Abu Sa'id Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qebṭi, better known as Warsh (110-197AH), was a significant figure in the history of
Quranic recitation (''qira'at''), the canonical methods of reciting the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
.
Alongside
Qalun, he was one of the two primary transmitters of the canonical
reading method of Nafi‘ al-Madani.
Together, their style is the most common form of Qur'anic recitation in the generality of African mosques outside of Egypt, and is also popular in Yemen
and
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...
despite the rest of
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
following the method of
Hafs. The method of Warsh and his counterpart Qalun was also the most popular method of recitation in
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
. The majority of printed
Mushaf
''Mushaf'' (, ; plural ) is an Arabic word for a codex or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of the Quran. The chapters of the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed during a 23-year period in Muhammad's lifetime, were wr ...
s today in
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
and
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
follow the reading of Warsh.
He died in 812CE.
Warsh recitation
Warsh 'an Naafi' is one of the main canonical methods of reciting the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
. The recitations of the Quran, known in Arabic as
Qira'at
In Islam, (pl. ; ) refers to the ways or fashions that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, is recited. More technically, the term designates the different linguistic, lexical, phonetic, morphological and syntactical forms permitted with rec ...
, are conducted under the rules of the
Tajwid Science. It is attributed to Imam Warsh who in turn got it from his teacher
Nafi‘ al-Madani who was one of the transmitters of the seven recitations. The recitation of Warsh 'an Naafi' is one of two major recitation traditions. The second is
Hafs 'an 'Asim.
History
Imam Warsh (110-197AH) was born Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qebṭi in Egypt. He was called Warsh, a substance of milk, by his teacher Naafi' because he was light skinned. He learned his recitation from Naafi' at
Medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
. After finishing his education, he returned to Egypt where he became the senior reciter of the Quran.
In the 10th century, the Muslim scholar
Ibn Mujāhid canonized the seven readings of the Quran including Warsh 'an Naafi'. However, only the transmission of Asim and Warsh remains influential. The Warsh 'an Naafi' recitation became widespread in North Africa, in large part because it was the preferred recitation of Imam Malik ibn Anas, whose Maliki school of jurisprudence predominated in that region of the world. In medieval times, it was the main Quranic recitation in
Islamic Iberia. The Warsh 'an Naafi' transmission represents the recitational tradition of Medina.
Comparison of Warsh and Hafs recitation
The
Warsh 'an Naafi' recitation of the Quran differs from
Hafs 'an Asim in
orthography
An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis.
Most national ...
. The majority of differences do not affect the meaning. Yet in some cases the differences change the implications of the verse. In verse 2:184 Hafs recites the verse to be "... a ransom
s substituteof feeding a poor person...". On the other hand, Warsh reads it "... a ransom
s substituteof feeding poor people..."
[A. Brockett, ''Studies in Two Transmission of the Qur'an'', doctorate thesis, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 1984, p.138] Other variants that go beyond orthography include :
Another major difference between Hafs and Warsh recitation of the Quran is the pronunciation of the words. Modern Qurans have diacritical marks (known as Tashkil) and in some cases pronouncing the word differently could imply different meaning. Here are some examples:
See also
Ten readers and transmitters
*
Nafi‘ al-Madani
**
Qalun
**Warsh
*
Ibn Kathir al-Makki
**
Al-Bazzi
**
Qunbul
*
Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala'
**
Ad-Duri
**
Al-Susi
*
Ibn Amir ad-Dimashqi
**
Hisham ibn Ammar
**
Ibn Dhakwan
*
Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud
**
Shu'bah
**
Hafs
*
Hamzah az-Zaiyyat
Abu ‘Imarah Hamzah Ibn Habib al-Zayyat al-Taymi, better known as Hamzah az-Zaiyyat (80-156AH),Edward Sell (priest), Edward SellThe Faith of Islam pg. 341. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2013 reprint. Muhammad Ghoniem and MSM SaifullahThe Ten Rea ...
**
Khalaf
**
Khallad
*
Al-Kisa'i
**
Al-Layth
**
Ad-Duri
*Abu Ja'far
**'Isa ibn Waddan
**Ibn Jummaz
*Ya'qub al-Yamani
**Ruways
**Rawh
*
Khalaf
**Ishaq
**Idris
References
{{Authority control
812 deaths
Quran
Quranic readings
Warsh recitation