Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud

Abu Bakr ‘Aasim Ibn Abi al-Najud al-'Asadi(died 745 CE / 127 AH),commonly known as‘Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud,was, according to Islamic tradition, one of the seven primary transmitters of theQira'at,or variant readings of theQur'an.OfAraborigin, his method of reciting the Qur'an as transmitted byHafsis the most common and popular way of reciting the holy book in theMuslim worldin general.

Aasim Ibn Abi an-Najud
عاصم بن أبي النجود
Personal
Died	745 CE 127 AH
Religion	Islam
Main interest(s)	Quran
Other names	Abu Bakr ‘Aasim Ibn Abi al-Najud al-'Asadi
Muslim leader
Teacher	Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami
Students Hafs

Though he lived much of his life inKufa,he was associated withBanu Asad ibn Khuzaymahdue to a pact. His fellow recitation transmitterAbu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala'also studied under him.

Despite being from Kufa, Aasim's reading was not popular there at first.Unlike most reciters in Kufa, he did not accept the pre-Uthmanic style of the Qur'an written by the companion of the Prophet,Abdullah ibn Masud;most of the people of Kufa continued reciting based on that style for a period even after the Uthmanic version became canon.Eventually this changed with the standardisation of themushaf,and in time Aasim's reading became the norm for the Muslim world. In fact, of the seven primary methods of recitation, only two have become particularly common in the Muslim world: that ofNafi‘ al-Madaniin much ofAfricaoutside ofEgyptand that of Aasim in the rest of the Muslim world in general.

He died in the year 745 CE, corresponding to the year 127 AH.

Comparison of Warsh and Aasim's recitation

The Warsh 'an Naafi' recitation of the Quran differs from Hafs 'an Aasim' in orthography. The majority of differences do not affect the meaning. Yet in some cases the differences change the implications of the verse. In verse 2:184 Hafs recites the verse to be "... a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person...". On the other hand, Warsh reads it "... a ransom [as substitute] of feeding poor people..."Other variants orthography include:

رواية ورش عن نافع	رواية حفص عن عاصم	Ḥafs	Warsh	Chapter and Verse
يَعْمَلُونَ	تَعْمَلُونَ	you do	they do	Al-Baqara 2:85
وًأَوْصّى	وَوَصَّى	enjoined	instructed	Al-Baqara2:132
سَارِعُوا	وَسَارِعُوا	And hasten to	Hasten to	Al 'imran3:133
مَا تَنَزَّلُ	مَا نُنَزِّلُ	we do not send down...	they do not come down...	Al-Ḥijr15:8
قُل	قَالَ	he said	say!	Al-Anbiyā'21:4
كَثِيرًا	كَبِيرًا	mighty	multitudinous	Al-Aḥzāb33:68
بِمَا	فَبِمَا	then it is what	it is what	Al-Shura42:30
نُدْخِلْهُ	يُدْخِلْهُ	he makes him enter	we make him enter	Al-Fatḥ48:17

Another major difference between Hafs and Warsh recitation of the Quran is the pronunciation of the words. Modern Qurans have diacritical marks (known as Tashkil) and in some cases pronouncing the word differently could imply different meaning. Here are some examples:

رواية ورش عن نافع	رواية حفص عن عاصم	Ḥafs	Warsh	Chapter and Verse
مَلِكِ	مَالِكِ	Owner	King	Al-FatihahQ1:4 (Q1:3 in Warsh)
يٌكَذّبُونَ	يَكْذِبُونَ	they lie	they were lied to (or) they deny	Al-BaqaraQ2:10 (Q2:9 in Warsh)
قُتِلَ	قَاتَلَ	And many a prophet fought	And many a prophet was killed	Al 'imranQ3:146
سَاحِرَانِ	سِحْرَانِ	two works of magic	two magicians	Al-QasasQ28:48