WAQF AND IBTIDĀ IN CLASSICAL WORKS

Abstract

In parallel with the revelation of the Qur'an, various activities were carried out for its writing and preservation. First of all, the verses, which were written on various materials by the scribes of revelation, were gathered together after the Prophet's death, and during the caliphate of Prophet 'Uthman, they were again gathered together and reproduced to be sent to various cities. In addition to the services rendered for the writing and preservation of the Qur'an, various services were also rendered for its recitation. The Qur'an's movement, punctuation, and division into chapters can be counted among these. In order to guide those who have a weak command of Arabic, works have been written about where to stop and where to take during recitation.  The issue we call waqf and ibtidā is a field that has emerged for the correct recitation of the Qur'an in terms of meaning. However, the approach of the scholars who wrote about this field was not the same. Many divisions have been made until today regarding waqf, which means stopping where the meaning is appropriate during the recitation of the Qur'an, and ibtidā, which means starting from the appropriate place. The most famous of these is the approach of Ibn al-Anbārī, al-Nahhās, and al-Dānī, which is considered as four parts. In later periods, the waqf system has been enriched with different concepts and pseudonyms for the convenience of the reader and has been applied in a more practical manner. In this study, we will first introduce waqf-ibtidān and discuss the views on its inception. Then, the types of waqf-ibtidā mentioned in the works of the aforementioned scholars will be discussed, followed by the various parts of waqf-ibtidā that were conceptualized in the following period.