AL-Ḥasan AL-Basri and Some Examples from His Odd Readings (Qira᾽āt Shādhah) with its Guidance from Arabic Language

الحسن البصريُّ ونماذج من قراءاته الشَّاذَّة، مع توجيهها من لغة العرب

Abstract

No doubt reading the biographies of the righteous personalities has many benefits. One of the greatest benefit is that it educates and pours the souls. AlḤasan al-Basri was one of those who would be imitated. One of his most famous virtues was that he was born in the house of prophethood. Mother of Al Ḥassan used to serve the Mother of the Believers “Umm Salamah”. Al-Ḥasan al-Basri had learned the sciences of Prophecy from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah and he was raised among them. He was a master of eloquence and rhetoric, a reader; however, he had a choice in reading, and narrated prophetic sayings on the authority of the Companions, but his readings (Qira'at) are considered to be odd (Shaḍdha) due to its irregularity among other readings (lack of tawātur); therefore, he became one of the eldest four Imams with the considered unusual and odd readings: Al-Ḥasan al-Basri, Ibn Muhaisin al-Makki, al-A’Mash al-Kūfi, and Yaḥya al-Yazīdi, their readings have been transmitted with authentic chains of transmission and were written down in specific books over centuries. This is Imām Al-Ḥassan Al-Basri. Many books have been written about his asceticism and his narrations. He and his interests had been studied in ancient and modern studies. Thesis and researches were prepared about him and his sayings in Arab and international universities as well. This is an abstract article in which introduced the Imām with the summary of his biography as well as the bullets of those who narrated his readings from him, and then mentioned some of the examples of his unusual and odd readings that contradicted the frequent readings (Qira᾽āt Mutawātira), with a mention of its guidance from Arabic language by referring to the original bases. The summary consists of an introduction and three chapters.