Imām Nāfi‘ (d 169H): Originally from Isfahān, Abū Abdu’l-Raḥmān Nāfi‘b. Abdu’l-Raḥmān b. Abī Na‘īm al-Laythī al-Madanī was a prominent Qurʼānic scholar and native of Madīnah, who was a student of over seventy Successors, and the teacher of many illustrious personalities, including his two main transmitters Qālūn and Warsh, as well as Imām Mālik. He taught for seventy odd years, including leading prayers in the Prophet’s Masjid for sixty years, and became known as the leading authority in Qirā’ah in Madīnah. He was described as being extremely handsome in appearance, with intensely black skin, noble in character and diligent in worship. When he spoke he would exhume the fragrance of musk from his mouth, and when questioned about that, replied that he saw the Prophet in a dream reciting Qurʼān into his mouth and from that point on he began to use fragrance.
Imām Warsh (d 197H): Abū Sa‘īd ‘Uthmān b. Sa‘īd b. Abdullah al-Miṣrī, given the title Warsh by Imām Nāfi‘ due to his pale color, was born in Egypt in 110H, traveled to Madīnah to learn the Qurʼān from Nāfi‘ in 155H and returned to become the leading authority in Qirā’ah in Egypt until his death in 197H.
Imām Qālūn (d 220H): ‘Īsā b. Mīnā b. Wardān b. ‘Īsā al-Zarqī, he was a prominent student of Imām Nāfi‘ in Madīnah who gave him the title Qālūn due to his excellent recitation and would refer students to study with him in his own lifetime. He was described as being deaf to a great degree but could only hear the Qurʼān.
Imām al-Azraq (d 240H): Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf b. ‘Amrū Yasār al-Madanī al-Miṣrī was the leading student of Imām Warsh, who completed the Qurʼān twenty times with him and inherited the mantle of leadership upon his demise.
Imām ‘Āṣim al-Kūfī (d 127H): Abū Bakr ‘Āṣim b. Abi’l-Nujūd al-Kūfī was a prominent Successor (Tābi‘ī) and student of Abū Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d 75H) and Zirr b. Ḥubaysh (d 83H). He inherited the mantle of leadership in Qurʼānic recitation in Kūfah after the demise of al-Sulamī. His students were many, including none other than Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (d 150H), Abū ‘Amrū b. al-‘Alā’, and Ḥammād b. Zayd, but the two most prominent students were Shu‘bah b. ‘Ayyāsh and Ḥafṣ b. Sulaymān. He was known for his adherence to the Sunnah, his mastery of the Qurʼān and his eloquence and mastery over language. He died in 127 H, and his last spoken words were verse 62 of Sūrah al-An‘ām.
Imām Shu‘bah b. ‘Ayyāsh (d193H): Abū Bakr b. ‘Ayyāsh b. Sālim al-Asadī al-Kūfī was born in 95H and was a seller of wheat by trade. He was a devoted student of Imām ‘Āṣim, he recited to Asim 3 times. Those who narrated ḥadīth from him included Abū Dāwūd and Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal. He was an avid worshipper and was known to devote himself to the Qurʼān nightly for much of his life. On his deathbed, he consoled his weeping sister, “Do not grieve, for in this room I have finished the Qurʼān 18,000 times.” He died in 193H.
Imām al-Shāṭibī (d 590H): Abū Muḥammad al-Qāsim b. Fīrruh b. Khalaf al-Ru‘aynī al-Andalusī al-Shāṭibī, he was born in Shāṭibah in Andalūs in 538H and was a brilliant mind and scholar of a wide variety of fields, including Qurʼān recitation and ḥadīth studies. He would correct from his memory errors in the manuscripts of the Muwaṭṭa and Ṣaḥīḥayn collections of his students who would read to him. He moved to and settled in Egypt. He was known to shun speech except that which was beneficial and devoted his life to knowledge and learning. His students included Abu’l-Ḥasan al-Sakhāwī, al-Kamāl ‘Alī b. Shujā‘ah, Muḥammad b. ‘Umar al-Qurṭubī and others. He composed a poetic text entitled Ḥirz al-Amānī (commonly known as al-Shāṭibīyyah) on the seven modes of Qurʼānic reading that has enjoyed unparalleled renown and acceptance in the intellectual history of this ummah. Countless individuals of every academic level and region of the world have memorized that text, studied it, written commentaries on it, or served it in some other way over the years since its publication. To this day, most qirā’āt are transmitted and taught “by the route of al-Shāṭibīyyah.” Imām al-Shāṭibī lived for 52 years and died in Egypt in 590H.
Yet again we witnessed the terrible devastation and aftermath of another natural disaster, this time affecting the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. And again, we witness the hubris and arrogance from certain human beings rather than humility. Charles Osgood from CBS had the audacity to state that the only force on the planet powerful enough to rescue the poor nation of Haiti was the “all-powerful US government.” Does he forget Katrina? Pat Robertson called the earthquake the result of “a pact with the devil.”
