[First: Definition of Qirā'ah (Reading), Riwayah (Narration), and Ṭarīq (Transmission Route):
• Qirā'ah (reading): Every scholarly selection attributed to one of the imams that has been agreed upon by narrators from him.
For example: the reading of Nāfi', the reading of 'Āṣim, the reading of Ḥamzah, etc. Hence, the terms *the seven readings* or *the ten readings* are used.
• Riwayah (narration): Everything attributed to a narrator from a Qirā'ah imam, even through an intermediary.
For example: the narration of Warsh from Nāfi', the narration of Ḥafṣ from 'Āṣim, the narration of Khalaf from Ḥamzah, etc.
• Ṭarīq (transmission route): Everything attributed to someone who receives from a narrator, even indirectly, is considered a ṭarīq. For example: the narration of Warsh from Nāfi' through the route of al-Azraq.
[Second: Introduction to Imam 'Āṣim:
'Āṣim ibn Abī al-Najūd — it was said that his father's name was Abdullah, and his surname was Abū al-Najūd. Some say his mother's name was Bahdalah, hence the name 'Āṣim ibn Bahdalah. He was an Asdī from Kūfah, a follower of the companions (Tābi'ī), and one of the seven recognized Qur'an reciters.
'Āṣim ibn Abī al-Najūd — it was said that his father's name was Abdullah, and his surname was Abū al-Najūd. Some say his mother's name was Bahdalah, hence the name 'Āṣim ibn Bahdalah. He was an Asdī from Kūfah, a follower of the companions (Tābi'ī), and one of the seven recognized Qur'an reciters. 'Āṣim ibn Abī al-Najūd — it was said that his father's name was Abdullah, and his surname was Abū al-Najūd. Some say his mother's name was Bahdalah, hence the name 'Āṣim ibn Bahdalah. He was an Asdī from Kūfah, a follower of the companions (Tābi'ī), and one of the seven recognized Qur'an reciters. He learned from Abū 'Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (Abdullah bin Habeeb), Abū Maryam Zirr ibn Ḥubaysh al-Asadī, and Abū 'Amr Sa'd ibn Iyyās al-Shaybānī—may Allah have mercy on them. These individuals learned from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd. Zir ibn Ḥubaysh and al-Sulamī learned from ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. Al-Sulamī also learned from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and Zayd ibn Thābit—may Allah be pleased with them. ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, and Zayd ibn Thābit all learned from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Imam 'Āṣim became the primary Qur'an teacher in Kūfah after al-Sulamī, and people traveled from various regions to learn from him. He was eloquent, accurate, proficient in tajwīd, and known for having the most beautiful voice in Qur'an recitation.
His narrators included: Ḥafṣ ibn Sulaymān, Abū Bakr Shu'bah ibn 'Ayyāsh (his two most famous students), Abān ibn Taghlib, Ḥammād ibn Mihrān al-Aʿmash, Abū al-Munthir Salām ibn Sulaymān, Sahl ibn Shu'ayb, Shaybān ibn Muʿāwiyah, and many others.
He passed away in 127 AH.
[Third: Introduction to Imam Ḥafṣ:
Ḥafṣ ibn Sulaymān ibn al-Mughīrah al-Asadī al-Kūfī, known as al-Bazzāz (because he was a cloth merchant; "bazz" means cloth), had the kunya Abū 'Umar. Born in 90 AH, he studied with 'Āṣim both directly and orally. He was also his stepson.
According to al-Dānī, he was the main transmitter of 'Āṣim's recitation. He taught in Baghdad and later in Makkah.
Abū Hāshim said he was the most knowledgeable of 'Āṣim's students in recitation and was preferred over Shu'bah in precision. Al-Dhahabī called him a trustworthy and precise reciter.
Many narrated from Ḥafṣ, including: Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Marwazī, Ḥamzah ibn al-Qāsim al-Aḥwal, Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd al-Zahrānī, Ḥamdān ibn Abī 'Uthmān al-Daqqāq, 'Amr ibn al-Ṣabāḥ, 'Ubayd ibn al-Ṣabāḥ, Abū Shuʿayb al-Qawwās, and others. He passed away in 180 AH.
[Fourth: Introduction to the Shāṭibiyyah Route:]
This refers to the narration outlined by Imam al-Shāṭibī in his well-known poem *al-Shāṭibiyyah*, formally titled *Ḥirz al-Amānī wa Wajh al-Tahānī*, in which he included the principles of the seven Quranic readers and their narrators. The Andalusian scholar Abū al-Qāsim ibn Fīrruh versified *al-Taysīr* by Abū 'Amr al-Dānī in 1,173 lines in an L-rhymed poem. It is regarded as a literary masterpiece.
A reader of Ḥafṣ from 'Āṣim via the Shāṭibiyyah must adhere to this narration as outlined by al-Shāṭibī in his chain of transmission to Imam Ḥafṣ from Imam 'Āṣim—may Allah have mercy on them all.