Four senior students of Ebrahim College (three female, one male) recently completed reciting the Qur’an in the 10 canonical qirā’āt to their teacher.
This is the first time that all 10 have been transmitted in the College. Last year, seven females and four males completed seven qirā’āt.
The four students received Ijazah from their teacher Ustadh Amjad Sheikh who himself studied seven qirā’āt at Ebrahim College. Shaykh Mujahid Ali also listened to the students reciting as they completed their recitation.
One of the students, Sabiha Bismillah said,
“It is truly an honour to have the opportunity to be a vessel for these recitations, one that I could never really be thankful enough for. The first time I heard some of the qirā’āt I was mesmerised. I began making lots of dua to be able to seek it out and learn it from somewhere.. anywhere! I imagined I’d have to travel abroad at some point. Little did I know that it would be made available to us at Ebrahim College the very next year. The rest, as they say, was history..
Studying the qirā’āt has definitely been one of the highlights of my time at EC. I find it incredible that we have access to this divine art, despite being so far away from the lands of revelation. It is all the more remarkable, if only because it is so rare, that it has been equally provided for the sisters too.
The qirā’āt is something which will accompany me for the rest of my life inshaAllah – and what a precious companion it is! For this I am forever grateful to my teachers, may Allah reward them abundantly and accept all of their efforts. Ameen”
The 10 qirā’āt are named after prominent leaders of recitation who transmitted from the companions of the prophet, to the prophet ﷺ himself.
The names of the 10 are:
Nafi’ (d. 169/785), Ibn Kathir (d. 120/737), Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ala’ (d. 154/762), Ibn ‘Amir (d. 154/762), ‘Asim (d. 127/744), Hamza (d. 156/772), al-Kisa’i (d. 189/904), Abu Ja’far (d. 130/747), Ya’qub (d. 205/820), Khalaf (d. 229/843)
The 10 qirā’āt are taught as an optional module as part of the Alimiyyah Programme at Ebrahim College and is one of a small number of institutes where the 10 qirā’āt can be studied by both male and female students.
The Alimiyyah Programme is an undergraduate level programme in Shari’ah (Islamic Law) and Islamic Theology. The programme is an in depth study of subjects such as Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh and the principles of Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh. It also includes an advanced study of classical Arabic and courses on history, leadership, politics, and philosophy.
The aim of the Alimiyyah curriculum is to produce Ulama (scholars) and leaders who are competent in the Islamic sciences such as Tafsir and Hadith possessing the professional skills necessary to serve, guide and lead the Muslim community with excellence.
