This Is Islam Uncovered

The Qira’at That Didn’t Make the Cut: 20 Recitations You’ve Never Heard Of

❓ What Muslims Commonly Say

“There are only 7 — or 10 — authentic Qira’at (recitations), all revealed by Allah and taught by the Prophet.”

But here’s what they don’t tell you:

Islamic history records dozens of qira’at, many of them widespread and well-known in early Islam.
Only 7 were canonized in the 10th century — and 3 more later.
The rest? They were excluded, banned, or forgotten.

So the real question is:

If Allah revealed all the authentic recitations, why were most of them erased from history?

Let’s dive into the forgotten Qurans — the qira’at that didn’t survive the political and scholarly purge.

📜 A Quick Refresher: What Are Qira’at?

“Qira’at” are distinct textual versions of the Quran.
Each qira’a includes its own:
- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Sentence structure
- Legal/theological impact
These aren’t accents — they are different Arabic texts.

Canonical qira’at are named after early reciters (not companions), such as:

Hafs ʿan ʿAsim
Warsh ʿan Nafiʿ
Qalun ʿan Nafiʿ
Al-Duri ʿan Abu ʿAmr

But the original list was much longer.

🧾 Ibn Mujahid’s Canonization: 7 Out of Many

In 934 AD, a scholar named Ibn Mujahid selected 7 qira’at and declared them canonical.

Why 7?

"To match the Hadith that says the Quran was revealed in 'seven ahruf'."
— al-Dhahabi, Maʿrifat al-Qurraʾ al-Kibar

The decision was not based on textual consistency or revelation, but on symbolic numerology and pragmatic control.

He excluded dozens of other valid qira’at, many of which had:

Strong transmission chains
Regional dominance
Widespread usage

📉 The Forgotten 20+ Recitations

Early Islamic scholars recorded many more qira’at that were read, memorized, and circulated by Muslims before they were abandoned.

Here are just 20 of the non-canonical qira’at that existed:

❌ Qira’at That Didn’t Make the Cut:

ʿIsa ibn ʿUmar
Sulayman al-Taymi
Al-Aʿmash (Sulaiman ibn Mehran)
ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmir al-Shami (variant form from the canonized one)
Yahya ibn Yaʿmur
Muʿadh al-ʿAla’i
Al-Mughira ibn Miqsam
ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAla’ (non-canonized form)
Al-Hasan al-Basri
ʿAta ibn Abi Rabah
Talha ibn Musarrif
Al-Harith al-Aʿwar
ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud (entire codex rejected)
Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (two extra surahs)
Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Sulami
Al-Mufaddal al-Dabbi
Sufyan al-Thawri
Qatada ibn Diʿama
ʿIkrimah Mawla Ibn Abbas
Abu Rajaʾ al-ʿUtaridi

These weren’t obscure fringe readings. Some were:

Used in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt
Taught by respected early scholars
Recited by Muslims in daily worship

But they were ultimately disqualified.

🧠 Why Were They Excluded?

Not because they were false.

Many were considered sound and had authentic chains.
They just didn’t align with the new political need for uniformity.

Not because Muhammad didn’t teach them.

No one can verify what he did or didn’t teach because the recitations contradict each other.

Not because they were errors.

Scholars like Ibn al-Jazari admitted that many of the excluded recitations were just as authentic as the seven.

“The limit of acceptable qira’at is not seven. There were many more, all valid.”
— An-Nashr fi al-Qira’at al-ʿAshr, Vol. 1

🔒 Canonization Was About Control, Not Revelation

The decision to limit the Quran to 7, then 10 qira’at was political and pedagogical, not theological.

It helped standardize teaching in madrasas.
It allowed Islamic authorities to enforce doctrinal unity.
It allowed later print versions (like the 1924 Cairo edition) to erase evidence of contradiction.

So what happened to the rest?

They were:

Dropped from the curriculum
Banned from public recitation
Erased from printed Qurans
Forgotten by later generations

⚖️ Logical Breakdown

Syllogism A – Selective Revelation?

A divine revelation should not contradict itself.
The qira’at that were excluded contradicted the ones that were canonized.
∴ Not all qira’at could have come from God.

Syllogism B – Human Intervention

If humans choose which versions to include, then the text is no longer purely divine.
The 7 and 10 qira’at were selected by scholars based on non-divine criteria.
∴ The current Quran is a man-made canon, not an unaltered revelation.

✅ Final Verdict

There were many Qurans in early Islam — not just 7 or 10.

The 10 qira’at taught today were:

Chosen by men,
Based on scholarly tradition,
Standardized for control — not because they alone came from Muhammad.

Conclusion:

The idea of "one Quran" is a myth.
There were dozens — and most have been erased from memory, history, and modern recitation.