İhşîdîler Dönemine Ait İbn Tuğç Mushafı Üzerinden Hicrî 4. Yüzyıl Kıraat Tercihlerinin Analizi
An Analysis of the Qirāʾa Preferences of the 4th/10th Century Based on the Ibn Ṭughj Muṣḥaf from the Ikhshidid Period

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: At the beginning of the 4th/10th century, Ibn Mujāhid (d. 324/936) initiated the process of standardizing the Qurʾānic readings (qirāʾāt) by compiling the seven qirāʾāt that were widely practiced in the main centers of the Islamic world. Subsequent to this, a process emerged in which the seven reading classifications came to be widely adopted in the history of qirāʾāt, and the recitations increasingly began to be evaluated within the framework of this classification. In the history of qirāʾāt, this period has been considered a stage in which the process of delimiting the recitations became more clearly defined. However, in the context of 4th/10th century Qurʾān manuscripts, the extent to which standardization efforts—supported by official authorities—were reflected in these codices has not been fully established in the extant literature. The present study focuses on a rare Qurʾānic manuscripts dated to the 4th/10th century, which is housed in the Damascus Document Collection of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. The provenance of this codex is understood to be the period between323–327 AH (935–939 CE) by Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Ṭughj al-Farghānī (d. 334/946), who served as the ʿAbbāsid governor of Bilād al-Shām and was the founder of the Turkic dynasty known as the Ikhshīdids. The present article aims to identify the qirāʾāt indicated in the Ibn Ṭughj Codex and to analyse reading preferences in the fourth Islamic century by evaluating the findings in conjunction with relevant sources and data from other Qurʾān manuscripts. Method: The research methodology employed qualitative approaches -specifically document analysis and content analysis- were employed. In determining the degree of correspondence between the manuscript and the fourteen qirāʾāt, quantitative research methods were also utilized. The words reflecting reading variants in the manuscript were recorded in a database and analyzed in light of the classical qirāʾāt sources. The findings were subjected to rigorous analysis and evaluation, with a particular focus on establishing comparative perspectives with the extant qirāʾa literature and with data derived from additional manuscript copies. Findings: The analysis demonstrates that the Ibn Ṭughj Codex employs a colour-coding system comprising red, yellow, and blue marks, each of which serves a distinct function. Specifically, red marks indicate the primary reading, blue marks denote a qirāʾa preference that deviates from the primary reading, and yellow marks represent various qirāʾāt variants that are not attributed to a specific, clearly defined qirāʾa preference. The following conclusions may be deduced from the quantitative distribution of reading preferences. Firstly, the codex’s primary reading aligns with ʿĀṣim at 96%. Secondly, the blue annotations align with al-Aʿmash at 96%. Thirdly and finally, the yellow annotations represent qirāʾa preferences that diverge from the codex’s primary reading. The findings indicates that the Kūfan qirāʾa tradition may have attained sufficient prominence in the Mashriq region (Bilād al-Shām, Egypt, or Khurasan) in the 4th/10th century to be inscribed in a Qurʾānic codex.Conclusion: The Ibn Ṭughj Codex is a reflection of the scholarly diversity of qirāʾāt, as evidenced by the recording of multiple reading preferences (ikhtiyārāt) in parallel. This occurred during a period when the process of standardisation of the readings was taking shape. In this respect, the manuscript indicates that, in the fourth Islamic century, efforts to delimit the qirāʾāt had not yet been systematically reflected in Qurʾān manuscripts. Further studies on dated Qurʾān manuscripts from the 4th/10th century with known regional affiliations will contribute to a better understanding of reading preferences in Mashriqī manuscripts.

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