‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān
An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur’ān
Ahmad Von Denffer
THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION
© The Islamic Foundation, First published 1983/1403 H
Reprinted 1985, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2011
Revised 1994
eISBN: 9780860376217
Published by
THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Denffer, Ahmad Von
‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān: an introduction to the sciences of the Qur’ān
1. Koran – Commentaries
2. Title
297’.1226 BP130.4
Typesetting Nasir Cadir
Cover design Imtiaz Ahmad Manjra
Contents
Foreword to the Second Edition
Revelation and Scripture before the Qur’ān
The Qur’ān, Ḥadīth and Ḥadīth Qudsī
Revelation and how it came to the Prophet Muḥammad
2. Transmission of the Qur’ānic Revelation
Memorisation and Oral Transmission
Transmission of the Written Text
3. The Qur’ān in Manuscript and Print
The Qur’ānic Script
Early Manuscripts
Old Manuscripts of the Qur’ān
The Qur’ān in Print
4. Form, Language and Style
Divisions of the Text
Language and Vocabulary
Literary Forms and Style
Style
Muḥkamāt and Mutashābihāt
5. Understanding the Text
Makkan and Madinan Revelations
Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Al-Nāsikh wa al-Mansūkh
Variety of Modes
The Various Readings
6. Interpreting the Text
Tafsīr, its Kinds and Principles
The Tafsīr Literature
Translation of the Qur’ān
7. Some Related Issues
The Qur’ān as a Miracle
The Qur’ān and Science
The Qur’ān and the Orientalists
8. Reading and Studying the Qur’ān
Etiquette with the Qur’ān
Reciting the Qur’ān
Memorisation of the Qur’ān
The Qur’ān on Records, Tapes and Cassettes
How to Study the Qur’ān
Reference
Select Bibliography
Supplementary Select Bibliography
Plates
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Mercy-giving.
The Qur’ān, while being revealed, was a living event for those who heard it. It was a part of their lives; rather the life itself, and not merely a book. One hardly needs a whole lot of external aids to understand one’s own life. However, the words that were alive were also being written down; becoming the Book. Some loss is inevitable in such a process – the text no more remains as alive, as understandable, for all the subsequent hearers as for the first – yet there is no alternative to it. For without having been written down, the priceless treasure could not have been transferred from one generation to another. But a written text, over time, stands in need of more and more