qiraah

Qira'ah, meaning recitation, refers to the Arabic practice of reciting the Qur'an according to one of several traditional modes of pronunciation, phrasing, and, in some cases, wording. The term comes from the root qara’a, “to read” or “to recite.” In Islamic scholarship, qira'at are recognized as legitimate readings that preserve the same underlying text while allowing variant pronunciations and minor differences.

Historically, multiple recitations circulated in the early Muslim centuries. The science of qira'at was developed to document and assess these variations. The scholar Ibn Mujahid (d. 936 CE) is traditionally credited with identifying seven canonical readings and their main transmitters; later scholars added three more, bringing the commonly cited total to ten. Each qira’ah is named after its principal transmitter and has a connected chain of transmission (riwayah) linking back to the Prophet Muhammad.

Variations among the readings can involve vowels, consonant articulation, or occasional wording. Despite these differences, the readings are considered legitimate and do not undermine the Qurʾanic text’s authenticity or meaning. In modern practice, Muslims may recite the Qur’an according to one or more established readings. The Hafs ‘an ‘Asim transmission is by far the most widespread in print and recital in many regions, while Warsh ‘an Nafi’ is common in others.

Qira'at is distinct from tajweed, the branch of Islamic knowledge that governs proper pronunciation, intonation, and rules of phonetics during recitation. Together, qira'at and tajweed constitute important aspects of Qur’anic study in the classical and contemporary Islamic scholarly tradition.