BB00301: Fi ’ilmi’l-qira’a

Say to him who asked concerning the science of recitation:

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Praise be to God Who created the letters according to the repetition of the name of the All-Bountiful from His own Self, and the letter la that the tongues of all created things might proclaim His praise in the letter la without the judgment which the Christians have taken therefrom in the form of the cross, and the Divine Nature resolved the alif of unity in the human nature of the letter of multiplicity which is the lam. Exalted be God far above what those who liken Him say, with great exaltation!

To continue: I have answered thy question concerning the ruling of the origins of letters and their points of articulation. Bear thou witness with certitude that the origin of the science of recitation was taken from him whose nature remained unchanged, for when God created the letters, He created their places and points of articulation in the servant such that he needeth not to learn from any among men. Just as thou seest with thine eyes, so do the letters emerge from their points of articulation which God created in thee, without similitude or comparison. Yea, if thou art certain of the change in thy nature, it is incumbent upon thee to learn from those who possess this knowledge. But beware, beware of the people of innovation whose forms change during recitation, for that is pure sin. The Hijazi recitation and eloquence in true melody is that thy countenance should not change during recitation. Thus hath God created thee, and men have no power to change God’s creation.

When thou dost inhale the musk-fragrance of Paradise beneath the shades of the heavenly garden and the shadow of the sacred tree, say: “Blessed be God, the Best of creators!” Know thou that God hath created in thee the luminous and dark letters from fourteen points of articulation. The first is a path of truth we hold fast to, and the second is all other letters beside these. All of this according to the number of stations mentioned by the astronomers, which are in reality the stations of the servant’s journey through the letters, as men of understanding know that what is there can only be known through what is here.

Know what I desire to cause to shine upon thee from the sun of Glory: The alif which is expressed by its people as the hamza, then the ha, emerges during recitation from the furthest first position of the throat. The alif is the letter of beginning and the ha is the letter of ending, and therefore the place of the manifestation of the light of beginning was the letter of ending. Therein are divine stations, heavenly manifestations, sovereign indications, and celestial signs, whereby the one who gazeth upon the light of the heart in the flowing of ink perceiveth the decree of creation. As I desired brevity, I turned away from mentioning the depths of mysteries for the gaze of strangers.

When thou hast known the articulation point of these two letters, know that the articulation point of ʿayn and ha is from the middle of the throat, then ghayn and kha from the end of the throat, then the quiescent ya and quiescent waw when what precedes the first is with kasra and what precedes the second is with fatha, its place is the middle of the mouth without the mim and quiescent nun and tanwin during assimilation or concealment, for it appeareth from the middle of the brain. Therefore the people of recitation call the first two letters guttural and the last two nasal, and that is a prior ruling.

Then know that the qaf is uvular and the kaf is velar, and they both emerge by God’s leave from one place, and that shin and jim are among the palatal letters, and their place is one during the manifestation of recitation, and that dad is lateral and lam is gingival, which is its name when thou recallest its position from the flesh of the molar, but when recalling its point of articulation from the tip of the tongue, its people use the term “alveolar.” And verily the letter Ra emerges from the tip of the tongue and part of its back, and it is “liquida.” And Nun is from Ra [78] Ra, by the grace of God, which none but He comprehends. And Tha and Dhal are “liquida,” and Zha is similar to them, after the grace of God which encompasses His knowledge. And Ta, Dal, and Ta emerge from the tip of the tongue and five upper incisors, and these are the dental letters according to their people. And Sad, Sin, and Ra are from the liquid letters according to their people. And Fa emerges from the tips of the upper incisors. And Mim, Waw, and Ba are from the labial letters.

And all these are names that increase the veils for the seeker, otherwise the true measure is innate nature and nothing else, and it is the straight path of justice which God loves and accepts from His servants.

I have mentioned the names of incidental forms because I knew you desired to know, and I seek God’s forgiveness for what I have mentioned and said. I pour out my grief and sorrow unto God, and I say: All praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds.