Nafiʽ al-Madani

Abu Ruwaym Ibn ʽAbd ar-Rahman Ibn Abi Naʽim al-Laythi (Arabic: أبو رويم بن عبدالرحمن بن أبي النعيم الليثي)(70-169AH), better known as Nafiʽ al-Madani, was one of the transmitters of the seven canonical Qira'at,^[1] or methods of reciting the Qur'an.^[2] Outside of Egypt, his method of Qur'an recitation is the most popular in Africa in general,^[3] and his chain of narration returning to the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad is well-attested.^[4]

Nafiʽ was born in the year 689CE,^[5] and he died in the year 785CE.^[6][4] His family was from Isfahan, though he himself was born and died in Medina.^[4]

His method of recitation via his two most famous students, Qalun and Warsh, is the most common Quran reading mode in North Africa, West Africa and Qatar. He had a total of four canonical transmitters of his recitation; in addition to Qalun and Warsh, he also transmitted his reading to Isma'il bin Ja'far al-Ansari and Ishaq bin Muhammad al-Musayyabi.^[7] Nafi's style of reading became so popular that it eventually eclipsed that of his teachers in Medina.^[4]