Abstract

It is possible to mention many scholars and their studies that have been the milestone in the formation and evolution of the differences in recitation, which started with the Prophet’s permission in different recitation, as a scientific discipline. One of these scholars, Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Dimyātī (d. 1117/1705), was a versatile figure who was skilled in various branches of science, especially in the science of recitation. He owes his fame mostly to his authorship of Ithāf al-fudalāʾ al-bashar, one of the most well-known studies in the field of recitation. The study on the author is important because of his work on the science of recitation and his influence on this field. In particular, the author’s influence on the teaching of recitation in Egypt and the Ottoman period enriches this study even more meaningful. In this regard, it is aimed in this study to briefly introduce Dimyātī and his studies, who wrote Ithāfu fudalāʾ al-bashar, which is one of the important reference sources in learning the methodical differences of the schools expressed as tarīq (route) and profession in the science of Qiraat since the Ottoman period in our country, and it is also aimed to make a modest contribution to the scholarly research to be conducted on this great Qiraat scholar. This article will try to make an evaluation of Dimyātī’s life, scholarly personality, studies and place in the science of recitation, about whom there is no academic study in our country except for the item of Encyclopaedia of Islam. It is seen that Dimyātī lived in a period when explanation, annotation and ta‘likāt (depending upon or deriving from a text) were in vogue and he was significantly influenced by the dominant understanding of the period to a certain extent. The explanations and annotations he wrote on studies belonging to different branches of science show that he was significantly influenced by the scholarly understanding of the period. The author’s study titled Ithāf al-fudalāʾ al-bashar written especially on the science of recitation especially on the science of recitation, continues to be valued as a primary source even today. One of the famous studies of the literature of the fourteen recitation, Ithāf is one of the basic sources of the “Takrīb” phase of the process called “Ashara-Takrîb-Tayyib” in teaching of recitation.