Abstract:

One of the subjects of interest for the Orientalists is the field of ‘ilm alqiraah. They have interested more in the shaz qiraats and zaif naqls than the sahih ones in this field. However, the Orientalists have been selective in their studies in that they tend to have chosen the naqls that seem to support their arguments without further investigating the answers given to these particular subjects from the sound sources. The Orientalists have attributed the causes of differences in qiraah (recitation) to “the written style of the mushafs,” “the use of the synonymous terms,” “mistakes of the Mustensikhs,” and so on. The most important point that the Orientalists have, willingly or unwillingly, failed to see is the fact that the Qur’an have been transmitted not only as a written material but also as an oral tradition from generation to generation without any interruption in the chain of transmitters. Therefore, the differences in qiraah have been an essential part of this tradition from the very beginning. This article is a critical analysis of the views of the Orientalists as well as the views of some of the Muslim scholars influenced by the Orientalists regarding the issue of the differences in qiraah.

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