Sunnis Have 28 Different Authorized Qiraat

Qira’at ( قراءات) refers to the different canonical methods of reciting the Quran. These variations encompass differences in pronunciation, intonation, meanings, verse counts, and, in the more extreme cases, differences in the words and phrases used.

Historically, these differences took root after the death of the prophet when Islam expanded to new lands. Various communities learned to recite the Quran in their respective regions, and over time, this led to slight differences in recitation.

According to Professor Nasser, the five canonizations of the Quran can be seen in the following chart. The history of Qurʾānic canonization involved several key stages. The first canonization occurred between the era of Uthman and the late 3rd/9th century. The second canonization was led by Ibn Mujahid, who selected Seven Eponymous Readings amidst many circulating readings, laying the foundation for the Seven Canonical Readings. The third canonization involved standardizing these Seven Readings further, as discrepancies continued to emerge through students (rāwīs) of the Eponymous Readers. Scholars al-Dānī and al-Shāṭibī refined and promoted a two-rāwī system per Eponymous Reader, eliminating conflicting transmissions. The fourth canonization by Ibn al-Jazarī added three more readings (Abū Ja‘far, Ya‘qūb, and Khalaf), creating a model of Ten Eponymous Readings, which was enforced through his works and fatwās. Finally, the fifth canonization occurred in 1923, when al-Azhar in Egypt printed a standardized Qurʾān adopting the Ḥafṣ ʿan ʿĀṣim reading. This edition became dominant worldwide, shaping the modern view of the Qurʾān as a static text, with other readings often seen as deviations from this standard.