Ḥamza's Consideration of Ibn Masʿūd's Divergent Readings

Abstract

This study deals with the issue of Imām Ḥamza al-Zayyāt al-Kūfī – one of the seven reciters – and his acceptance of the reading of Ibn Masʿūd when it diverges from the muṣḥaf of ʿUthmān, so as to shed light on the early history of Qur’anic qirāʾāt. The article explores the ways in which Ḥamza was impacted by Ibn Masʿūd’s recitation, and the extent to which he followed it or implemented his own innovations, based on an applied study of the readings of Ibn Masʿūd that diverge from the ʿUthmanic codex as recorded in Ibn Abī Dāwūd’s al-Maṣāḥif and transmitted from al-Aʿmash. By comparing Ibn Masʿūd’s readings with the ten accepted qirāʾāt it seeks to analyse how close these recitations are to Ibn Masʿūd’s readings and to what extent they have been affected by them. This comparative analysis indicates that there is a strong relationship between the reading of Ḥamza and the recitations of Ibn Masʿūd, to an extent unseen in any of the other ten reciters. It reveals that, although Ḥamza does not follow all of Ibn Masʿūd’s readings, Ibn Masʿūd’s reading is clearly foundational to his recitation. The study concludes that Ḥamza’s use of Ibn Masʿūd’s readings indicates that he did not invent his own readings by opinion or ijtihād, while the fact he did not accept of all of Ibn Masʿūd’s readings testifies to the fact that he adhered only to what has been transmitted, and did not go beyond this to accept those of Ibn Masʿūd’s readings that were not.