Ḥamzah al-Kūfī (حَمْزَةُ الكُوفِي)¶
Biography¶
حَمْزَةُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ الزَّيَّاتُ التَّيْمِيُّ الكُوفِي — Ḥamzah ibn Ḥabīb al-Zayyāt, Abū ʿUmārah (80–156 AH / c. 699–773 CE), became the imām of recitation in Kufa after ʿĀṣim and al-Aʿmash. He earned his living trading oil — hence al-Zayyāt ("the oil-man") — carrying it between Kufa and Ḥulwān. Beyond qirāʾah he was an authority in inheritance law (farāʾiḍ) and ḥadīth, and famous for scrupulous piety.
He took his reading from Sulaymān al-Aʿmash, Ḥumrān ibn Aʿyan, Abū Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, and Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq — chains that reach the Prophet ﷺ through ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd.
Both canonical rāwīs transmit through his student Sulaym ibn ʿĪsā, his closest companion. Ḥamzah's reading is the most sonically distinctive of the seven: the longest madds, sweeping imālah, and a unique system for softening the hamzah at pause.
His Two Rāwīs¶
- Khalaf (خَلَف) — Khalaf ibn Hishām al-Bazzār, Abū Muḥammad (150–229 AH). A prodigy who memorized the Qurʾān at ten. He is also the tenth canonical imām with his own independent reading (ikhtiyār) — the only person to appear in the canon twice.
- Khallād (خَلَّاد) — Khallād ibn Khālid al-Shaybānī al-Ṣayrafī, Abū ʿĪsā (d. 220 AH). Kufan; among the most precise and verified of Sulaym's students.
Rumūz in al-Shāṭibiyyah¶
| Who | Ramz |
|---|---|
| Ḥamzah (both rāwīs) | ف (fāʾ) |
| Khalaf | ض (ḍād) |
| Khallād | ق (qāf) |
Ḥamzah also appears in the group codes شَفَا (with al-Kisāʾī), صُحْبَة (with al-Kisāʾī and Shuʿbah), صِحَاب (with al-Kisāʾī and Ḥafṣ), and حِصْن (the Kūfans with Nāfiʿ). See The Rumūz System.
Defining Characteristics at a Glance¶
- No basmalah between sūrahs — unique among the seven: he joins sūrahs by sakt or waṣl only.
- Ṭūl (6 ḥarakāt) in both madd muttaṣil and munfaṣil — the longest durations of the seven.
- Extensive imālah kubrā — nearly every yāʾ-origin alif and alif of taʾnīth is tilted.
- Full taḥqīq of double hamzahs in all positions during waṣl.
- Waqf on the hamzah — his signature system: when stopping, the hamzah is softened, converted, or dropped according to its position (with naql and idghām sub-rules).
- Ḍamm of the hāʾ in عَلَيْهُمْ / إِلَيْهُمْ / لَدَيْهُمْ.
- Khalaf vs. Khallād — they differ in fine points only (e.g., ghunnah in idghām of nūn into wāw/yāʾ: Khalaf drops it, Khallād keeps it; the ishmām scope of الصِّرَاط).