Al-Marbawi's Methodology in Expounding Qirāʾāt-Related Qur'anic Verses

Abstract

Baḥr al-Mādhī by al-Marbawi is a seminal ḥadīth work that significantly demonstrates the interrelationship between the science of ḥadīth and other disciplines of revealed knowledge, particularly the sciences of the Qur'an (ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān). Among these, the discipline of Qirāʾāt receives particular emphasis, with an entire chapter devoted to its discussion. Despite its significance, al-Marbawi's exposition of Qirāʾāt has received limited scholarly attention, although ḥadīth literature constitutes one of the principal sources of Qirāʾāt studies. Accordingly, this study examines al-Marbawi's methodology in explicating Qirāʾāt-related Qur'anic verses in Baḥr al-Mādhī. A qualitative approach employing content analysis was adopted for data collection and analysis. The findings identify eight methodological approaches: presenting disputed lexical readings, explicitly identifying variant recitations, attributing variant readings to the Qirāʾāt Imams, explaining the causes of variant readings, elucidating the meanings of words with variant recitations, discussing abrogated recitations, advancing tarjīḥ (preferential evaluation), and citing authoritative references for variant readings. The study further highlights four methodological concerns: the use of the term Qirāʾāt Mashhūr, inconsistencies in the explanatory approach, the attribution of readings to the Qirāʾāt Imams, and the sources employed in Qirāʾāt scholarship. These findings provide a valuable framework for refining contemporary methodologies for the exposition of Qirāʾāt-related Qur'anic verses.