The Quran in the Ad-Duri ‘an al-Kisa’i riwaya

Al-Duri ‘an al-Kisa’i is one of the two transmissions of the reading of al-Kisa’i, the reader and grammarian of Kufa. Its transmitter, Hafs ibn ‘Umar al-Duri (767–860; 150–246 AH), a blind reader of Baghdad, is the same man who transmitted the reading of Abu ‘Amr; he studied directly with al-Kisa’i. Seldom recited today, it is mainly preserved in the teaching of the readings.

‘Ali ibn Hamza al-Kisa’i (d. 805; 189 AH), named after the cloak (kisa’) he wore in the state of pilgrim sanctity, read the whole Quran four times with Hamza, composed his own selected reading and became the leading reader of Kufa before settling in Baghdad, where he tutored the sons of Harun al-Rashid. Al-Duri, who travelled to collect the readings, is said to have been the first to gather them in a book.

Like Abu al-Harith, al-Duri follows al-Kisa’i's reading: Māliki yawmi d-dīn with a long alif, a medium madd, full imala as in Hamza's reading of al-hudā, and the final syllable of words ending in -a(h) inclined towards "e" when pausing (raḥmah). He stands apart through a handful of words that he alone pronounces with imala, such as ru’yāka (12:5), ādhānihim, ṭughyānihim or bāri’ikum (2:54).

Reciters who have recorded it include Mahmoud El Sheimy, Mishary Rashid Alafasy, Abdul Rashid Ali Sufi, Mohamed Abdel Hakim Saad Al Abdullah and Muftah Alsaltany.