Kıraat İlmi ile Şehir Etkileşiminin Sosyo-Kültürel Kodları: Mekke-Medine (Haremeyn) Kıraati Örneği
The Socio-Cultural Codes of the Interaction between the Science of Qirāʾāt and the City: The Case of the Mecca-Medina (Ḥaramayn) Qirāʾa

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the reciprocal interaction between the socio-cultural fabric of Mecca and Medina—the two primary formative centers of Islamic civilization—and the technicalmethodological formation stages of the science of qirā’āt during the twenty-three-year revelation process of the Qur'ān; it further examines the enduring power of these dynamics in mutually defining, transforming, and constructing one another. The primary objective of the study is to analyze the mutual bond between the social dynamics of these cities, which witnessed the climate of revelation, and the science of qirā’āt. Simultaneously, it aims to analyze, through a sociological and historical perspective, how the technical and methodological development of the qirā’āt discipline transformed and reconstructed the social and cultural structures of the cities in question. During the research process, data on the historical development phases, demographic shifts, and socio-cultural structures of Mecca and Medina were meticulously examined within a qualitative research framework, using an in-depth literature review and an analytical scrutiny of extant primary sources and documents. In this context, the spatial, methodological, and pedagogical evolution of qirā’āt education was investigated by focusing on the educational practices during the Prophetic era, the spatial transformations spanning from the clandestine dawah atmosphere of the Dār al-Arqam to the institutional and public educational sphere of Al-Masjid an-Nabawī, and systematic intellectual kernels such as the Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffah. Furthermore, the biographies of the pioneering and authoritative figures of the science of qirā’āt, such as Nāfi‘ b. Abī Nu‘aym (d. 169/785), Ebū Ma‘bed Ibn Kathīr (d. 120/738), Abū Ja‘far al-Qārī (d. 130/747-48), and Ibn Muḥayṣin (d. 123/741) were detailed to illustrate the organic link between their respective schools and the intellectual heritage of these cities, thereby reifying scholarly continuity. The findings of this interdisciplinary inquiry suggest that Mecca’s deep-rooted linguistic heritage and robust oral tradition served as a school that emphasized the phonetic richness, eloquence, and literal beauty of the Qur'an. Conversely, Medina facilitated the institutionalization, technical disciplining, and standardization of qirā’āt through its heterogeneous social structure, the integration of the Anṣār and Muhājirūn, and its status as a political center. Major historical milestones, particularly the practical applications of the "sab‘ah aḥruf" (seven variants) license and the codification (istinsākh) of the Muṣḥafs during the Caliphate of ‘Uthmān, disciplined the dispersed forms of recitation, establishing Medina as the indisputable center of scholarly authority and authorization (ijāzah). Consequently, this article demonstrates, with scholarly rigor, that the developmental trajectories of the Qur'an and qirā’āt cannot be considered independently of the socio-cultural codes and collective memories of their cities of origin; rather, these dynamics played a pivotal role in constructing a profound, methodological, and unshakable intellectual legacy within the Islamic world.

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