The Impact of Conceiving the Qur?an as Masculine on the Seven Readings

Masculinity is attributed to the Qur’an by Ibn Mas‘ūd (d. 32/652) who called reciters to treat it as such and mainly opt for yā’ in cases of doubt in selecting between tā’ and yā’. Striving for an appreciation of the claim is conducive, in Arabs’ conception, to conceiving as masculine what is divinely accorded any worth and significance. Accordingly, hadith scholars and litterateurs have referred to themselves as masculine and have termed their disciplines as such. Furthermore, considering the great impacts of Ibn Mas‘ūd on the readings adopted by reciters flourishing in early Islamic times and his report that resembles a reading principle, the present study investigates the reciters’ degrees of such impact ability. Aiming at studying the significance of the reading principle in question on the ‘seven readings’, the present study provides a textual analysis of the reports, with an eye to their transmission authorities, and approximate times and places of their transmission. On the other hand, the readings that are equivocal as to the masculinity and femininity of verbal forms have been provided along with the degrees of masculinity in each report. The study reveals that readings by Kisā’ī, Ḥamza, and ‘Ᾱṣim are, in descending order, indicative of utmost masculinity, beaconing Ibn Mas‘ūd’s profound impact on Kufan readings, since such reports found further prevalence in Kufa. The topic treated in this article is unprecedented in the literature devoted to the disciplines in question.