Specifics of the reading of Hafs

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What must be observed for Hafs

Usool and fursh: the 2 types of readings

The readings of the Noble Quran are of two types: 1. the usool (general rules), 2. the fursh (the specific variants).

The usool designate the general and constant rules, like the rulings on the sakina noon and the tanween, the rulings on the Madd, and the like.

The fursh designate the rulings specific to certain Quranic words, like "الصراط" in surah al-Fatihah in: اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ¹: Qunbul recites it with a pure seen, and Hamza recites it with Ishmaam, differing in that from Khallad and the others, among them Hafs, who recite it with a pure saad. And so on.

What follows is a part of the words whose rulings have for the most part been treated in the previous chapters of the book, and which the reader who recites for Hafs must observe.

First: "ءأعجمي"

In the words of the Most High: أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ وَعَرَبِيٌّ ² (Fussilat), it is recited with tashil, that is, the softening of the second hamza between it and the alif, according to a single way, and nothing else is permitted to him.

Second: "مجراها"

In the words of the Most High: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ مَجْرَاهَا وَمُرْسَاهَا ³ (Hud), it is recited with imalah, that is, the tilting of the fathah towards the kasrah and of the alif towards the yaa.

Third: "ضعف"

In the words of the Most High: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ ضَعْفٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ ضَعْفٍ قُوَّةً ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ ضَعْفًا وَشَيْبَةً ¹ (ar-Rum), the three occurrences are recited with the fathah and the dhammah of the daad, the fathah being the priority in recitation.

Fourth: "ويبصط"

In the words of the Most High: وَاللَّهُ يَقْبِضُ وَيَبْصُطُ ² (al-Baqarah), it is recited with a pure seen.

Fifth: "بصطة"

In the words of the Most High: وَزَادَكُمْ فِي الْخَلْقِ بصْطَةً ³ (al-A'raf), it is recited with a pure seen.

Sixth: "المصيطرون"

In the words of the Most High: أَمْ هُمُ الْمُصيْطِرُونَ ⁴ (at-Tur), it is recited with the saad or the seen, and the pronunciation with the saad is the most widespread.

Seventh: "بمصيطر"

In the words of the Most High: لَسْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِمُصَيْطِرٍ ⁵ (al-Ghashiyah), it is recited with a pure saad.

Eighth: dropping of the alif in wasl and its keeping when stopping

This in all the following expressions: "أنا" wherever it occurs in the Quran, like أَنَا أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِتَأْوِيلِهِ ⁶ (Yusuf); "لكنّا" in لَكِنَّا هُوَ اللَّهُ رَبِّي ⁷ (al-Kahf); "الظنونا" in وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا ⁸; "الرسولا" in وَأَطَعْنَا الرَّسُولَا ⁹; "السبيلا" in فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلَا ¹⁰, the three in surah al-Ahzab; and قَوَارِيرَا, first occurrence in وَأَكْوَابٍ كَانَتْ قَوَارِيرَ ¹¹ (ad-Dahr). All these expressions are recited with the keeping of the alif when stopping and its dropping in wasl, in accordance with the rasm. As for قَوَارِيرَا in the second occurrence of قَوَارِيرَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ ¹, the alif there is dropped in wasl as when stopping.

Ninth: سَلاسِلًا

In surah al-Insan: إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ سَلاسِلا ², it is recited in wasl with the fathah of the laam without tanween; when stopping, it is recited either with the alif, or with the sakina of the laam, both ways being correct and recited.

Tenth: recitation of 3 words with the noon in wasl and the alif when stopping

They are: وَلَيَكُونًا , لَنَسْفَعًا , وَإِذًا. وَلَيَكُونًا comes from: وَلَيَكُونًا مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ ³ (Yusuf); لَنَسْفَعًا from: كَلَّا لَئِنْ لَمْ يَنْتَهِ لَنَسْفَعًا بِالنَّاصِيَةِ ⁴ (al-'Alaq); and وَإِذًا from: وَإِذًاً لا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً ⁵ (al-Isra').

Eleventh: آتَانِيَ

In: فَمَا آتَانِيَ اللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا آتَاكُمْ ⁶ (an-Naml), it is recited with the fathah of the yaa in wasl; when stopping, there are two ways: the keeping of the yaa or its dropping.

Twelfth: "الاسم"

In: بِئْسَ الِاسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ ⁷ (al-Hujurat), if we begin with this word, two ways offer themselves: beginning with a hamza with fathah, then a laam with kasrah, then a sakina seen; or dropping the hamzat al-wasl and beginning with a laam with kasrah, then a sakina seen.

Thirteenth: recitation of 3 words with a long Madd or an intermediate tashil

These words are recited with a long Madd of six counts or with an intermediate tashil (bayna bayna): آلذَّكَرَيْنِ, at the two occurrences of al-An'am; آلآنَ, at the two occurrences of Yunus; آللَّهُ, in Yunus and an-Naml. The way of ibdal (substitution) with the long Madd is the most fitting and the most probable.

Fourteenth: the letter ayn in كهيعص and حم، عسق

In كهيعص, beginning of Maryam, and حم، عسق, beginning of ash-Shura, the tawassut (medium) of four counts is permitted, as well as the long Madd of six counts, which is the best.

Fifteenth: "لا تَأْمَنَّا"

In: مَا لَكَ لا تَأْمَنَّا ¹ (Yusuf), it is recited with Ishmaam or Rawm, which some call al-Ikhtilaas.

Sixteenth: the 4 obligatory sakts

The obligatory sakts in which Hafs distinguished himself from all the readers are in four occurrences:

1. The Sakt on the alif of عِوَجًا in al-Kahf; its wisdom: joining without Sakt would suggest that "قَيْمًا" is a qualifier of "عوجًا", and it is not fitting that the straight qualify the crooked.
2. The Sakt on the alif of مَرْقَدِنَا in Ya-Sin; its wisdom: joining without Sakt would suggest that هَذَا belongs to the discourse of the polytheists who deny the resurrection.
3. The Sakt on the noon of مَنْ رَاقٍ in al-Qiyamah.
4. The Sakt on the laam of بَلْ رَانَ in al-Mutaffifin. The wisdom of the Sakt in these last two occurrences: joining without Sakt would suggest that each is a single word, whereas they are two words.

As for the permitted sakts, they are in two occurrences:

1. Between al-Anfal and at-Tawbah.
2. In مَالِيَهْ، هَلَكَ in surah al-Haqqah; the Sakt there is the priority in recitation.

Seventeenth: the sukoon of the Haa of kinaya

The sukoon of the Haa of kinaya in أَرْجِهْ, in al-A'raf and ash-Shu'ara', as well as فَأَلْقِهْ in an-Naml; and the dhammah of the Haa without joining (min ghayri silah) in يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ (az-Zumar); as for وَيَتَّقْهِ in an-Nur, Hafs recited it with the sukoon of the qaaf and the kasrah of the Haa without joining; as for وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًا in al-Furqan, he recited it with the Silah at the extent of two counts.

Eighteenth: the Izhaar of the noon before the waaw

The Izhaar of the noon before the waaw in each of: يس، وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ and نْ وَالْقَلَمِ.

Nineteenth: 2 Idghaams of proximity

The Idghaam of the thaa into the dhaal in: يَلْهَثْ ذَلِكَ (al-A'raf), and the Idghaam of the baa into the meem in: ارْكَبْ مَعَنَا (Hud), a complete Idghaam (kamil) because of the homogeneity between them.

Twentieth: the Idghaam of the taa into the taa

The Idghaam of the taa into the taa in each of بَسَطتَ (al-Ma'idah) and أَحَطْتُ (an-Naml), an incomplete Idghaam (naqis) with the retention of the quality of itbaq, because of the proximity between them.

Twenty-first: "نخلقكم"

In: أَلَمْ نَخْلُقْكُمْ مِنْ مَاءٍ مَهِينٍ ¹ (al-Mursalat), there has been divergence over the Idghaam of the qaaf into the kaaf, complete or incomplete. To this divergence Imam Ibn al-Jazari alludes, saying: "والخلف بنخلقكم وقع". Both ways are correct, and the meaning of the complete Idghaam is the entering of the qaaf into the kaaf with a total entering, so that nothing of the qaaf appears; the meaning of the incomplete Idghaam is the retention of the quality of isti'laa' and the disappearance of the quality of Qalqalah.

Imam Ibn al-Jazari mentioned in the book at-Tamhid that the complete Idghaam is the most fitting, following Abu 'Amr ad-Dani.

To these first seven words the author of La'ali al-Bayan alludes, saying:

ءأعجمي سهلت أخراها ... لحفصنا وميلت مجراها

واضمم أو افتح ضعف روم وأتى ... سينا ويبسط ثاني بسطة

والصاد في مصيطر خذ وكلا ... هذين في المصيطرون نقلا

Additional examples (Qawa'id al-Tajwid on the recitation of Hafs)

۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْىِۦٓ أَن يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَّا بَعُوضَةًۭ فَمَا فَوْقَهَا ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ فَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَيَقُولُونَ مَاذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَـٰذَا مَثَلًۭا ۘ يُضِلُّ بِهِۦ كَثِيرًۭا وَيَهْدِى بِهِۦ كَثِيرًۭا ۚ وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِۦٓ إِلَّا ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ

Surah 2, 26: Fursh cited by the book: in لا يستحى Hafs recites the Haa with sukoon, then yaa and a lengthened yaa (madd).

۞ وَقَالَ ٱرْكَبُوا۟ فِيهَا بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ مَجْر۪ىٰهَا وَمُرْسَىٰهَآ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

Surah 11, 41: Fursh cited by the book: in مجراها (Hud) Hafs tilts the alif after the raa, the only imalah of his recitation.