoni mwa Maswahaba, alijifunza kutoka kwa Ubayy na Zayd.

A qiraa’ah is, for the most part, a method of pronunciation used in the recitations of the Qur’aan. These methods are different from the seven forms or modes (ahruf) in which the Qur’aan was revealed. The seven modes were reduced to one, that of Quraysh, during the era of Caliph ‘Uthmaan when he ordered that the Qur’aan be copied in the Qurayshee dialect and distributed among the Islaamic centers of the time. Hence, only the Qurayshee mode remains today and all of the methods of recitation are based on this mode. The various methods have all been traced back to the Prophet (ﷺ) through a number of the sahaabah who were most noted for their Qur’aanic recitations. That is, these sahaabah recited the Qur’aan to the Prophet (ﷺ) or in his presence and received his approval. Among them were the following: Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, ‘Ali ibn Abee Taalib, Zayd ibn Thaabit, Ibn Mas‘ood, Aboo ad-Dardaa’, and Aboo Moosaa al-Ash‘aaree. Many of the other sahaabah learned from these masters. Ibn ‘Abbaas, the master commentator of the Qur’aan among the sahaabah, learned from both Ubayy and Zayd. 30

Miongoni mwa kizazi kilichofuata cha Waislamu, kinachojulikana kama at-taabi‘oon, walizuka wanazuoni wengi waliojifunza mbinu mbalimbali za usomaji kutoka kwa maswahaba na kuwafundisha wengine. Vituo vya usomaji wa Qur'aan vilianzishwa Madiinah, Makkah, Koofah, Basrah na ash-Shaam (Syria Kubwa), na hivyo usomaji wa Qur'aan ulikua hadi kuwa taaluma huru.31 Kufikia katikati ya karne ya nane Miladia, kulikuwepo idadi kubwa ya wanazuoni mashuhuri, wote wakichukuliwa kuwa wataalamu katika fani ya usomaji. Mbinu nyingi za usomaji wao zilithibitishwa kwa minyororo ya wapokezi waaminifu, ikiishia kwa Mtume (ﷺ). Mbinu zile zilizopokewa kwa wapokezi wengi katika kila ngazi ya mnyororo ziliitwa mutawaatir na zilichukuliwa kuwa sahihi zaidi. Zile ambazo idadi ya wapokezi katika ngazi yoyote ya mnyororo ilikuwa ndogo au mmoja tu zilitajwa kama shaadh.

Among the next generation of Muslims, referred to as the taabi‘oon, there arose many scholars who learned the various methods of recitation from the sahaabah and taught them to others. Centers of Qur’aanic recitation developed in Madeenah, Makkah, Koofah, Basrah, and ash-Shaam (Greater Syria), leading to the evolution of Qur’aanic recitation into an independent science.31 By the mideighth century CE, there existed a large number of outstanding scholars, all of whom were considered specialists in the field of recitation. Most of their methods of recitation were authenticated by chains of reliable narrators, ending with the Prophet (ﷺ). Those methods on each level of their chain were called mutawaatir and were considered to be the most accurate. Those methods in which the number of narrators were few or one on any level of the chain were referred to as shaath.

Hata hivyo, baadhi ya wanazuoni wa kipindi kilichofuata walianza utaratibu wa kuteua idadi maalum ya wanazuoni binafsi kutoka kipindi kilichotangulia, na kuwataja kuwa wasomaji mashuhuri na sahihi zaidi.

However, some of the scholars of the following period began the practice of designating a set number of individual scholars from the previous period as being the most noteworthy and accurate reciters.

Kufikia katikati ya karne ya kumi ya Enzi ya Kawaida (karne ya sita ya Hijria), ikawa desturi maarufu kupunguza idadi ya wasomaji bora hadi saba, kwa kuwa idadi hii ililingana na idadi ya lahaja ambazo Qur'aan iliteremshwa kwazo. Vivyo hivyo, katika kipindi hiki idadi ya madhehebu ya sheria za Kiislamu (math-habs) ilipunguzwa hadi manne maarufu, baada ya kipindi ambacho yalikuwa mengi. Wa kwanza kupunguza idadi ya wasomaji wa kuaminika hadi saba alikuwa msomi wa Iraq, Abuu Bakr ibn Mujaahid (d. 936 CE), na wale walioandika vitabu kuhusu qiraa'ah baada yake walifuata mfano wake.32 Mipaka hii si uwakilishi sahihi wa wanazuoni wa kale wa usomaji wa Qur'aan. Walikuwepo wengine wengi waliokuwa sawa na hao saba, na idadi fulani waliokuwa wakubwa kuliko wao. Kwa kweli, uainishaji wa wanazuoni ulikuwa, kwa hakika, uainishaji wa jinsi mbinu zao za usomaji zilivyohifadhiwa vizuri. Hivyo, saba maarufu walikuwa wale wanazuoni wa mwanzo kutoka vizazi tofauti ambao mbinu zao za usomaji zilikuwa na minyororo mingi ya wasimulizi, na simulizi nyingi katika kila ngazi ya mnyororo. Hata hivyo, walikuwepo wanazuoni wengine wa kale ambao mbinu zao za usomaji zilirekodiwa kwa uhakika (mutawaatir) kama zile za saba maarufu. Orodha ya wanazuoni kumi wa usomaji wa Qur'aan ambao mbinu zao zilihifadhiwa vizuri zaidi ni kama ifuatavyo:

By the middle of the tenth century CE (6th century AH), it became a popular convention to limit the number of best reciters to seven, since this number coincided with the number of dialects in which the Qur’aan was revealed. Similarly, during this period the number of schools of Islaamic law (math-habs) were reduced to the famous four after a period in which there were many. The first to limit the number of authentic reciters to seven was the ‘Iraaqi scholar, Aboo Bakr ibn Mujaahid (d. 936 CE), and those who wrote books on qiraa’ah after him followed suit.32This limitation is not an accurate representation of the classical scholars of Qur’aanic recitation. There were many others who were as good as the seven and a number who were greater than them. In fact, the classification of scholars was really a classification of how well their methods of recitation were preserved. Hence, the famous seven were those early scholars from different generations whose methods of recitation had the most chains of narrators with many narrations on each level of the chain. However, there were other classical scholars whose methods of recitation were just as authentically (mutawaatir) recorded as the famous seven. A list of the ten scholars of Qur’aanic recitation whose methods were best preserved is as follows:

1. Abū ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alā (d. 771 CE/154 AH) wa Basra

1. Aboo ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alaa (d. 771 CE/154 AH) of Basrah

2. Ibn Katheer (f. 738 CE/119 AH) alikuwa miongoni mwa wanafunzi wa Maswahaba wa Makkah.

2. Ibn Katheer (d. 738 CE/119 AH) was among the students of the sahaabah of Makkah.

3. Naafi‘ (d. 786 CE/169 AH) alitokea Isfahaan, na usomaji wake, kama ulivyopokelewa na Warsh (d. 812 CE/196 AH), ulikuwa wa Madina.

3. Naafi‘ (d. 786 CE/169 AH) was originally from Isfahaan, and his recitation, as transmitted by Warsh (d. 812 CE/196 AH), was of Madeenah.

4. Ibn ‘Aamir (d. 737 CE/118 AH) alikuwa qadhi mkuu (qaadi) wa Dameski wakati wa utawala wa al-Waleed ibn ‘Abdul Maalik, ambaye, pamoja na makhalifa wengine wa Bani Umayya, alifanya mji huo kuwa mji mkuu wake.

4. Ibn ‘Aamir (d. 737 CE/118 AH) was the chief judge (qaadi) of Damascus during the reign of al-Waleed ibn ‘Abdul Maalik, who, along with the other Umayyad caliphs, made that city his capital.

5. ‘Aasim (d. 746 CE/128 AH) wa Koofah ndiye mpokezi wa usomaji unaotawala na unaotumika sasa. Usimulizi wake, kama ulivyopokezwa na Hafs, ndio njia ya kawaida zaidi ya usimulizi inayotumika katika ulimwengu wa Kiislamu leo, isipokuwa Afrika.

5. ‘Aasim (d. 746 CE/128 AH) of Koofah was the narrator of the dominant recitation in current use. His narration, as transmitted by Hafs, is the most common method of narration used in the Muslim world today with the exception of Africa.

6. Hamzah (d. 773 CE/156 AH) wa Koofah.

6. Hamzah (d. 773 CE/156 AH) of Koofah.

7. Al-Kisaa’ee (d. 805 CE/189 AH) wa Koofah alikuwa mmoja wa wanaisimu wakuu wa lugha ya Kiarabu. Alicheza nafasi kubwa katika kuunda kanuni za sarufi ya Kiarabu.

7. Al-Kisaa’ee (d. 805 CE/189 AH) of Koofah was one of the foremost grammarians. He played a major role in the formulation of Arabic grammar rules.

8. Abū Ja‘far (d. 750 CE/132 AH) wa Madinah.

8. Aboo Ja‘far (d. 750 CE/132 AH) of Madeenah.

9. Ya‘qoob (d. 820 CE/204 AH) wa Basrah.

9. Ya‘qoob (d. 820 CE/204 AH) of Basrah.

10. Khalaf (d. 844 CE/229 AH) wa Baghdaad

10.Khalaf (d. 844 CE/229 AH) of Baghdaad

Wakati ambapo wanachuoni wa hadith walipoweka masharti ya kubaini uhalisi wa kauli au vitendo vinavyohusishwa na Mtume (r), wanachuoni wa usomaji wa Qur’aan nao waliweka masharti ya kuwezesha uchambuzi wa kina wa visomo vilivyopo. Ili usomaji wowote ule ukubaliwe kuwa sahihi (saheeh), ilipasa kutimiza masharti matatu. Iwapo sharti lolote kati ya hayo lingekosekana, usomaji huo ulipewa daraja la shaadh (usio wa kawaida). Sharti la kwanza lilikuwa kwamba usomaji uwe na mnyororo sahihi wa usimulizi; yaani, mnyororo wa wasimulizi usiwe na pengo, wasimulizi wajulikane kuwa wacha Mungu, na wajulikane kuwa na kumbukumbu nzuri. Pia ilihitajika kwamba usomaji huo upokelewe na idadi kubwa ya wasimulizi katika kila ngazi ya mnyororo wa usimulizi chini ya ngazi ya Maswahaba (sharti la tawaatur). Usimulizi ambao ulikuwa na minyororo sahihi lakini haukuwa na sharti la tawaatur ulikubaliwa kama ufafanuzi (tafsiri) wa Maswahaba, lakini haukuchukuliwa kuwa njia ya kusoma Qur’aan. Kuhusu usimulizi ambao haukuwa hata na mnyororo sahihi wa usimulizi, ulipewa daraja la "baatil" (batili) na ukakataliwa kabisa.

At the same time that scholars of hadeeth laid down conditions to determine the authenticity of statements or actions attributed to the Prophet (r), scholars of Qur’aanic recitation also formulated conditions to facilitate critical analysis of the existing recitations. For any given recitation to be accepted as authentic (saheeh), it had to fulfill three conditions. If any of the conditions were missing, such a recitation was classified as shaath (unusual). The first condition was that the recitation have an authentic chain of narration; that is, that the chain of narrators had to be unbroken, that the narrators were known to be righteous, and that they were known to possess good memories. It was also required that the recitation be conveyed by a large number of narrators on each level of the chain of narration below the level of the sahaabah (the condition of tawaatur). Narrations which had authentic chains but lacked the condition of tawaatur were accepted as explanations (tafseer) of sahaabah, but were not considered as methods of reciting the Qur’aan. As for narrations which did not even have an authentic chain of narration, they were classified “baatil” (false) and rejected totally.

Sharti ya pili ilikuwa kwamba tofauti za usomaji ziendane na miundo inayojulikana ya sarufi ya Kiarabu. Miundo isiyo ya kawaida ilithibitishwa kwa kuwepo kwake katika vifungu vya nathari au mashairi ya kabla ya Uislamu. Sharti ya tatu ilihitaji kwamba usomaji uendane na maandishi ya mojawapo ya nakala za Qur'aan zilizosambazwa wakati wa Khalifa 'Uthmaan. Kwa hiyo, tofauti zinazotokana na uwekaji wa nukta (kwa mfano ta‘lamoon na ya‘lamoon) zinakubalika, mradi masharti mengine yametimizwa. Ikiwa hakuna uungwaji mkono wowote wa muundo usio wa kawaida ulipatikana, usomaji wa muundo huo ungeainishwa kuwa shaadh. 33

The second condition was that the recitations’ variations match known Arabic grammatical constructions. Unusual cons-tructions were verified by their existence in passages of pre-Islamic prose or poetry. The third condition required the recitation to coincide with the script of one of the copies of Qur’aan distributed during the era of Caliph ‘Uthmaan. Hence, differences which result from dot placement (e.g. ta‘lamoon and ya‘lamoon) are considered acceptable, provided the other conditions are met. If no support for an unusual condition could be found, the recitation of that construction would be classified shaath. 33