Al-Ubbi’s Methodology in Qur’anic Recitations (Qira’at) through his Book: Ikmal Ikmal al-Mu’lim bi Sharh Sahih Muslim

Abstract

This research examines the methodology of the eminent scholar and Hadith specialist Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Adam al-Etyopi (d. 1442 AH) in the science of Qira’at (Quranic recitations) through his encyclopedic work, "Al-Bahr al-Muhit al-Thajjaj fi Sharh Sahih Muslim bin al-Hajjaj." The study seeks to highlight the "Qur’anic" and linguistic dimensions of Sheikh al-Etyopi’s personality, who was known as the Hadith scholar of the era. It reveals how he employed Quranic recitations—both frequent (mutawatir) and anomalous (shadhdh)—as a central tool in interpreting Prophetic texts, deducing legal rulings, and analyzing obscure vocabulary. The research relies on inductive and descriptive-analytical methods to track the instances where al-Etyopi cited recitations, while analyzing his weighted preferences and scholarly critiques. The study concludes that Sheikh al-Etyopi possessed a critical Hadith-based faculty that linked narration (riwayah) with comprehension (dirayah), demonstrating a unique cognitive integration between the modes of recitation and the indications of the Sunnah, making his commentary an authentic contemporary reference in the justification and explanation of Quranic recitations.