Orality, Literacy and the ‘Seven Aḥruf’ Ḥadīth

摘要

The well known ḥadīth that the Qurʾān was revealed according to seven aḥruf (ʿalā sabʿati aḥruf) indicates that a certain amount of variation in the text of the Qurʾān was considered legitimate, indeed normal, in the earliest days of Islam. The dominant view among traditional scholars is that this initial allowance was then reduced by the decision of the Caliph ʿUthmān, with the agreement of the Companions, to unify the community on one textual skeleton (rasm), albeit allowing for various ‘readings’ (qirāʾāt), such as those of the Seven, the Ten, etc., within the confines of this rasm.