and peace be upon him, that the development of disciplines and branches of knowledge which were related to the understanding of the Qur’ān and considered necessary for this purpose – what we call the ‘ulūm al-qur’ān – began. The need to understand what the various words and texts correctly and fully meant was present from the very beginning; thus the rudiments of exegesis (tafsīr) and lexicon (mufradāt, gharā’ib, lugha) were laid. Gradually the range of questions became wider and wider. What was revealed when and where? On what occasion and under what circumstances? Were variant readings permissible; and, if permissible, what were those? Which verses superseded which? How was the Qur’ān arranged and how was it gathered? These are only some of the questions which were raised and answered. Around these answers developed the ‘ulūm al-qur’ān.
Writing books was the hallmark of Islamic culture; the ‘ulūm al-qur’ān were no exception. Books on various aspects began to be compiled in the very first century of Hijra; for example, the first books on tafsīr are attributed to the Companions, Ubay ‘Ibn Ka‘b and ‘Abdullāh Ibn ‘Abbās, and to Sa‘īd Ibn Jubair (d. 93H); ‘Ikrima (d. I07H) wrote on the reasons and circumstances of revelation. By the end of the third century, a very large number of books appear to have been written, but none of them were comprehensive and all of them are not extant. The need of a systematic, comprehensive compilation must have been felt. The first such work is reported to have been written by Abū Bakr Muḥammad Ibn Khalaf (d. 309H) in 27 volumes, known as al-ḥādī fī ‘ulūm al-qur’ān, but the first extant book is that of Burhānuddīn Zarkashī (d. 794H), al-burhān fī ‘ulūm al-qur’ān. This was followed by Jalāluddīn Suyūṭī’s (d. 911H) al-itqān fī ‘ulūm al-qur’ān, based mostly on Zarkashī’s al-burhān. Suyūṭī’s al-itqān serves as a standard source book on the ‘ulūm al-qur’ān.
However, there was no book in English language on this subject. Brother Ahmad Von Denffer has therefore rendered a great service by compiling the first English book, which fills a very serious and deeply felt gap. An average English reader, especially a student, who has no access to an Arabic text like al-itqān, had nothing to help him in understanding the Qur’ān. Ahmad’s book should now provide valuable assistance to him in his task.
I believe that one can still absorb the message of the Qur’ān without any external aid, if one goes to it in an appropriate way. But to understand the meaning of all the verses without a knowledge of the ‘ulūm al-qur’ān would be well-nigh impossible. Hence the information provided by Ahmad Von Denffer should prove indispensible to anyone who cannot reach the Arabic sources. It is precise, brief, yet quite comprehensive.
I am happy that the Islamic Foundation is publishing such a useful work. I pray to Allah subḥānahū wa ta‘ālā to accept our humble efforts and to grant us His mercy and forgiveness.
| Dhū al-Qa‘da 1403 | Khurram Murad |
| August 1983 | Director General |
| Leicester, U.K. |
Foreword to the Second Edition
This book, an introduction to the Sciences of the Qur’ān, was compiled more than a decade ago and since then it has run into two reprint editions. For some time it has been out of print. The book has received acclamation from many quarters and there was a need to bring out a revised edition, eliminating some of the printing mistakes and standardising the system of transliteration.
In this new edition, therefore, we have tried to correct such mistakes, standardise the transliteration of Arabic and foreign words and have made a few necessary minor additions. Modern researches have been duly credited in a supplementary bibliography. I hope readers of ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān will find the book of great value and will benefit immensely from the new bibliographical information.
I am grateful to my colleagues, in particular Mokrane Guezzou, for going through the book and suggesting necessary alterations and corrections. May Allah accept this humble contribution of the Foundation and make it a source of reference for students of the Qur’ān.
| Rabī‘ al-Awwal 1415 | M. Manazir Ahsan |
| August 1994 | Director General |
The Qur’ān contains the revelations of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, to mankind. It is the message from God to man and therefore of utmost importance to us. To properly grasp a message, one needs first of all to understand its contents exactly, and for this purpose one must study the Qur’ān deeply and in detail. In fact, some people do spend their whole lives studying the Qur’ān, reading and reflecting upon it and, as they grow and develop, both physically and spiritually, they discover for themselves new meanings and implications.
Secondly, some special knowledge of the circumstances that surround the message is also necessary for fuller understanding of its meaning and implications. Although some part of this special knowledge can be derived from the Qur’an itself, there remain other areas of knowledge that can only be discovered by wider study and research.
Muslims have, from earliest times, applied themselves not only to the message from Allah – the Qur’ān – but also to its setting and framework, and the preoccupation with these ultimately developed into the ‘sciences’ of or ‘knowledge’ about the Qur’ān, known as ‘‘ulūm al-qur’ān’.
The proper approach to the Qur’ān, in my humble view, can be described in three stages. You must:
• first, receive the message of the Qur’ān, by hearing or reading it;
• second, understand the message of the Qur’ān by reflecting upon it and studying its meanings;
• third, apply the message of the Qur’ān by ordering your personal life as well as the life of society according to its message.
The branch of knowledge, called ‘ulūm al-qur’ān may be used as a means for the accomplishment of the second stage, understanding the message of the Qur’ān, by understanding its setting and circumstances.
According to a general definition, ‘ulūm al-qur’ān1 denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muḥammad,2 namely:
— Its revelation.
— Its collection.
— Its order and arrangement.
— Its writing down.
— Information about the reasons and occasions of revelation.
— About what was revealed in Makka and what in Madina.
— About the abrogating and abrogated verses.
— About the ‘clear’ and the ‘unclear’ verses.
The term also covers Qur’ān-related studies, such as:
— The explanation of verses and passages by the Prophet himself, his Companions, their followers and the later exegetes of the Qur’ān.
— The methods of explanation.
— The scholars of exegesis and their books.
The aim of this book – as all ‘ulūm al-qur’ān – is to help towards a better understanding of the Qur’ānic message by providing information on its setting, framework and circumstances. To a great extent it is a descriptive account of the traditional subject of ‘ulūm al-qur’ān. Some branches of ‘ulūm al-qur’ān, such as the divisions of the text, style, literary form