Qiroat — asosan Qur'on tilovatidagi talaffuz usuli hisoblanadi. Bu usullar Qur'on nozil bo'lgan yetti harf yoki shakl (ahruf) bilan bir xil emas. Usmon halifa davrida yetti shakl bitta, Quraysh shevasiga qaytarildi. U Qur'onni Quraysh lahjasida ko'chirishni va o'sha davrdagi islomiy markazlarga tarqatishni buyurgan edi. Shu sababli bugungi kunda faqat Qurayshiy shakl qolgan, barcha tilovat usullari ushbu shaklga asoslangan. Turli usullar Qur'onni eng ko'p tilovat qilgan bir qancha sahobalar orqali Payg'ambarimiz ﷺ gacha yetib kelgan. Ya'ni, bu sahobalar Qur'onni Payg'ambar ﷺ ga o'qib berganlar yoki uning huzurida o'qiganlar va u zotning tasdig'ini olganlar. Ular orasida quyidagilar bor: Ubay ibn Ka'b, Ali ibn Abu Solib, Zayd ibn Sobit, Ibn Mas'ud, Abu ad-Dardo va Abu Muso al-Ash'ariy. Boshqa ko'plab sahobalar esa ushbu ustozlardan ilm olganlar. Sahobalar orasida Qur'on tafsirining eng yirik olimi bo'lgan Ibn Abbos Ubay va Zayddan o'qigan.

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

Keyingi avlod musulmonlari, ya’ni tobe’iyn deb ataladigan kishilar orasida sahobalardan turli qiroat usullarini o‘rgangan va boshqalarga o‘rgatgan ko‘plab olimlar paydo bo‘ldi. Qur’on qiroati markazlari Madina, Makka, Kufa, Basra va Ash-Shom (Buyuk Suriya) da shakllanib, Qur’on qiroati mustaqil ilmga aylandi.31 Miloddan avvalgi VIII asr o‘rtalariga kelib, qiroat sohasining mutaxassisi sanalgan ko‘plab nufuzli olimlar mavjud edi. Ularning aksariyat qiroat usullari ishonchli rivoyat zanjirlari orqali tasdiqlangan bo‘lib, zanjirlar Payg‘ambar ﷺ ga borib taqalardi. Zanjirning har bir bosqichida rivoyat qiluvchilari ko‘p bo‘lgan qiroat usullari mutavotir deb atalib, eng aniq hisoblangan. Zanjirning biror bosqichida rivoyat qiluvchilari oz yoki faqat bitta bo‘lgan usullar esa shoz deb ataladi.

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.

Shunga qaramay, keyingi davr ba'zi olimlari avvalgi davrning muayyan sonli alohida olimlarini eng mashhur va aniq qiroat qiluvchilar sifatida belgilash odatini boshlashdi.

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.

Milodiy o'ninchi asrning o'rtalariga kelib (hijriy oltinchi asr), yetti nafar eng yaxshi qori'ni tanlab olish odat tusiga kirdi, chunki bu raqam Qur'on nozil bo'lgan lahjalarning soniga to'g'ri kelardi. Shunga o'xshash tarzda, bu davrda islom huquqi maktablari (mazhablar) ko'p bo'lgan davrdan so'ng mashhur to'rttasigacha qisqartirildi. Ishonchli qori'larni yettitagacha chegaralashni birinchi bo'lib iroqlik olim Abu Bakr ibn Mujohid (milodiy 936 yilda vafot etgan) boshlab berdi, undan keyin qiroat haqida kitob yozgan olimlar ham unga ergashdilar.32 Bu cheklov Qur'on qiroati bo'yicha klassik olimlarning haqiqiy holatini aks ettirmaydi. Yettitaga teng keladigan, hatto ulardan ham yuqoriroq darajadagi boshqa ko'plab qori'lar bo'lgan. Aslida olimlarni tasniflash ularning qiroat usullari qanchalik yaxshi saqlanib qolgani bo'yicha tasnif edi. Shunday qilib, mashhur yetti nafar qori'lar turli avlodlarga mansub, qiroat usullari rivoyat zanjirlarida eng ko'p sanad bilan, zanjirning har bir bo'g'inida ko'p rivoyatlar bilan yetib kelgan ilk olimlar edi. Biroq boshqa klassik olimlar ham bor edi, ularning qiroat usullari mashhur yettitaniki kabi ishonchli (mutavotir) tarzda qayd etilgan. Qiroat usullari eng yaxshi saqlangan o'nta Qur'on qori'sining ro'yxati quyidagicha:

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. Basra shahridagi Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alaa (vafoti 771 M/154 H)

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

2. Ibn Kasir (vaf. 738 M/119 H) Makkadagi sahobalarning shogirdlari orasida edi.

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

3. Nofe’ (vaf. 786 M/169 H) asli Isfahonlik bo‘lib, uning qiroatini Varsh (vaf. 812 M/196 H) rivoyat qilgan, u esa Madina qiroati hisoblanadi.

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 (vafoti 737 milodiy/118 hijriy) al-Valid ibn Abdulmalik hukmronligi davrida Damashqning bosh qozisi bo‘lgan. Ushbu shahar boshqa Umaviy xalifalar bilan birga uni o‘z poytaxti qilgan xalifa al-Valid davrida edi.

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. Koofa shahridagi ‘Osim (vafoti 746 m.s./128 h.) bugungi kunda keng qo‘llanilayotgan qiroatning rovийси edi. Uning rivoyati Hafs orqali yetkazilgan bo‘lib, Afrikadan tashqari butun musulmon dunyosida hozirda eng keng tarqalgan qiroat usulidir.

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. Hamza (vafot. 773 m.s./156 h.) Kufalik.

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

7. Al-Kisoiy (vaf. 805 m.s./189 h.) — Kufa shahridagi eng yetakchi nahvshunoslardan biri edi. U arab grammatikasi qoidalarini shakllantirishda muhim rol o‘ynadi.

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. Abu Ja‘far (vafoti 750 M/132 H) — Madina.

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

9. Ya‘qoob (vaf. 820 m.s./204 h.) — Basra.

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

10. Xalaf (vafot etgan 844 m.s./229 h.) — Bag'dodlik

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

Xadis ilmi olimlari Payg'ambar (r) ga nisbat berilgan so'zlar yoki amallarning ishonchliligini aniqlash uchun shartlar belgilagan bir paytda, Qur'on qiroati olimlari ham mavjud qiroatlarni tanqidiy tahlil qilishni osonlashtirish uchun shartlar ishlab chiqdilar. Har qanday qiroat sahih (ishonchli) deb qabul qilinishi uchun u uchta shartni bajarishi kerak edi. Agar shartlardan biri yetishmasa, bunday qiroat shoz (g'ayrioddiy) deb tasniflanardi. Birinchi shart qiroatning sahih rivoyat zanjiriga ega bo'lishi edi; ya'ni rivoyat zanjiri uzilmagan bo'lishi, rivoyat qiluvchilarning solih ekani ma'lum bo'lishi va ularning yaxshi xotiraga ega ekani ma'lum bo'lishi talab qilinardi. Shuningdek, sahoba darajasidan pastdagi har bir bo'g'inda qiroatni ko'plab rivoyat qiluvchilar yetkazishi (tavotur sharti) talab qilinardi. Sahih zanjirga ega, ammo tavotur shartiga javob bermaydigan rivoyatlar sahoba tafsiri sifatida qabul qilinar, lekin Qur'on o'qish usullari sifatida hisobga olinmasdi. Sahih zanjirga ham ega bo'lmagan rivoyatlar esa "botil" (soxta) deb tasniflanib, butunlay rad etilardi.

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.

Ikkinchi shart shundaki, qiroatlardagi farqlar ma'lum arabcha grammatik konstruksiyalarga mos kelishi kerak. Odatdan tashqari konstruksiyalar johiliyya davri nasri yoki she'riyatidagi matnlarda mavjudligi bilan tasdiqlangan. Uchinchi shart esa qiroatning Usmon halifalik davrida tarqatilgan Qur'on nusxalaridan biridagi yozuvga mos kelishini talab qilgan. Shu sababli, nuqtalarning joylashuvidan kelib chiqadigan farqlar (masalan, ta‘lamoon va ya‘lamoon) boshqa shartlar bajarilgan taqdirda qabul qilinadi. Agar odatdan tashqari konstruksiya uchun hech qanday tasdiq topilmasa, o'sha konstruksiyaning qiroati shaozz deb tasniflangan.

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