The word · The Qur’an
الأَحْرُفُ السَّبْعَة
Al-Ahruf as-Sab'ah
The seven modes in which the Qur'an was revealed, an ease for the community; what a mode is stays disputed.
Also written · Ahruf · Ahruf as-Sabah · Sab'a ahruf · seven ahruf · seven letters · seven modes · Harf · seven forms of the Quran
The meaning
What Al-Ahruf as-Sab'ah means in Islam
The Prophet said the Qur'an was sent down in seven ahruf, and the report appears in the most reliable collections. What an harf actually is has been argued over for centuries, with dozens of explanations offered and none settled. The ahruf are not the same thing as the ten qira'at, though the readings preserve part of what the ahruf allowed.
Evidence · Scholars differ · The scholars read this one differently
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- Qira'atThe canonical ways of reciting the Qur'an, each carried by chain from the Prophet through a named reader.القِراءات
- Jam' al-Qur'anThe gathering of the Qur'an into one written volume, carried out under Abu Bakr and then Uthman.جَمْعُ القُرْآن
- Rasm UthmaniThe spelling of the Uthmanic copies, kept in mushafs even where it differs from modern Arabic spelling.الرَّسْمُ العُثْمانِيّ
More from The Qur’an
- Al-FatihahThe seven verse opening surah, recited in the prayer; most schools require it in every unit.الفاتِحَة
- HifzMemorising the Qur'an by heart, traditionally with a teacher who hears you every day.الحِفْظ
- IzharPronouncing a nun sakinah or tanwin clearly, with no nasal hum, before one of six throat letters.الإِظْهار
- MufassirA scholar who writes or teaches tafsir, trained in Arabic, the readings, the Sunnah and the occasions.المُفَسِّر
- Qur'anThe speech of Allah revealed to Muhammad in Arabic over about twenty three years, preserved word for word.القُرْآن
- Tafkhim and TarqiqHeavy and light pronunciation: some letters fill the mouth, others stay thin.التَّفْخيمُ وَالتَّرْقيق