The Role of the Sciences and Techniques of Qur’anic Recitations in the Expansion of Qur’anic Culture and Knowledge in the Era of the Companions and the Followers

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Corresponding Author, PhD researcher, Al-Mustafa University, Qom, Iran

2 Assistant Professor at Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Objective: The Qurʾān, as the central text of Islamic civilization, has always been the focus of efforts for preservation, understanding, and dissemination. Among the key means of achieving this were the sciences and techniques of Qurʾānic recitation, which played a crucial role during the era of the Companions and Successors (Ṣaḥāba and Tābiʿūn). This study aims to explore the role of Qurʾānic recitation sciences in the expansion of Islamic culture and knowledge during the first two centuries of Islam, and their impact on tafsīr and jurisprudence.
Method: This research employs a descriptive–analytical approach, relying on library sources. Data were collected from historical and exegetical works, as well as from the writings of early Qurʾānic scholars. Special attention was given to the study of the personal codices (maṣāḥif) of the Companions and their role in Qurʾānic instruction and transmission.
Results: Findings show that the diversity of recitations and the personal codices of Companions such as ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Ibn Masʿūd, and Ubayy ibn Kaʿb contributed not only to the preservation of the Qurʾān but also to the promotion of Qurʾānic understanding. These differences enriched exegetical and juridical studies, leading to new interpretative and legal insights. Qurʾān teachers such as Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿAbbās, and Zayd ibn Thābit played a vital role in centers like Medina, Kūfa, and Baṣra, training generations of Qurʾān reciters and transmitters and thereby expanding Qurʾānic culture.
Conclusions: The sciences and techniques of Qurʾānic recitation in the era of the Companions and Successors were instrumental in preserving and spreading the Qurʾān and its teachings. Rather than causing division, differences in recitation fostered intellectual and cultural growth in early Islamic society. The codices and educational efforts of the early generations provided a lasting legacy, laying the foundations for Islamic civilization and the global dissemination of Qurʾānic knowledge

Keywords


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