The qira'at of the Quran are the transmitted ways of reciting it, each passed down through unbroken chains of teachers to the Companions of the Prophet, and each preserved with its own details of pronunciation, lengthening and wording. Ten readings are recognised as canonical, and each reaches us through two principal transmitters. If you have learned to read from an ordinary printed mushaf or with an online teacher, you almost certainly read Hafs 'an 'Asim, and this article, like the rest of our Tajweed guides, assumes that reading while explaining what the others are.
What a qira'ah is
A qira'ah (reading, plural qira'at) is a complete way of reciting the whole Quran, attributed to a master reciter of the early generations who received it from his teachers and taught it to his students. The text is the same; what varies is a defined set of features such as how long certain vowels are held, whether a particular hamzah is pronounced or softened, how a raa or laam is weighted, and in a small number of places which of two transmitted forms of a word is read.
Each reading is known by the name of its reader and reaches us through ruwat (transmitters, singular rawi), students who recorded and passed on their teacher's reading precisely. So Hafs 'an 'Asim means the reading of 'Asim as transmitted by his student Hafs. The word riwayah (transmission) is used for a reading as carried by one particular transmitter, and it is the riwayah that a printed mushaf names.
The isnad (chain of teachers) is what makes a reading authoritative, and a reciter whose reading has been checked by a teacher with a chain may be granted an Ijazah (licence to transmit), adding one more link.
The ten readings and their transmitters
Seven readings were gathered in the fourth century after the Hijrah by Ibn Mujahid of Baghdad, and three more were later recognised as meeting the same standards, most influentially in the work of Ibn al-Jazari. The ten, with their two main transmitters, are:
- Nafi' of Madinah: Qalun and Warsh.
- Ibn Kathir of Makkah: Al-Bazzi and Qunbul.
- Abu 'Amr of Basrah: Ad-Duri and As-Susi.
- Ibn 'Amir of Damascus: Hisham and Ibn Dhakwan.
- 'Asim of Kufah: Shu'bah and Hafs.
- Hamzah of Kufah: Khalaf and Khallad.
- Al-Kisa'i of Kufah: Abul-Harith and Ad-Duri.
- Abu Ja'far of Madinah: Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaz.
- Ya'qub of Basrah: Ruways and Rawh.
- Khalaf, in his own reading: Ishaq and Idris.
Two names appear twice. The Ad-Duri who transmits from Abu 'Amr is the same scholar who transmits from Al-Kisa'i, and the Khalaf who transmits from Hamzah later became a reader in his own right. The repetitions are not misprints.
Which readings are used where
Hafs 'an 'Asim is the most widespread reading today. It is the text of the great majority of printed mushafs, the basis of most recordings, and what most online teachers, including ours, teach. Warsh 'an Nafi' is commonly used across much of North and West Africa. Qalun 'an Nafi' is commonly used in Libya and parts of Tunisia. Ad-Duri 'an Abi 'Amr is commonly used in Sudan and parts of West Africa. The remaining transmissions are preserved and taught by specialists rather than being the everyday reading of a large region.
None of this is a ranking. The readings are regarded as complementary faces of a single revelation, not as rival versions, and a Muslim community that recites in Warsh is reciting the Quran as fully as one that recites in Hafs. The relationship between the qira'at and the "seven ahruf" mentioned in early sources is a question scholars have discussed in several ways, and it lies beyond a practical guide.
The readings do not compete for the title of the real Quran; each is a preserved way of reciting the one text.
What actually differs, and what does not
The differences fall into a few families. First, pronunciation: how a hamzah is treated, whether certain vowels lean towards an "e" sound, and how raa and laam are weighted in particular positions. Second, lengthening: some readings hold certain madds longer or shorter than Hafs does, and some lengthen in places where Hafs does not. Third, a small number of vowels and word forms.
What does not differ is the order of the surahs and ayat, the meaning taken as a whole, or Tajweed as a discipline: every reading has its own madd, idgham and rules for heavy and light letters, described in the same terms. A reader who has understood the madd rules in Hafs already has the vocabulary to understand how Warsh lengthens differently.
Recognising Warsh by ear and on the page
Warsh is the reading a Hafs learner is most likely to meet, so it helps to know its signs. By ear, three features stand out. Warsh often reads a longer vowel where a hamzah precedes a madd letter, so a word such as aamanoo is held noticeably longer. It leans the "a" of many words ending in alif towards an "e" sound, a feature called taqleel (reduction). And it reads several raas light where Hafs reads them heavy, and the laam heavy after ص, ط or ظ in certain words, which is the reverse of what our articles on the rules of raa and tafkheem and tarqeeq describe for Hafs. A well-known single word is in Surah Al-Fatihah (1:4), where Hafs reads maaliki with a long first vowel and Warsh reads maliki with a short one.
On the page, a Warsh mushaf is usually printed in a Maghribi script, rounder than the script of most Hafs editions. The letter faa is written with its dot below rather than above, and qaf with a single dot above rather than two. Some vowel and stopping marks take different shapes, and the ayah numbering can differ slightly in a few surahs. Most reliably, the riwayah is named in print on the first or last page.
Practical advice for learners
Learn one reading well. For most learners that means Hafs, because it is what their teacher, their mushaf and their recordings use; if your family or community recites in Warsh or Qalun, learn that one first and find a teacher who transmits it. Do not mix readings inside a recitation: a phrase in Hafs followed by one in Warsh is not a reading anyone transmitted. Check which riwayah a recording follows before you copy its lengthening.
Advanced students who have completed the Quran in Hafs with correct Tajweed sometimes go on to take a second reading, and later the seven or the ten together, through a teacher who holds a chain in them. That path runs through the Ijazah course: the student recites the whole Quran in the new riwayah to the teacher and receives a licence recording the chain. Our page on Quran teacher qualifications explains why a chain matters.
Frequently asked questions
Are the qira'at different versions of the Quran?
No. They are transmitted ways of reciting the same text, and their differences are in pronunciation, lengthening and a small number of word forms. The classical scholars regarded them as complementary, and a community that recites in one is reciting the whole Quran.
Which reading should a beginner learn?
The one your teacher and your local community use, which for most learners means Hafs 'an 'Asim. Choosing another reading because it sounds beautiful in a recording is a decision to take later, once one reading is secure, and with a teacher who transmits it.
Can I recite in Hafs if my family recites in Warsh?
Yes; both are canonical, and many families contain readers of each. The practical questions are who will teach you and what mushaf you will read from, so choose the reading whose teacher and text you can actually access, and keep to it throughout your learning.
How many readings does one Ijazah cover?
An Ijazah is granted in a specific riwayah, and most first Ijazahs are in Hafs 'an 'Asim. Separate certificates are given for additional readings, and a student who completes all ten receives what is usually called an Ijazah in the ten qira'at, after a course of study that takes years.
Do the differences change the meaning?
In the small number of places where a word form differs, scholars of tafseer (interpretation) discuss the readings side by side and treat them as adding to the meaning rather than contradicting one another. In the great majority of the text the differences are purely in sound.
Secure one reading, then ask about the next
If you read Hafs and want it checked end to end, or you already read it well and are curious what a second riwayah involves, our teachers can advise from their own chains. Our Tajweed course takes Hafs to the standard an Ijazah requires, and a free trial class is the simplest way to find out where you stand.
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