Are the seven recitations the seven scriptural forms?
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Question : If someone asks, are the seven recitations the seven scriptural forms or not? Yes.
Answer : Yes, rather, are they? Rather, they are one of the seven scriptural forms. Yes, and many scholars have said that this is the form upon which the final recitation took place, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the Qur'an to Jibril, and that what is other than it is abrogated. This is because it was in a time when people needed expansion, so when the Qurayshi language became established and became the dominant one, reciting on one form became easy, so what was other than it was abrogated. But this is a possibility, and Allah knows best.
They say that these seven reciters, the first time they were gathered, was at the beginning of the year three hundred. Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid gathered them, because they became famous in their era for long lives and receiving from the great deceased scholars and preserving the Qur'an, so these seven reciters became famous, and Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) gathered them. He is a famous imam in recitations who gathered these seven reciters from the two sacred precincts, the two Iraqs, and the Levant.
The two sacred precincts are Madinah and Makkah, the two Iraqs are Basrah and Kufah, and the Levant. He gathered the recitation of these people, and it became the seven recitations. There were other reciters besides them, and they are the rest of the ten recitations, in which it is permissible for a person to recite in prayer, and it is a proof, as the Shaykh al-Islam said, by the consensus of the scholars, the ten recitations. But these seven, the Imam Ibn Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) chose them and gathered the recitation on them. Others added the other three reciters, so the reciters became ten. Is it clear now?
And at that point, it becomes clearly evident that the seven recitations are not the seven scriptural forms at all, because when did these occur? At the beginning of the year three hundred, meaning at the beginning of the third century, so how can they be considered the seven recitations?
Answer : Yes, rather, are they? Rather, they are one of the seven scriptural forms. Yes, and many scholars have said that this is the form upon which the final recitation took place, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the Qur'an to Jibril, and that what is other than it is abrogated. This is because it was in a time when people needed expansion, so when the Qurayshi language became established and became the dominant one, reciting on one form became easy, so what was other than it was abrogated. But this is a possibility, and Allah knows best.
They say that these seven reciters, the first time they were gathered, was at the beginning of the year three hundred. Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid gathered them, because they became famous in their era for long lives and receiving from the great deceased scholars and preserving the Qur'an, so these seven reciters became famous, and Abu Bakr ibn Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) gathered them. He is a famous imam in recitations who gathered these seven reciters from the two sacred precincts, the two Iraqs, and the Levant.
The two sacred precincts are Madinah and Makkah, the two Iraqs are Basrah and Kufah, and the Levant. He gathered the recitation of these people, and it became the seven recitations. There were other reciters besides them, and they are the rest of the ten recitations, in which it is permissible for a person to recite in prayer, and it is a proof, as the Shaykh al-Islam said, by the consensus of the scholars, the ten recitations. But these seven, the Imam Ibn Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) chose them and gathered the recitation on them. Others added the other three reciters, so the reciters became ten. Is it clear now?
And at that point, it becomes clearly evident that the seven recitations are not the seven scriptural forms at all, because when did these occur? At the beginning of the year three hundred, meaning at the beginning of the third century, so how can they be considered the seven recitations?
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1781 - 4600 هل القراءات السبع هي الأحرف السبعة؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.