The Imams of Quranic Recitation

Nafi’ ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Nu’aym, Abu Ruwaym, also known as Abu Nu’aym, Abu al-Hasan, Abu Abd Allah, or Abu Abd al-Rahman, was a freedman of al-Laythi, who in turn was the freedman of Ja’wanah ibn Sha’ub al-Laythi, an ally of Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib in Medina. He was one of the seven reciters and a trustworthy and righteous figure.

Originating from Isfahan, he had a dark complexion, was handsome, good-natured, and humorous. He learned the recitation of the Quran from a group of the Followers (Tabi’in) of Medina and taught it for over seventy years. He became the leading authority on Quranic recitation in Medina, with people seeking his knowledge.

He passed away in the year 169 AH (May Allah Most High have mercy on him).

Uthman ibn Sa’id, also known as Sa’id ibn Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn Sulayman ibn Ibrahim, Abu Sa’id al-Qurashi, nicknamed Warsh, was a distinguished master of reciters and the leader of the proficient reciters in his time. He was born in Egypt in the year 110 AH. He travelled to Nafi’ ibn Abi Nu’aym and recited the Quran to him several times in 155 AH. Warsh was light-skinned, with blue eyes and blond hair, short in stature with a tendency towards plumpness.

He devoted himself to the Quran and Arabic, excelling in both. Warsh had a pleasant reading voice, known for pronouncing words distinctly, elongating sounds, emphasizing, and clarifying grammatical constructs. He was captivating to listen to, and his students would often give up their turns to him so he could read more.

Warsh narrated that he read to Nafi’ every day, completing the Quran every seven days, finishing four complete recitations in a month. Abu Ya’qub al-Azraq told al-Nahhas that Warsh, after mastering Arabic grammar, established his own method of recitation known as “Warsh’s recitation,” derived from his learning from Nafi’. Warsh passed away in Egypt in 197 AH at the age of 87.

Isa ibn Mina ibn Wardan ibn Isa ibn Abd al-Samad ibn Umar ibn Abd Allah al-Zarqi, also known as al-Mari, was a freedman of Banu Zuhrah. Known by his nickname Abu Musa, he was famously called Qalun, the reciter and grammarian of Medina. It is said that he was closely associated with Nafi’ and that Nafi’ gave him the nickname Qalun due to the excellence of his recitation, as “Qalun” means “good” in Roman.

Al-Ahwazi mentioned that Qalun was born in 120 AH and started studying with Nafi’ in 150 AH. Qalun himself said, “I read Nafi’s recitation multiple times and documented it in my book.”

Al-Dani noted that Qalun died before 220 AH, while al-Ahwazi and others mentioned the year 205 AH. Al-Dhahabi pointed out that this was incorrect and confirmed his death in 220 AH, which is considered the most accurate date.

Abdullah ibn Kathir ibn al-Muttalib, Imam Abu Ma’bad al-Makki al-Dari, was the leading reciter of Mecca. He was born in Mecca in the year 45 AH. There, he met Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Anas ibn Malik, Mujahid ibn Jabr, and Darbas, the freed slave of Abdullah ibn Abbas, and he narrated from them.

He was eloquent, articulate, with a white beard, tall and robust, dark-skinned with hazel eyes, and he dyed his hair with henna. He was known for his calmness and dignity. Al-Asma’i said, “I asked Abu Amr if he had read with Ibn Kathir, and he said, ‘Yes, I completed the Qur’an with Ibn Kathir after completing it with Mujahid, and Ibn Kathir was more knowledgeable in Arabic than Mujahid.'”

Ibn Mujahid said, “Abdullah remained the undisputed leading reciter in Mecca until he died in the year 120 AH.”

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn al-Qasim ibn Nafi ibn Abi Baza, according to al-Ahwazi, was known as Abu Baza, whose name was Bashar, a Persian from Hamadan. Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Bazzi al-Makki was the reciter of Mecca and the muezzin of the Masjid al-Haram.

He was born in the year 170 AH. He was a meticulous, precise, and skilled teacher. Al-Bazzi passed away in the year 250 AH at the age of eighty.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid ibn Muhammad ibn Said ibn Jurjah, Abu Amr al-Makhzumi, their freedman, was known as Qunbul. He was the leading reciter in the Hijaz. He was born in the year 195 AH.

There is a disagreement about the reason for his nickname “Qunbul.” Some say it was his actual name, others say it was because he belonged to a house in Mecca called the Qunabula, and yet others claim it was due to his use of a medicine called “Qunbul,” known to pharmacists, for an ailment he had; he used it so much that he became known by it. He rose to the headship of Quranic recitation in the Hijaz, and people traveled to him from various regions.

He aged and stopped teaching Quranic recitation seven years before his death. He died in the year 291 AH at the age of ninety-six.

Zaban ibn al-Ala ibn Ammar, Imam al-Sayyid ibn Amr al-Tamimi al-Mazini al-Basri, was one of the seven reciters and his lineage traces back to Adnan. He was born in the year 68 AH. He studied in Mecca and Medina.

He also studied in Kufa and Basra under numerous scholars, having more teachers than any of the seven reciters. He heard from Anas ibn Malik and others. He was knowledgeable in Quranic recitation, Arabic language, and genealogy, known for his honesty, reliability, and asceticism.

Abd al-Warith said that Abu Amr was born in Mecca, grew up in Basra, and died in Kufa. It is reported that he died in the year 154 AH.

Salih ibn Ziyad ibn Abdullah ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Jarud ibn Masrah al-Rustabi, Abu Shu’ayb al-Susi al-Raqqi, was a meticulous and trustworthy reciter. He passed away at the beginning of the year 261 AH, having nearly reached the age of seventy.

Hafs ibn Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Suhban ibn Adi ibn Suhban, or Suhayb, also known as Abu Amr al-Duri al-Azdi al-Baghdadi al-Nahwi, was a blind scholar who resided in Samarra. He was an eminent imam of Quranic recitation and the foremost authority of his time.

Trustworthy and precise, he was the first to compile the various modes of recitation. His nisba, al-Duri, comes from the place Dur, a neighbourhood on the eastern side of Baghdad.

Al-Ahwazi noted that al-Duri traveled extensively in pursuit of learning the different modes of recitation. He mastered all seven canonical readings as well as the shadh and amassed a vast amount of knowledge. He passed away in Shawwal of the year 246 AH.

Abdullah ibn Amir ibn Yazid ibn Tamim ibn Rabi’ah ibn Amir ibn Abdullah ibn Imran al-Yahsubi was the leading reciter of Sham (Syria), to whom the mastery of recitation there was attributed.

Abu Ali al-Ahwazi described Abdullah ibn Amir as a knowledgeable, trustworthy imam, an expert in what he memorized, and an understanding and competent scholar.

Khalid ibn Yazid said he heard Abdullah ibn Amir al-Yahsubi say, “I was born in the year 8 AH in al-Balqa, in a place called Ruhab. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away when I was two years old, before the conquest of Damascus. I moved to Damascus after its conquest when I was nine years old.”

He is confirmed to have heard from several companions, including Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, al-Nu’man ibn Bashir, Wathila ibn al-Asqa’, and Fudala ibn Ubayd. He passed away in Damascus on Ashura in the year 118 AH.

Hisham ibn Ammar ibn Nasir ibn Maysarah, Abu al-Walid al-Sulami, was the leading imam, preacher, reciter, hadith scholar, and mufti of Damascus. He was born in the year 153 AH. Known for his eloquence and extensive knowledge, he had a vast repertoire of narrations.

People travelled to him from far and wide for his expertise in recitation and Hadith. Hisham ibn Ammar passed away in the year 245 AH, though some say it was in 244 AH.

Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Bishr (or Bashir) ibn Dhakwan ibn Amr ibn Hassan ibn Dawood ibn Hassnoon ibn Sa’d ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr ibn Malik ibn al-Nadr, Abu Amr (also known as Abu Muhammad) al-Qurashi al-Fihr, was a renowned imam and scholar from Damascus. He was a prominent and trustworthy narrator and the leading reciter in the Grand Mosque of Damascus.

Abu Zur’ah al-Dimashqi said, “There was no one in Iraq, Hijaz, Sham, Egypt, or Khorasan in the time of Ibn Dhakwan who was a better reciter than him.”

He was born on the day of Ashura in the year 173 AH and passed away on a Monday, two nights before the end of Shawwal, or according to another account, on the seventh day of Shawwal, in the year 242 AH.

Asim ibn Bahdalah Abu al-Najud, also known as Abu Bakr al-Asadi, was a client of the Asad tribe from Kufa. He was a prominent reciter and the leading authority on Quranic recitation in Kufa after Abu Abdurrahman al-Sulami. Asim combined eloquence, precision, thoroughness, and excellent pronunciation in his recitation. He was known to have the most beautiful voice when reciting the Quran.
Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash said, “I cannot count how many times I heard Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i say, ‘I have never seen anyone more proficient in reciting the Quran than Asim ibn Abu al-Najud.'” Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash also recounted, “I entered upon Asim when he was on his deathbed, and I heard him repeatedly reciting the verse with such precision as if he were praying: ‘Then they are returned to Allah, their true Master’ (Al-An’am: 62).”

Asim ibn Bahdalah passed away at the end of the year 127 AH.

Hafs ibn Sulayman ibn al-Mughira, Abu Omar ibn Abi Dawood al-Asadi al-Kufi al-Ghadari al-Bazzaz, learned Quranic recitation through direct transmission and practice from Asim. He was the stepson of Asim’s wife and was born in the year 90 AH.

Al-Dani said that Hafs was the one who disseminated Asim’s recitation to the people. He settled in Baghdad, where he taught, and he also taught in Mecca. Ibn al-Munadi noted that Hafs recited to Asim multiple times. The earlier scholars regarded him as superior in memorization compared to Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash and described him as meticulous in preserving the pronunciation of the letters as taught by Asim.

Hafs taught people for a long period, and the recitation he learned from Asim could be traced back to Ali. He passed away in the year 180 AH according to the most accurate accounts.

Shu’bah ibn Ayyash ibn Salim, Abu Bakr al-Hannat al-Asadi al-Nahshali al-Kufi, was a distinguished imam and scholar who narrated the Quranic recitation from Asim. He was born in the year 95 AH and recited the Quran to Asim three times.

Shu’bah was a prominent, knowledgeable, and pious Imam who famously said, “I am half of Islam.” He was one of the leading figures of the Sunnah and lived for a long time, although he stopped teaching recitation seven years before his death.

When his death was imminent, his sister cried, and he said to her, “Why do you weep? Look at that corner; I have completed eighteen thousand readings of the Quran there.” Shu’bah passed away in Jumada al-Awwal of the year 193 AH.

Hamzah ibn Habib ibn ‘Amarah ibn Isma’il, the esteemed Imam Abu ‘Amarah al-Kufi al-Taymi, was one of the seven canonical Quranic reciters. He was born in the year 80 AH and lived long enough to possibly have seen some of the Companions.

After Asim and al-A’mash, the leadership in Quranic recitation passed to him. He was an authoritative, reliable, and established figure, well-versed in the Quran, knowledgeable in Islamic inheritance laws, skilled in Arabic, a hadith memorizer, devout, humble, ascetic, pious, and obedient to God. He was unparalleled in his qualities.

Hamzah was involved in the trade, transporting oil from Iraq to Halwan and bringing walnuts and cheese to Kufa. Abdullah al-‘Ajli reported that Abu Hanifa said to Hamzah, “There are two things in which you have surpassed us, and we do not dispute with you regarding them: the Quran and inheritance laws.” Hamzah passed away in the year 156 AH.

Khalaf ibn Hisham ibn Thalab ibn Khalaf ibn Thalab ibn Hashim ibn Thalab ibn Dawud ibn Maqsim ibn Ghalib, known as Abu Muhammad al-Asadi, was a distinguished imam, scholar, and reciter of the Quran from Baghdad. He was one of the ten famous Quranic reciters and one of the narrators from Salim on the authority of Hamzah.

Khalaf was born in the year 150 AH and memorized the Quran by the age of ten. He began seeking knowledge at the age of thirteen and was recognized as a significant, trustworthy, ascetic, devout, and knowledgeable figure.

It is reported that he said he struggled with a section of grammar and spent eighty thousand dirhams until he mastered or understood it. Khalaf passed away in Jumada al-Akhirah in the year 229 AH in Baghdad.

Khalad ibn Khalid, known as Abu Isa al-Shaybani al-Kufi, was an esteemed imam in Quranic recitation, recognized for his reliability, expertise, and thoroughness. He learned the recitation directly from Salim and was considered one of his most precise and distinguished students. Khalad passed away in the year 220 AH.