Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud

Abu Bakr ‘Aasim Ibn Abi al-Najud al-'Asadi (died 127AH/745CE),[1][2] commonly known as ‘Aasim ibn Abi an-Najud, was one of the seven primary transmitters of the Qira'at, or variant readings of the Qur'an. Of Persian[3] origin, his method of reciting the Qur'an as transmitted by Hafs is the most common and popular way of reciting the holy book in the Muslim world in general.[4]

Though he lived much of his life in Kufa, he was associated with Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah due to a pact. His fellow recitation transmitter Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' also studied under him.

Despite being from Kufa, Aasim's reading was not popular there at first.[5] Unlike most reciters in Kufa, he did not accept the pre-Uthmanic version of the Qur'an written by the companion of the Prophet, Abdullah ibn Masud;[5] most of the people of Kufa continued reciting based on that version for a period even after the Uthmanic version became canon.[1] Eventually this changed with the standardization of the mushaf, and in time Aasim's reading became the norm for the Muslim world. In fact, of the seven primary methods of recitation, only two have become particularly common in the Muslim world: that of Nafi‘ al-Madani in much of Africa outside of Egypt and that of Aasim in the rest of the Muslim world in general.[6]

He died in the year 745CE, corresponding to the year 127AH.[2]

Comparison of 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..."[7] Other variants orthography include :

رواية ورش عن نافعرواية حفص عن عاصمḤafsWarshChapter and Verse
يَعْمَلُونَتَعْمَلُونَyou dothey doAl-Baqara 2:85
وًأَوْصّىوَوَصَّىenjoinedinstructedAl-Baqara 2:132
سَارِعُواوَسَارِعُواAnd hasten toHasten toAl 'imran 3:133
مَا تَنَزَّلُمَا نُنَزِّلُwe do not send down...they do not come down...Al-Ḥijr 15:8
قُلقَالَhe saidsay!Al-Anbiyā' 21:4
كَثِيرًاكَبِيرًاmightymultitudinousAl-Aḥzāb 33:68
بِمَافَبِمَاthen it is whatit is whatAl-Shura 42:30
نُدْخِلْهُيُدْخِلْهُhe makes him enterwe make him enterAl-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 نافعرواية حفص عن عاصمḤafsWarshChapter and Verse
مَلِكِمَالِكِOwnerKingAl-Fatihah Q1:4 (Q1:3 in Warsh)
يٌكَذّبُونَيَكْذِبُونَthey liethey were lied to (or) they denyAl-Baqara Q2:10 （Q2:9 in Warsh)
قُتِلَقَاتَلَAnd many a prophet foughtAnd many a prophet was killedAl 'imran Q3:146
سَاحِرَانِسِحْرَانِtwo works of magictwo magiciansAl-Qasas Q28:48
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References
  1. Shady Hekmat Nasser, Ibn Mujahid and the Canonization of the Seven Readings, p. 57. Taken from The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an: The Problem of Tawaatur and the Emergence of Shawaadhdh. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2012. ISBN 9789004240810
  2. Muhammad Ghoniem and MSM Saifullah, The Ten Readers & Their Transmitters. (c) Islamic Awareness. Updated January 8, 2002; accessed April 11, 2016.
  3. Frye, ed. by R.N. (1975). The Cambridge history of Iran (Repr. ed.). London: Cambridge U.P. p. 467. ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6. Of these four were Persians: Asim b. Abi'l-Najiid, whom Ibn al-Nadim lists among the mawali, Nafi', whom the same source considers as having originated in Isfahan, Ibn al-Kathir and Kisa'i, whose full name, 'Ali b. Hamza b. 'Abd- Allah b. Bahman b. Firuz, reveals his Persian origin.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  4. Bewley, Aishah. "The Seven Qira'at of the Qur'an" Archived 2006-05-01 at the Wayback Machine, Aisha Bewley's Islamic Home Page
  5. Nasser, Canonization, p. 57.
  6. Cyril Glasse, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 268. Intr. by Huston Smith. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. ISBN 9780759101906
  7. A.Brockett, Studies in Two Transmission of the Qur'an, doctorate thesis, University of St. Andrews,Scotland, 1984, p.138
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