of him: that he recites only what he transmits, not merely what he considers correct. It is reported that he said, “I am indeed ashamed before Allah to recite ‘In hādhāni (These two).’” This was because he could see no grammatical justification for it in Arabic. Some considered Abū ‘Amr mistaken in this reading, including al-Zajjāj, who said, “I do not permit Abū ‘Amr’s reading, which differs from the written Quran.”

As for the well-known reading that accords with the Quran’s written form, many grammarians defended it on the grounds that this was the dialect of Banū al-Hārith ibn Ka‘b. Several authorities on Arabic have reported this usage.

Al-Mahdawī said: “Banū al-Hārith ibn Ka‘b say darabtu al-Zaydāni (‘I struck the two Zayds’) and marartu bi-al-Zaydāni (‘I passed by the two Zayds’), just as one says jā’anī al-Zaydāni (‘The two Zayds came to me’).” Al-Mahdawī said that Abū Zayd, al-Akhfash, al-Kisā’ī and al-Farrā’ reported this usage. Abū al-Khattāb reported that it was the dialect of Banū Kinānah, while another reported that it was the dialect of Khath‘am. An example is the poet’s words:

“He bore away from us, between his ears (udhunāhu), a ruinous blow,
which summoned him into the dusty depths.”

Ibn al-Anbārī said: “It is a dialectal usage of Banū al-Hārith ibn Ka‘b and Quraysh.” Al-Zajjāj said that Abū ‘Ubaydah reported from Abū al-Khattāb—one of the foremost authorities in transmitting Arabic usage—that this was the dialect of Kinānah: they retain the same form with the dual alif in the nominative, accusative and genitive cases. They cited the verse:

“He lowered his head as a serpent does; and had the serpent found
an opening for its two fangs (nābāhu), it would have bitten and held fast.”