Kıraatlerin Sıhhat Kriterleri

Criteria for the Authenticity of the Qirāʾāt
-In Light of the Historical Process and Narrations-
This study examines, through historical and textual transmission dimensions, the fundamental “criteria of authenticity” (siḥḥa) that ensure the uninterrupted transmission of the Qurʾānic qirāʾāt (readings) from the Prophet to the present day and determine the validity of the variants of recitation. Variations in recitation, which originated with the concession of the “seven letters” (al-aḥruf al-sabʿa), led to disagreements among the umma as Islamic conquests expanded and diverse communities embraced Islam. During this process, determining whether a given variant of recitation constituted authentic Qurʾānic text became a matter of para-mount importance for the Companions (ṣaḥāba) and subsequent generations of Muslims. This work demonstrates that the criteria for the authenticity of the qirāʾāt were originally the rules established by the ṣaḥāba during the codification and copying of the muṣḥafs, and that in subsequent centuries, these rules were employed to rectify solecisms (laḥn) and textual corruption/misreadings (taṣḥīf). It asserts that while the ṣaḥāba identified what constituted the authentic Qurʾān through the rules they established, scholars in later centuries utilized these crite-ria to correct erroneous recitations. Within this framework, the analysis explores the social motivations that shaped the requirements of a sound chain of transmis-sion (isnād ṣaḥīḥ), conformity to the orthography of the muṣḥaf (rasm al-muṣḥaf), recurrent transmission/consensus (tawātur/ijmāʿ), and compliance with the rules of the Arabic language. Methodologically, the research employs a comprehensive literature review, conceptual survey, and historical analysis based on primary sources in ʿulūm al-Qurʾān, qirāʾāt, tafsīr, ḥadīth, fiqh, and sīra from the early cen-turies of the Hijrī calendar to the present. Narrations (riwāyāt) are subjected to semantic analysis considering the socio-historical conditions of the period, and events are analyzed through a chronological and analytical approach. Further-more, given the interdisciplinary nature of the science of qirāʾāt, modern theories of linguistics, sociology, and philosophy of language are utilized. Conceptual dif-ferences in transmission methodology between Ḥadīth methodology (uṣūl al-ḥadīth) and the science of qirāʾāt are instantiated through examples from Sūrat al-Fātiḥa. The distinctions in purpose between the initial compilation (jamʿ) of the Qurʾān and the five-year copying (istinsākh) project are comparatively examined. Positing that the qirāʾāt are not the product of human legal reasoning (ijtihād) or scribal error, but rather a divinely dictated body of revelation (tawqīfī), the work refutes Orientalist claims within the framework of classical linguistic theories and offers a holistic evaluation by asserting that mutawātir reading variations are not mere variants, but original and co-equal readings.
Keywords: Qurʾān; Muṣḥaf; Qirāʾāt; Isnād; Authenticity Criteria.