An Example of Ottoman Scholars’ Knowledge of Tajwīd: Content Analysis of Kitābü Maslaki’l-Kurrā’ fī sharhi abyāti Ibni’l-Cezerī fī ‘ilmi’l-kırā’a

Abstract

The Prophet interpreted the verses verbally and conveyed it to his Companions as he heard it. In the early periods, the issues that came under the scrutiny of the science of tajwīd existed in a compelling way with the Arabic language, tafsīr and the science of the different readings of the Qur’ān studies. We do not have any data on the use of tajwīd rules in poetry or any other literary text among Arabs before the Qur'ān. Pronouncing a text in the middle in Arabic within the framework of some reading rules is a matter that occurred with the revelation of the Qur'ān. With the beginning of the compilation of sciences, the science of tajwīd emerged as a separate science from the fifth century AH, and works on this science began to be copyrighted. In this respect, the ulamā, who produced detached works on the science of tajwīd, emerged in the central cities of Islamic lands, especially in the knowledge of Andalusia. The existence of these works did not cause any weakening in the practice of direct recitation of the Qur'ān from a competent teacher. Although competent works have been written since the early periods, the theorists of the science of tajwīd have always emphasized the importance and necessity of obtaining this knowledge from a knowledgeable teacher in the books they wrote. Ibn al-Jazarī, who collected all the information written before him on the science of Qiraat and tajwīd, and produced works that are easy to follow and apply in the education and training of Qur'ān readings and recitation. He wrote some of them in verse to facilitate memorization. It should be said that there was a great breakthrough in the Islamic world of the Ottoman period, as well as in all other Islamic sciences, by establishing centers in the science of tajwīd and appointing competent teachers from all over the world to head these educational institutions. In this article, the commentary made by a tenth/sixteenth Ottoman scholar who introduced himself as the Imam of the Mosque of Cadīd, to the work of Ibn al-Jazarī called Mukaddima, which was used as a bedside book in the teaching of tajwîd for centuries in the Ottoman period, examined. The aim of the research is to present a serious example that the practice of commentary and annotation, which was established as a method of acquiring and transferring knowledge in the Ottoman Empire, is not just a repetition of old sciences, as it is thought, but also the building blocks of a new revival and even construction process by revealing extensive scientific knowledge. In this way, it has been tried to reveal that the commentary, which is examined by looking at the vast tradition of commentary on the Mukaddima in the Ottoman Empire, is one of the complementary elements of a tradition. It is also aimed to present an important example of the influence of Ibn al-Jazarī's students and the effects of the works he wrote on Ottoman science and especially in the circles of qiraat and tajwīd since the day he was allocated a dār al-kurrā in Bursa. In the research, a method based on going to the source, finding the place of the issue in other sciences mentioned in the main source, and reconsidering and criticizing with new findings when necessary was used.