ajs, here from the same source are some very compelling references:
Zeev,
Hope this helps with references:
From The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (in Washington):
Article named "THE QUR'AN IN OUR HANDS TODAY"
During the early years of Islam, which was mostly confined to Arabia, the use of diacritic or the vowels was not
required because Arabs knew their language very well. However, as Islam spread to other parts of the world, the use
of diacritical points as well as the vowels were necessary for the proper pronunciation.
For example the letter that sounds like Ba, Ta, Tha, Nun and Ya all looked alike. To the Arab reader there was no
confusion, but to non-Arabs it was difficult, hence the use of dots and vowels were introduced by an eminent linguist,
Abu-Asswad-ed-Doaly to convey the right sound.
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Islamic source on the Qur'ânic Orthography: The Written Representation Of The Recited Text Of The Qur'ân
islamic-awareness.org
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History of the Arabic language:
humanities.byu.edu
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From another Muslim scholar....
(c)ertain variant readings existed and, indeed, persisted and increased as the Companions who had memorised the
text died, and because the inchoate (basic) Arabic script, lacking vowel signs and even necessary diacriticals to
distinguish between certain consonants, was inadequate. ... In the 4th Islamic century, it was decided to have
recourse (to return) to "readings" (qira'at) handed down from seven authoritative "readers" (qurra'); in order,
moreover, to ensure accuracy of transmission, two "transmitters" (rawi, pl. ruwah) were accorded to each. There
resulted from this seven basic texts (al-qira'at as-sab', "the seven readings"), each having two transmitted versions
(riwayatan) with only minor variations in phrasing, but all containing meticulous vowel-points and other necessary
diacritical marks. ... The authoritative "readers" are:
Nafi (from Medina; d.169/785)
Ibn Kathir (from Mecca; d.119/737)
Abu `Amr al-'Ala' (from Damascus; d.53/770)
Ibn `Amir (from Basra; d.118/736)
Hamzah (from Kufah; d.156/772)
al-Qisa'i (from Kufah; d.189/804)
Abu Bakr `Asim (from Kufah; d.158/778)
The predominant reading today, spread by Egyptian Koran readers, is that of `Asim in the transmission (riwayah) of
Hafs (d. 190/805). In Morocco, however, the reading is that of Nafi` in the riwayah of Warsh (d. 197/812) and
Maghrebin Korans are written accordingly. (Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, San Francisco: Harper
& Row, 1989, p. 324, bold added)
... the Reading of Abu `Amr in the version of al-Duri ... prevails in the Sudan, Nigeria, and Central Africa. (Labib
as-Said, The Recited Koran: A History of the First Recorded Version, tr. B. Weis, et al, Princeton, New Jersey: The
Darwin Press, 1975, p. 84) |
