Concepts of qirāʾāt in the works of Muhammad Alī al-Sābūnī

Recitation of the Qur'ān has been shaped within the framework of the permission of the seven ahruf, which over time laid the groundwork for the emergence of a rich tradition of qirā'āt. As the boundaries of the science of qirā'a became more clearly defined, certain criteria were developed to identify sahīh qirā'āt, while narrations that did not meet these criteria were classified as shādh or bātil. Variations in qirā'a have evolved into a scholarly tradition, both through preferences reflected in tafsīr and through independent works dedicated to qirā'āt. This heritage has also been addressed in various studies in the modern period. The works of Muhammad 'Alī al-Sābūnī provide examples of this tradition. This study consists of an introduction, two main chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction outlines the research topic, objectives, methodology, and an evaluation of the sources used. The first chapter briefly discusses the life of Muhammad 'Alī al-Sābūnī, who memorized the Qur'ān at a young age, followed by an examination of his works that fall within the scope of this study, highlighting the aspects that provide data for the research. Subsequently, the author's conception of qirā'a is presented under the following headings: definitions of fundamental concepts, the process of the Qur'ān's compilation into the Mushaf, the historical development of qirā'āt, the earliest scholars who authored works in this field, and the categories of qirā'āt. The second chapter examines qirāʾa differences arising from usūl and farsh; in this section, farshī variations are analyzed under the headings of sarf (morphology), nahw (syntax), and uslūp (stylistic) differences, with attention also given, where relevant, to their reflection in tafsīr. In this study, al-Sābūnī's conceptions of qirā'a are presented. The reflections of qirā'a variations in exegetical works are examined, and, based on the expressions found in the author's writings, farsh and usūl variations are presented through selected examples. In this respect, the study differs from previous research conducted on the author.