Warsh

Abu Sa'id Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qutbi, 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.[1] Alongside Qalun, he is one of the two primary transmitters of the canonical reading method of Nafi‘ al-Madani.[1][2][3] Together, their style is the most common form of Qur'anic recitation in the generality of African mosques outside of Egypt,[4] and is also popular in Yemen[5] and Darfur despite the rest of Sudan following the method of Hafs.[6] The method of Warsh and his counterpart Qalun was also the most popular method of recitation in Islamic Spain.[7] The majority of printed Mushafs today in North Africa and West Africa follow the reading of Warsh.[8]

This article is about the canonical Qur'an reciter. For other uses, see Warsh (disambiguation).

Warsh
عثمان بن سعيد بن عبد الله ، أبو سعيد المصري

He died in 812CE.[2]

Warsh recitation

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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12] 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 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..."[13] 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	Al '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 Q1:4 (Q1:3 in Warsh)
يٌكَذّبُونَ	يَكْذِبُونَ	they lie	they were lied to (or) they deny	Al-Baqara Q2:10 （Q2:9 in Warsh)
قُتِلَ	قَاتَلَ	And many a prophet fought	And many a prophet was killed	Al 'imran Q3:146
سَاحِرَانِ	سِحْرَانِ	two works of magic	two magicians	Al-Qasas Q28:48

References

1. Muhammad Ghoniem and MSM Saifullah, The Ten Readers & Their Transmitters. (c) Islamic Awareness. Updated January 8, 2002; accessed April 11, 2016.
2. Shady Hekmat Nasser, Ibn Mujahid and the Canonization of the Seven Readings, p. 129. 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
3. Claude Gilliot, Creation of a fixed text, pg. 50. Taken from The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an by Jane Dammen McAuliffe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780521539340
4. Cyril Glasse, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 268. Intr. by Huston Smith. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. ISBN 9780759101906
5. Keith E. Small, Textual Criticism and Qur'an Manuscripts, pg. 27. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2011. ISBN 9780739142912
6. Hamid Eltgani Ali, Darfur's Political Economy: A Quest for Development, pg. 9. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2014. ISBN 9781317964643
7. L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, pg. 145. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. ISBN 9780226319650
8. Aisha Geissinger, Gender and Muslim Constructions of Exegetical Authority: A Rereading of the Classical Genre of Qurʾān Commentary, pg. 79. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2015. ISBN 9789004294448
9. Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (14 November 2016). "The New Encyclopedia of Islam". Rowman Altamira – via Google Books.
10. Encyclopedia, The Arabic. "الموسوعة العربية".
11. 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
12. Melchert, Christopher (2000). "Ibn Mujahid and the Establishment of Seven Qur'anic Readings". Studia Islamica (91): 5–22.
13. A.Brockett, Studies in Two Transmission of the Qur'an, doctorate thesis, University of St. Andrews,Scotland, 1984, p.138