Abu Muhammad Makki ibn Abi Talib al-Qaysi al-Qayrawani al-Andalusi al-Qurtubi, al-kashf 'an wujuh al-qira'at al-sab' wa 'ilaliha wa hijajiha ('Unveiling the Aspects of the Seven Recitations'), Near East, circa 1100 AD

Kitab al-kashf 'an wujuh al-qira'at al-sab' wa 'ilaliha wa hijajiha is an influential text on the Qur’anic science of qira’at. Considered as one of the most noble sciences, the discipline is fundamental as it refers to the articulation of the words of the Qur’an, such as they were articulated by the Prophet.

Abu Muhammad Makki ibn Abi Talib al-Qaysi al-Qayrawani al-Andalusi al-Qurtubi was born in Qairawan in 965 AD and died in Cordoba in 1045 AD. He journeyed between Qairawan and Mecca but most of his learning was completed in Cairo, where he studied for multiple periods commencing from the age of thirteen. In Cairo, his tutors included illustrious scholars in the fields of philology, qira’at and tajwid, among them Abu Bakr al-Udfuwi (d.998), Abu’l Tayyib ‘Abd al-Mu’min ibn Ghalbun al-Halabi (d.999) and his son Tahir ibn Ghalbun (d.1008).

Tahir ibn Ghalbun’s tutelage was valuable and his Kitab al-tadhkira fi’l-qira’at became the foundation of the present text, as well as al-Taysir fi al-qira'at al-Sab' of Abu 'Amr Uthman ibn Sa'id ibn 'Umar al-Umawi al-Dani. Makki eventually composed around a hundred recorded works, primarily in the field of qira’at and he went on to be considered one of the earliest and most eminent scholars in the science of Qira’at in the Muslim West in his own right (Neuwirth 1991, p.188).

The earliest recorded copy of Kitab al-kashf was copied in Mecca 1033 AD, now in Berlin. This early manuscript text was produced circa 1100 AD and most likely copied within the century following the death of its author. For further manuscripts of the text see Brockelmann, GAL, I, pp.406-7, and S., p.719.

This manuscript is accompanied by a radiocarbon dating report that supports the proposed date of production of circa 1100 AD, indicating a likely date of 1030-1175 AD.