Recitations and Reading Features of the Muṣḥaf of Mashhad al-Riḍawī: Description and Analysis

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor of the Quran and Hadith Department, Islamic Theology Faculty, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The Muṣḥaf of Mashhad al-Riḍawī. based on ancient paleographic evidence and radiocarbon (C-14) testing. is attributed to the second half of the first Islamic century. As a tangible historical artifact. this manuscript serves as a means to verify historical reports regarding the compilation of the Qurān and its recitational traditions. This Muṣḥaf and similar manuscripts not only challenge the views of some Orientalists who argue that the Qurān was finalized no earlier than the late second Islamic century but also cast serious doubt on the claims of certain contemporary Qurānic scholars who assert that the Qurān has always been recited exclusively according to the Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim transmission. An examination of this manuscript reveals that many words do not align with the Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim recitation but rather exhibit a variety of both canonical (mashhūr) and even irregular (shādhdh) recitations. Additionally. the manuscript was originally written largely in accordance with the orthographic conventions (rasm) of the Muṣḥaf of Madīnah. though it was later corrected in four instances based on the consensus conventions of the manuscripts of Iraq and Mecca. Moreover. this Muṣḥaf does not follow any of the seven established systems of verse enumeration (ʿadd al-āy). and in some cases. it diverges from all of them. Finally. although basmala is consistently counted as an independent verse in the main body of the manuscript. it was never considered in the taʿshīr (marking of every tenth verse). indicating that the taʿshīr system in this manuscript was introduced centuries after the original text was inscribed

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 06 November 2023
  • Revise Date: 20 March 2024
  • Accept Date: 12 April 2024

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