Khalaf ʿan Ḥamzah¶

Khalaf ibn Hishām al-Bazzār, Abū Muḥammad (150–229 AH), rāwī of Ḥamzah ibn Ḥabīb al-Zayyāt al-Kūfī (80–156 AH / d. 773 CE), imām of Kūfah, through Ḥamzah's student Sulaym ibn ʿĪsā. Khalaf memorized the Qurʾān at ten and is also the tenth canonical imām with his own independent reading (ikhtiyār) — the only person to appear in the canon twice; his ikhtiyār is covered as reading 10, Khalaf al-ʿĀshir. See the imām's overview.

This page presents the complete Khalaf ʿan Ḥamzah reading as transmitted within al-Shāṭibiyyah: every applicable uṣūl rule and every applicable farsh reading, including both the rules shared at the imām (Ḥamzah) level and those specific to Khalaf. A reader of this riwāyah alone can use it standalone.

Rows of the Farsh table marked (awaiting confirmation) rest on a medium/low-confidence decode of a contested rumūz and still need a printed-sharḥ check, as do a few narrower inline word-list notes; the uṣūl are matn-grounded and cross-checked.

Uṣūl¶

No Basmalah Between Sūrahs (تَرْك البَسْمَلة بَين السُّورَتَين)¶

• Rule: Khalaf does not recite the basmalah between two sūrahs. He uses either a brief sakt (a pause without breath) or waṣl (connecting the end of one sūrah directly to the start of the next).
• Explanation: This is one of the signature traits of the Ḥamzah line. The istiʿādhah at the very start of recitation and the basmalah at the start of a sūrah (other than al-Tawbah) follow the universal rules; the distinctive point is purely the sūrah-to-sūrah transition.
• Example: Moving from the end of al-Fātiḥah into al-Baqarah — no بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ is inserted; the reciter either pauses silently or connects directly.
• Matn: line 103

Madd Muttaṣil — Ṭūl (المَدّ المُتَّصِل)¶

• Rule: Khalaf prolongs the madd muttaṣil (a long vowel followed by a hamzah in the same word) to 6 ḥarakāt (ṭūl, the maximum).
• Explanation: This is the longest duration used by any reciter and gives the reading a slow, deliberate character.
• Example: السَّمَاءَ, جَاءَ, سُوءَ — the alif/wāw is held for 6 counts before the hamzah.
• Matn: line 161

Madd Munfaṣil — Ṭūl (المَدّ المُنفَصِل)¶

• Rule: Khalaf prolongs the madd munfaṣil (a long vowel at the end of one word, with a hamzah beginning the next) to 6 ḥarakāt (ṭūl).
• Explanation: The same maximum length applied across the word boundary.
• Example: يَا أَيُّهَا, إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ, بِمَا أُنْزِلَ — the final long vowel of the first word is held 6 counts into the following hamzah.
• Matn: line 161

Madd Lāzim — 6 Ḥarakāt (المَدّ اللازِم)¶

• Rule: Khalaf reads madd lāzim (a long vowel followed by an original sukūn or a shaddah) at 6 ḥarakāt.
• Explanation: This is the obligatory long madd, held to its full extent.
• Example: الضَّالِّينَ, آلْآنَ, and the three-letter spelled opening letters such as الٓمٓ (الِف لَام مِيم), where the middle madd letter is followed by a sākin.
• Matn: line 177

Madd al-ʿIwaḍ (مَدّ العِوَض)¶

• Rule: When Khalaf stops on a word ending in tanwīn fatḥah (ـً), the tanwīn is replaced by a long /ā/ of 2 ḥarakāt.
• Explanation: A compensatory madd at waqf, shared by all reciters.
• Example: Stopping on كِتَابًا → كِتَابَا.
• Matn: line 171

Madd in the Opening Letters (Ḥurūf Muqaṭṭaʿāt) (مَدّ الحُروف المُقَطَّعة)¶

• Rule: Three-letter-spelled opening letters (نُون, مِيم, صَاد, لَام, كَاف, سِين, قَاف, عَيْن in its long option, يَاسِين) receive 6 ḥarakāt (madd lāzim); two-letter-spelled letters (طَا, هَا, يَا, حَا, رَا) receive 2 ḥarakāt (natural madd); أَلِف has no madd; عَيْن (in حم عسق / كهيعص) has the two options 4 or 6 (6 preferred).
• Explanation: The duration depends on whether a sākin follows the madd letter inside the spelled-out name.
• Example: الٓمٓ → 6 ḥarakāt on the mīm of مِيم; طٰهٰ → 2 ḥarakāt on each two-letter name.
• Matn: line 177

Ḍammah on the Hāʾ in عَلَيْهُمْ / إِلَيْهُمْ / لَدَيْهُمْ (ضَمّ هاء الضَّمير)¶

• Rule: Khalaf reads the hāʾ of عَلَيْهِمْ، إِلَيْهِمْ، لَدَيْهِمْ with ḍammah — ʿalayhum, ilayhum, ladayhum — in all positions, both waqf and waṣl.
• Explanation: Inherited from Ḥamzah; the hāʾ's vowel is ḍammah rather than the more common kasrah.
• Example: أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهُمْ (read ʿalayhum in al-Fātiḥah).
• Matn: line 110

Extensive Imālah Kubrā (الإمالة الكُبْرى)¶

• Rule: Khalaf applies full imālah kubrā (strong inclination of fatḥah toward kasrah, and alif toward yāʾ) very extensively. The principal test: imālah applies to alifs whose etymological root letter is yāʾ (dhawāt al-yāʾ), plus the feminine alif maqṣūrah (alif al-taʾnīth). His scope covers:
  • All yāʾ-origin alifs: هُدًى, اشْتَرَى, الْهَوَى, أَتَى
  • Alif of taʾnīth: الدُّنْيَا, الْأُولَى, الْمَوْتَى
  • FaʿLā patterns (kasrah/ḍammah on the fāʾ): ذِكْرَى, بُشْرَى, سِيمَاهُمْ
  • Particles: أَنَّى, مَتَى, عَسَى, بَلَى, إِلَى, حَتَّى, عَلَى, لَدَى
  • Expanded trilateral verbs: زَكَّاهَا, أَنْجَى, ابْتَلَى, تَوَلَّى
  • Verse-ending alifs in sūrahs such as طه، النجم، الشمس، الأعلى، الليل، الضحى
  • Muqaṭṭaʿāt spelled with هَا، يَا، طَا، حَا، رَا
• Explanation: Imālah is identified by the dual/conjugation test — if forming the dual of a noun (هُدًى → هُدَيَان) or conjugating a verb to first person (هَدَى → هَدَيْتُ) yields a yāʾ, the alif qualifies. The foundational matn verse pairing Ḥamzah with al-Kisāʾī is "وَحَمْزَةَ مِنْهُمْ وَالكِسَائِيَ بَعْدَهُ — ذَوَاتَ الياءِ حَيْثُ تَأَصَّل."
• Example: هُدًى read with the final vowel tilted toward ī; الدُّنْيَا with the alif tilted toward yāʾ.
• Matn: line 291

Taqlīl of البَوَارِ and القَهَّارِ (التَّقْليل)¶

• Rule: For the two patterns الْبَوَارِ (Q14:28) and الْقَهَّارِ (multiple locations), Khalaf reads taqlīl (partial imālah), not full kubrā.
• Explanation: The alif before a word-final rāʾ with kasrah forms a special sub-category receiving the lighter inclination.
• Example: الْقَهَّارِ pronounced with a moderate tilt rather than the full kubrā used elsewhere.
• Matn: line 321
• (awaiting confirmation — the complete taqlīl-exceptions word list is decoded from the matn and not yet checked against a printed sharḥ.)

Full Taḥqīq of Two Hamzahs in One Word (الهَمْزَتان في كَلِمة — التَّحْقيق)¶

• Rule: When two hamzahs occur at the start of one word, Khalaf pronounces both fully (taḥqīq), with no softening.
• Explanation: Both glottal stops are articulated clearly.
• Example: أَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ — both hamzahs sounded as full glottal stops.
• Matn: line 183
• Exception: In أَأَعْجَمِيٌّ (Fuṣṣilat Q41:44) both hamzahs are likewise pronounced fully. line 185

Full Taḥqīq of Two Hamzahs Across Words (الهَمْزَتان في كَلِمَتَين — التَّحْقيق)¶

• Rule: When two hamzahs meet across a word boundary in continuous reading (waṣl), Khalaf pronounces both fully.
• Explanation: Neither hamzah is softened or dropped in waṣl.
• Example: جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا (Q11:82) — both the final hamzah of جَاءَ and the initial hamzah of أَمْرُنَا are articulated.
• Matn: line 202

Waqf on the Hamzah (Facilitation When Stopping) (الوَقْف على الهَمْز)¶

• Rule: In waṣl, Khalaf pronounces every hamzah fully. But when stopping (waqf) on a word containing a hamzah, he facilitates it. He applies this to both final and medial hamzah. The treatment depends on the hamzah's position and what precedes it:
  • Final hamzah after a voweled letter: after fatḥah → replace with alif + sukūn (شَاءَ → شَا); after ḍammah → replace with wāw + sukūn (يَلْجَأُ → يَلْجَو); after kasrah → replace with yāʾ + sukūn (يُبْدِئُ → يُبْدِي).
  • Final hamzah after an alif: either ibdāl (the hamzah becomes an alif, then shortened to one alif at waqf) or tashīl — السَّمَاءَ → السَّمَا.
  • Final hamzah after wāw/yāʾ: ibdāl and merger into the preceding letter — شَيْءٍ → شَيّ, السُّوءُ → السُّو.
  • Final hamzah after a sākin (non-madd): naql — the hamzah's vowel transfers to the preceding sākin, then the hamzah drops — الْمَرْءُ → الْمَرُو.
  • Medial hamzah between two vowels: tashīl — سَأَلَ softened in the middle.
  • Medial hamzah after a madd matching its vowel: ibdāl — يُؤْمِنُونَ → يُومِنُونَ.
  • Medial hamzah after a sākin: naql — يَسْأَلُونَ → يَسَلُونَ (the sīn takes the fatḥah).
• Explanation: This facilitation system is unique to the Ḥamzah line in its breadth — it applies even to medial hamzah, not just final. A reader of this riwāyah must know the right pronunciation at every stopping point.
• Example: Stopping on السَّمَاءَ → السَّمَا; stopping on يُؤْمِنُونَ → يُومِنُونَ.
• Matn: line 235
• (awaiting confirmation — the full decision tree for every medial-hamzah sub-case.)

Naql at Waqf Only (النَّقْل وَقْفًا)¶

• Rule: Khalaf applies naql (transfer of the hamzah's vowel to a preceding sākin, then dropping the hamzah) only at waqf. In waṣl he keeps every hamzah fully pronounced.
• Explanation: Naql here is a sub-case of the waqf-hamzah system; it is never a waṣl phenomenon for the hamzah-after-sākin configuration.
• Example: At waqf, الْمَرْءُ → الْمَرُو (rāʾ takes the ḍammah, hamzah drops).
• Matn: line 255

Ishmām of الصِّرَاط (ṣād → between ṣ and z) (الإشْمام)¶

• Rule: Khalaf reads the ṣād of الصِّرَاط / صِرَاط with ishmām — pronouncing it as a sound between ṣād and zāy — wherever the word occurs.
• Explanation: The emphatic ṣād is given a hint of the zāy's voicing. (His fellow rāwī Khallād does this only at the first occurrence, al-Fātiḥah 6.)
• Example: اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ — ṣād pronounced between ṣ and z.
• Matn: lines 109

Hāʾ al-kināyah — the يُؤَدِّهِ class (هاء الكِناية — يُؤَدِّهِ)¶

• Rule: With Ḥamzah, Khalaf reads يُؤَدِّهِ، نُؤْتِهِ، نُوَلِّهِ، نُصْلِهِ with sukūn on the hāʾ (يُؤَدِّهْ). In يَتَّقْهِ (al-Nūr 52) he reads the qāf with kasrah and the hāʾ with ishbāʿ (full ṣilah) — one wajh.
• Explanation: Ḥamzah is in the sukūn group (with Shuʿbah and Abū ʿAmr) for these apocopated verbs (al-Wāfī, hāʾ-kināyah bāb). يَتَّقْهِ is the place where Khalaf differs from his fellow rāwī Khallād.
• Example: يُؤَدِّهْ إِلَيْكَ (sukūn); وَمَنْ يَتَّقِهِۦ (kasr qāf + ṣilah).
• Matn: lines 160–164

Idghām of يٰسٓ and نٓ (الإدْغام)¶

• Rule: With the شفا / صُحْبَة group (Ḥamzah + al-Kisāʾī, and Shuʿbah), Khalaf assimilates the nūn of يٰسٓ ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ and نٓ ۚ وَالْقَلَمِ into the following wāw.
• Explanation: Where the baseline (Ḥafṣ etc.) keeps the fawātiḥ nūn clear (iẓhār), Ḥamzah's readers merge it into the wāw.
• Example: يٰسٓ ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ → the nūn assimilated into the wāw.
• Matn: line 281

Idghām of Nūn/Tanwīn into Wāw and Yāʾ — Without Ghunnah (إدْغام النُّون بِغَير غُنّة)¶

• Rule: In the idghām of nūn sākinah and tanwīn into the letters of يَنْمُو, Khalaf assimilates into wāw (و) and yāʾ (ي) without ghunnah. (Into nūn and mīm he assimilates with ghunnah, as normal.)
• Explanation: This is the principal uṣūl point that distinguishes Khalaf from Khallād (who keeps the ghunnah in all four). The matn states it directly: "وَكُلٌّ بِيَنْمُو أَدْغَمُوا مَعَ غُنَّةٍ ... وَفِي الْوَاوِ وَالْيَا دُونَهَا خَلَفٌ تَلَا."
• Example: مَنْ يَقُولُ and مِنْ وَالٍ — assimilated without nasalization.
• Matn: line 287

Saktah in Waṣl on شَيْء (السَّكْت)¶

• Rule: Khalaf transmits a slight saktah (pause without breath) in waṣl on the sākin yāʾ before the hamzah of شَيْءٍ / شَيْئًا.
• Explanation: A brief silence on the yāʾ before the hamzah even in continuous reading — a sakt (pause), distinct from naql. The matn names Khalaf for this waṣl-sakt and adds the ال of the definite article for some transmitters: «رَوَى خَلَفٌ فِي الْوَصْلِ سَكْتاً مُقَلَّلَا ۝ وَيَسْكُتُ فِي شَيْءٍ وَشَيْئاً وَبَعْضُهُمْ لَدَى اللَّامِ لِلتَّعْرِيفِ». Within the Shāṭibiyyah this is the full extent (Khalaf, on شَيْء/شَيْئاً + ال "for some"). The broader system — a general sakt on every sākin before a hamzah (the munfaṣil) and Khallād's two-wajh — belongs to the al-Nashr / ṭuruq layer, not the Shāṭibī ṭarīq.
• Example: وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ — a brief silent pause on the yāʾ of شَيْءٍ before the hamzah.
• Matn: lines 227–228

Yāʾ al-iḍāfah (ياء الإضافة)¶

• Rule: Ḥamzah (both rāwīs alike) reads the first-person yāʾ with iskān in a large set of words that Ḥafṣ opens — the widest iskān profile among the seven.
• Iskān where Ḥafṣ has fatḥ:
  • وَجْهِيَ → وَجْهِيْ (Q3:20, 6:79) — line 414.
  • بَيْتِيَ → بَيْتِيْ (Q2:125, 22:26, 71:28) — line 414.
  • أُمِّيَ (Q5:116) and أَجْرِيَ in its nine places (Q10:72; 11:29, 51; 26:109, 127, 145, 164, 180; 34:47) — the صُحْبَة group — line 403.
  • يَدِيَ (Q5:28) — line 402.
  • مَعِيَ → مَعِيْ in all its places — lines 398, 417.
  • لِيَ → لِيْ in Q38:23, Q14:22, Q38:69, and وَلِيَ فِيهَا (Q20:18) — lines 417, 419.
  • وَلِيَ دِينِ → وَلِيْ دِينِ (Q109:6) — line 415.
  • مَا لِيَ → مَا لِيْ (Q27:20) — line 416.
  • مَا لِيَ (Q36:22) — Ḥamzah alone: iskān of the yāʾ in waṣl and waqf — line 419.
  • Before lām al-taʿrīf, iskān in thirteen of the fourteen disputed places (عِبَادِيَ in its five, أَرَادَنِيَ, رَبِّيَ الَّذِي, آتَانِيَ الْكِتَابَ, آيَاتِيَ, أَهْلَكَنِيَ, مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ Q21:83, مَسَّنِيَ الشَّيْطَانُ Q38:41, رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ Q7:33) — only عَهْدِي (Q2:124) is read with sukūn by Ḥafṣ too — lines 407–410.
• Example: Q6:79 إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيْ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ — sākin yāʾ where Ḥafṣ reads وَجْهِيَ.
• Matn: lines 388–419

Yāʾāt al-zawāʾid (ياءات الزَّوائِد)¶

• Rule: Ḥamzah's single affirmed zāʾidah is أَتُمِدُّونَنِ (Q27:36), which he reads أَتُمِدُّونِّي — a single doubled nūn with the yāʾ affirmed in both waṣl and waqf — line 421 (the nūn-idghām is given in the farsh, line 937).
• Also: دُعَاءِ (Q14:40) — yāʾ affirmed in waṣl (دُعَائِي) — line 425; and in فَمَا آتَانِ (Q27:36) Ḥamzah has no yāʾ in either state, while Ḥafṣ reads آتَانِيَ in waṣl and stops with two wajhs — line 429.
• Matn: lines 420–441

Farsh¶

The distinctive farsh of Khalaf ʿan Ḥamzah, in muṣḥaf order: each row gives the verse, Ḥafṣ's reading (for contrast), Khalaf's own reading, a Qurʾānic example, and the matn line. Only readings where Khalaf differs from Ḥafṣ are listed; rulings where Khalaf follows the Ḥafṣ/majority form are omitted. Rows marked (awaiting confirmation) are decoded from the matn but not yet cross-checked against a printed sharḥ.