The Distinctive Merits of Authoritative Qurʾānic Readings in Well-Established Narrations by Shaykh Mullā ʿAlī Ibn Sulṭān Al-Qārī Al-Harawī Al-Makkī "D. 1014 AH." 10.35781/1637-000-148-002

Abstract

Abstract This study presents a critical edition and scholarly analysis of a treatise entitled “The Distinctive Merits of Authoritative Qurʾānic Readings Based on Well-Established Narrations” by Shaykh Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī al-Harawī al-Makkī (d. 1014 AH). The work examines the author’s position on three specific readings—those of Abū Jaʿfar, Yaʿqūb, and Khalaf al-ʿĀshir—supported by references to scholars from the four Sunni legal schools. It further addresses the issue of irregular (shādh) readings in prayer, and discusses the Seven Qurʾānic Letters (al-ḥurūf al-sabʿ) and their representation in the Uthmanic script. The methodology combines a historical approach to introduce the author and his intellectual context with an analytical approach for the critical edition of the text. The research is structured into two main sections: (1) an introduction to the author and his book, comprising a concise biography and a study of the treatise, and (2) the critically edited text. The conclusion highlights the principal findings and recommendations, notably: • Shaykh Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī affirms the tawātur (mass-transmitted) status of the seven well-known Qurʾānic readings, while considering others irregular. • The readings are transmitted both textually and orally, with precise attention to recitation rules, including the gradation of elongation (madd), the articulation between letters or vowels (ishmām), and nuanced forms of imāla. Keywords: Merits – Qurʾānic Readings – Authoritative – Narrations – Well-Established