LessonsAl-Ḥārith al-Aʿwar: Narrator Criticism, Variant Reports and EvidenceQuiz

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ مُغِيرَةَ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: قَالَ عَلْقَمَةُ: قَرَأْتُ الْقُرْآنَ فِي سَنَتَيْنِ. فَقَالَ الْحَارِثُ: الْقُرْآنُ هَيِّنٌ، الْوَحْيُ أَشَدُّ.
Translation: Through Qutaybah, Jarīr, Mughīrah and Ibrāhīm, ʿAlqamah said: I completed reading the Qurʾān in two years. Al-Ḥārith replied: The Qurʾān is easy; waḥy is harder.

ʿAlqamah’s statement and al-Ḥārith’s reply are different speakers’ words. The interpretive question is what «الْوَحْيُ» denotes here. The word alone does not prove a claim to revelation for someone other than a prophet.

The reply raised criticism, but identifying the intended sense requires the historical context, related statements and the commentator’s analysis rather than inference from an isolated term.

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ʿAlqamah’s statement and “al-waḥy is harder”

Al-Ḥārith al-Aʿwar: Narrator Criticism, Variant Reports and Evidence

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ مُغِيرَةَ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: قَالَ عَلْقَمَةُ: قَرَأْتُ الْقُرْآنَ فِي سَنَتَيْنِ. فَقَالَ الْحَارِثُ: الْقُرْآنُ هَيِّنٌ، الْوَحْيُ أَشَدُّ.
Translation: Through Qutaybah, Jarīr, Mughīrah and Ibrāhīm, ʿAlqamah said: I completed reading the Qurʾān in two years. Al-Ḥārith replied: The Qurʾān is easy; waḥy is harder.

ʿAlqamah’s statement and al-Ḥārith’s reply are different speakers’ words. The interpretive question is what «الْوَحْيُ» denotes here. The word alone does not prove a claim to revelation for someone other than a prophet.

The reply raised criticism, but identifying the intended sense requires the historical context, related statements and the commentator’s analysis rather than inference from an isolated term.