Brief info on the 7 Imams (Sab'a)

The names of the 7 Imams are listed in ascending order according to their date of demise.

(1) 'Abdullah al-Hisbi, better known as Ibn 'Amir (d 118 ah):
He was fortunate to have seen Sayyiduna Nu'man ibn Bashir (R) and Wathilah ibn Asqa (R) from among the companions. He had learnt the art of Qur'ainic recitation from Mughirah ibn Shihab Makhzumi (R) who was the student of Sayyiduna 'Uthman (R). His reading gained currency mostly in Syria, and more famous among those who transmitted his qira’at are Hisham and Dhakwan.

(2) 'Abdullah ibn Kathir al-Dari (d 120 ah):
He was fortunate enough to have seen Sayyidna Anas ibn Malik (R), 'Abdullah ibn Zubayr (R) and Abu Ayyub al-
Ansari (R) from amongst the companions. His reading became more famous in Makkah al-Mukarramah. Well known among those who transmitted his qira’at are Bazzi and Qumbul.

(3) 'Asim ibn Abi al-Nujood al-Asadi (d 127 ah):
Through Zirr ibn Hubaysh, he is a student of 'Abdullah ibn Masud (R) and through Abu 'Abd al-Rahman Sulami, he is a student of Sayyiduna Ali (R). More famous among the transmitters of his qira’at are Shu'bah ibn 'Ayyash (d 193 ah) and Hafs ibn Sulayman (d 180 ah). The recitation of the Holy Qur'an these days is generally made according to the narration of this very Hafs ibn Sulayman.

(4) Abu 'Amr Zabban ibn al-'Ala (d 154 ah):
He has reported his qira’at from Sayyiduna ibn 'Abbas and 'Ubayy ibn Ka'b (R) through Mujahid and Sa'eed ibn
Jubayr (R). His reading became fairly well known in Basrah. Abu 'Umar al-Doori (d 246 ah) and Abu Shu'ayb al-Soosi (d 261 ah) are among the more famous transmitters of his qira’at.

(5) Nafi' ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Nu'aym (d 169 ah):
He had the benefit of learning from seventy successors to the companions (Taabi’oon) who were direct students of Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka'b (R), 'Abdullah ibn Abbas (R) and Abu Hurayrah (R). His reading became more famous in Madinah and among those who transmitted his qira’at, Abu Musa Qaloon (d 220 ah) and Abu Sa'eed Warsh (d 197 ah) are better known.

(6) Hamzah ibn Habib al-Zayyat, ex-slave of 'Ikramah ibn Rabi' al-Taymi (d 188 ah):
He is a student of Sulayman al-A'mash, who was a student of Yahya ibn Waththab, who was a student of Zirr ibn
Hubaysh and he had the benefit of learning from 'Uthman (R), Ali (R) and 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (R). Among his transmitters, Khalaf ibn Hisham (d 188 ah) and Khallad ibn Khalid (d 220 ah) are more famous.

(7) Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Hamzah al-Kisa’ee al-Nahwi (d 189 ah):
Among his transmitters, Abu al-Harith Maruzi (d 240 ah) and Abu 'Umar al-Doori (who is also a transmitter of Abu 'Amr Basri) are better known. The readings of Imams 'Asim, Hamza and Kisa’ee became more common in Kufah.

Refer to 'Ma'aarif al-Qur'an' Mufti Muhammad Shafi Saheb, vol1 pg33-34, I'tiqad publishing house, Delhi.

The PDF of 'Ma'aarif al-Qur'an' can be found at:
http://www.central-mosque.com/quran/maariful_quran.pdf

al-'abd