Qira'at al-'Ashr

The Qur'an was received and passed on in more than one recognised reading. Ten of these are established as mutawatir — transmitted in every generation by so many that agreement on an error is not possible.

Each is named after the Imam who became known for it: Nafi' al-Madani, Ibn Kathir al-Makki, Abu 'Amr al-Basri, Ibn 'Amir al-Shami, 'Asim al-Kufi, Hamzah al-Kufi and al-Kisa'i al-Kufi — the seven gathered by Ibn Mujahid — with Abu Ja'far al-Madani, Ya'qub al-Hadrami and Khalaf al-'Ashir completing the ten.

The differences between them touch pronunciation, vowelling and occasionally a word. None contradicts another: taken together they show how the Qur’an was actually received, not competing versions of it.