An Assessment of Opinions on the Seven Letters in Which the Qur’an Was Revealed Cover Image

Kur’ân-ı Kerîm’in İndirildiği Yedi Harf Hakkındaki Görüşlere Dair Bir Değerlendirme
An Assessment of Opinions on the Seven Letters in Which the Qur’an Was Revealed

Author(s): Ahmet Karadağ
Subject(s): Islam studies, Qur’anic studies
Published by: Tekirdağ Namık Kemal Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi
Keywords: Tafseer; Seven Letters; Recitation; Dialect; Synonym Word; Aspects;

Summary/Abstract: There are many hadiths stating that the Qur’an was sent down in seven letters. It is understood from sound hadiths on the subject that seven letters are a phenomenon related to the reading of the Qur’an. However, there is no clear information about the nature of the seven letters in the hadiths in question. Therefore, there are many opinions about what the seven letters are. According to many opinions based on weak hadiths, the seven letters are a concept related to the content of the Qur’an rather than its reading. These opinions are unknown to whom they belong and has certainly been accepted as weak opinions by scholars or rejected entirely. Among the strong views, the following three views are more widely accepted than the others: 1. Reading the Quran according to different dialects 2. Reading the words of the Quran with synonymous words 3. Reading the words of the Quran with different aspects. These views, which are preferred by eminent scholars, are also far from convincing. Because in all of these views, it is claimed that seven letters are partially abrogated since non-authentic recitations [al-qiraah al-şazzah] were also included in the seven letters. However, it is not possible to claim that the seven letters were partially abrogated without relying on the revered Prophet's explicit statement. Claiming that seven letters were abrogated in the last reading with Gabriel or in the period of venerable Osman is no more than anticipation and guesswork. So, in this study, the relevant opinions will be analyzed then it will be stated that the non-authentic recitations cannot be included in the seven letters, therefore the seven letters and the authentic recitations are same phenomenon. Finally, it will be revealed that the seven letters were not abrogated, even partially.

  • Issue Year: 7/2021
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 1177-1210
  • Page Count: 34
  • Language: Turkish