Al-Soussi recitation explained

The Al-Soussi recitation or Al-Soussi 'an Abi 'Amr (Arabic: رواية السوسي عن أبي عمرو|lit=Transmission of al-Soussi from Abi 'Amr) is a riwayah of the Quran, transmitted by al-Soussi from the Qiraʼat of Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' al-Basri.

Qira'at and riwayat

See main article: articles and Qiraʼat.

The Qiraʼat are different linguistic, lexical, phonetic, morphological and syntactical forms permitted with reciting the Quran.[1] [2] Differences between Qira'at are slight and include varying rules regarding the prolongation, intonation, and pronunciation of words,[3] but also differences in stops, vowels, consonants, leading to different pronouns and verb forms, and less frequently, entire words.

Each of the ten Qira'at has two riwayat (sing: riwayah), which, although different from each other, are both considered acceptable ways to read the Quran.[4]

The riwayah of the Quran that is in "general use" throughout most of the Muslim world today is that of Ḥafṣ on the authority of `Asim (Ḥafṣ being the Rawi, or "transmitter", and `Asim being the Qari or "reader").[5] However, the riwayah of Al-Douri 'an Abi 'Amr is dominant in Sudan and Somalia,[6] and the riwayah of Warsh 'an Nafi' dominant in North (except Libya, where Qalun 'an Nafi' is dominant, Egypt, where the aforementioned Hafs is dominant, and Sudan, as described above) and West Africa.[7]

Chain of transmission

The riwayah is transmitted by Abu Shu'ayb al-Soussi, on the authority of Yahya al-Yazidi, on the authority of Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' al-Basri, from Mujahid ibn Jabr, from Abdullah ibn Abbas, from Ubayy ibn Ka'b, from the Prophet Muhammad.[8]

Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' al-Basri

Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' al-Basri was a Qāriʾ from a branch of the Banu Tamim,[9] He studied under Ibn Abi Ishaq, and was a renowned scholar of Arabic grammar in addition to his knowledge of the Quran, founding the Basran school of grammar.[10] Among his own pupils were Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi,[11] [12] Yunus ibn Habib[13] and Harun ibn Musa.[14] Although he never met Sibawayhi, the ethnic Persian considered the father of Arabic grammar, Sibawayhi quotes from Abu 'Amr 57 times in his well-known Kitab, mostly by transmission from Ibn Habib and al-Farahidi.[15]

In addition to Al-Soussi, Ibn al-'Ala's Qira'ah was also transmitted by Al-Duri.[16]

Abu Shu'ayb al-Soussi

Abu Shu'ayb al-Soussi was a Qari' who learnt the Quran in the Qira'ah of Abu 'Amr through Yahya al-Yazidi.[17]

Characteristics

The riwayah is characterised by its higher use of idgham kabir. Other characteristics are its use of taqlil and imalah, although they are in comparable use to other recitations.[18]

Further reading

A copy of the Quran written in the Al-Soussi recitation

Notes and References

  1. Book: Islamic Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures . 2010 . Marshall Cavendish . 978-0-7614-7926-0 . en.
  2. Book: Kahteran . Nevad . The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia . 2006 . Routledge . Leaman . Oliver . 233 . Hafiz/Tahfiz/Hifz/Muhaffiz . 9780415326391 . 4 July 2020 . https://books.google.com/books?id=isDgI0-0Ip4C&dq=Qira%27at&pg=PA233.
  3. Web site: Khatib . Ammar . Khan . Nazir . 23 August 2019 . The Origins of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an . 21 July 2020 . Yaqueen Institute.
  4. Web site: رواية الإمام السوسي عن أبي عمرو - إسلام ويب - مركز الفتوى . 2022-11-01 . www.islamweb.net . ar.
  5. Book: Böwering, Gerhard . Recent Research on the Construction of the Quran . 72.
  6. Web site: رواية الدوري – مجمع الملك فهد لطباعة المصحف الشريف . 2022-11-02 . fonts.qurancomplex.gov.sa.
  7. Aisha Geissinger, Gender and Muslim Constructions of Exegetical Authority: A Rereading of the Classical Genre of Qurʾān Commentary, pg. 79. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2015.
  8. Web site: سند رواية السوسي الى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم . 2022-11-01 . منتديات مزامير آل داوُد . ar-AR.
  9. [Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari]
  10. http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/38758/al-Asmai#ref190690 al-Aṣmaʿī
  11. Introduction to Early Medieval Arabic: Studies on Al-Khalīl Ibn Ahmad, pg. 2. Ed. Karin C. Ryding. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1998.
  12. Eckhard Neubauer, "Al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad and Music." Taken from Early Medieval Arabic: Studies on Al-Khalīl Ibn Aḥmad, pg. 63. Ed. Karin C. Ryding. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1998.
  13. [Ibn Khallikan]
  14. M.G. Carter, Sibawayh, pg. 21. Part of the Makers of Islamic Civilization series. London: I.B. Tauris, 2004.
  15. M.G. Carter, Sibawayh, pg. 19.
  16. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, trans. Franz Rosenthal. Vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, pg. 58.
  17. Web site: ص273 - كتاب مسالك الأبصار في ممالك الأمصار - أبو شعيب السوسي - المكتبة الشاملة الحديثة . 2022-11-01 . al-maktaba.org.
  18. Web site: أصول رواية السوسي عن البصري .