Religion:Warsh 'an Naafi'
Warsh 'an Naafi' is one of the main canonical methods of reciting the Qur'an. The recitations of the Quran, known in Arabic as Qira'at, are conducted under the rules of the Tajwid Science.[1] 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-Qutbi in Egypt. He was called Warsh , a substance of milk, by his teacher Naafi' because he was light skinned.[2] He learned his recitation from Naafi' at Medina. After finishing his education, he returned to Egypt where he became the senior reciter of the Quran.[3]
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.[4] 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. It is, alongside the Hafs 'an 'Asim tradition which represents the recitational tradition of Kufa, one of the two major oral transmission of the Quran in the Muslim World.[5]The influential standard Quran of Cairo that was published in 1924 is based on Hafs 'an ʻAsim's recitation.
Difference between Warsh and Asim's recitation
The Warsh 'an Naafi' recitation of the Quran differs from Hafs 'an Asim in orthography. 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 [as substitute] of feeding a poor person...". On the other hand, Warsh reads it "... a ransom [as substitute] of feeding poor people..."[6] Other variants orthography include :
| رواية ورش عن نافع | رواية حفص عن عاصم | Ḥafs | Warsh | Chapter and Verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| يَعْمَلُونَ | تَعْمَلُونَ | you do | they do | Al-Baqara 2:85 |
| وًأَوْصّى | وَوَصَّى | enjoined | instructed | Al-Baqara 2:132 |
| سَارِعُوا | وَسَارِعُوا | And hasten to | Hasten to | Ali 'imran 3:133 |
| مَا تَنَزَّلُ | مَا نُنَزِّلُ | we do not send down... | they do not come down... | Al-Ḥijr 15:8 |
| قُل | قَالَ | he said | say! | Al-Anbiyā' 21:4 |
| كَثِيرًا | كَبِيرًا | mighty | multitudinous | Al-Aḥzāb 33:68 |
| بِمَا | فَبِمَا | then it is what | it is what | Al-Shura 42:30 |
| نُدْخِلْهُ | يُدْخِلْهُ | he makes him enter | we make him enter | Al-Fatḥ 48:17 |
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:
| رواية ورش عن نافع | رواية حفص عن عاصم | Ḥafs | Warsh | Chapter and Verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| مَلِكِ | مَالِكِ | Owner | King | Al-Fatihah 1:4 (1:3 in Warsh) |
| يٌكَذّبُونَ | يَكْذِبُونَ | they lie | they were lied to (or) they deny | Al-Baqara 2:10 （2:9 in Warsh) |
| قُتِلَ | قَاتَلَ | And many a prophet fought | And many a prophet was killed | Ali 'imran 3:146 |
| سَاحِرَانِ | سِحْرَانِ | two works of magic | two magicians | Al-Qasas 28:48 |
References
- ↑ Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (14 November 2016). "The New Encyclopedia of Islam". Rowman Altamira. https://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&pg=PA268&dq=aasim%20qira'ah&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=aasim%20qira'ah&f=false.
- ↑ Encyclopedia, The Arabic. "الموسوعة العربية". http://www.arab-ency.com/_/details.php?nid=13885&full=1&keys=%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%B4%20%D8%B9%D9%86%20%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B9.
- ↑ Nasser, Shady Hekmat. The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an: The Problem of Tawatur and the Emergence of Shawadhdh. Leiden: Brill, 2013, p. 154
- ↑ Melchert, Christopher (2000). "Ibn Mujahid and the Establishment of Seven Qur'anic Readings". Studia Islamica (91): 5–22.
- ↑ Ibn Warraq, Which Koran? Variants, Manuscript, Linguistics, pg. 45. Prometheus Books, 2011. ISBN:1591024307
- ↑ A.Brockett, Studies in Two Transmission of the Qur'an, doctorate thesis, University of St. Andrews,Scotland, 1984, p.138
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