The Influence of Arabic Dialects on the Interpretation of Qur’anic Readings in the Book Maʿānī al-Qirāʾāt by Abū Manṣūr al-Azharī (d. 371 AH)

Abstract

he topic of Arabic dialects in the Qur’an is one of the most important subjects studied by researchers, due to its clear impact on meaning. These dialects are the dialects of the Arabs before and during the early period of Islam, which the Qur’an has preserved in its precise verses. It is well known that the majority of the Qur’an was revealed in the dialect of Quraysh, yet it also contains dialects from other Arab tribes. Thus, the Qur’an has preserved these dialects, and were it not for their inclusion in the Qur’an, many of them would have vanished. However, they have been preserved along with the Qur’an, due to the Qur’an’s significance in the hearts of Muslims. Consequently, scholars eagerly studied everything related to it, including grammar, morphology, rhetoric, and other linguistic sciences.

It is also known that many Qur’anic readings (qirāʾāt) were abrogated in the final recension (al-ʿarḍah al-ʾakhīrah), and with their removal, many dialects were also set aside. Nevertheless, they have reached us through the pages of books on ḥujjah (linguistic justification) and tafsīr (Qur’anic exegesis). So even though these readings were removed from recitation, they remain important for interpretation and clarification. One of the notable books that paid special attention to recording and mentioning these dialects is Maʿānī al-Qirāʾāt by Abū Manṣūr al-Azharī, in which he cited most of the Arab dialects while presenting the grounds for the differences among the Qur’anic readings, and the impact of these dialects on Qur’anic meaning. Therefore, it is essential to study this subject.