Ulum al-Qur'an

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Ulum al-Qur'an :
An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an,
*[A5] Paperback - 199 pages,
**by Ahmad Von Denffer,
Published by Islamic Foundation.

Description :

This work is the first of its kind in English, covering the entire spectrum of Qur'anic Sciences. Precise, concise and systematic in its coverage of traditional subjects as meaning of revelation, history and transmission of the text of the Holy Qur'an, Asbab al-Nuzul (occasion of revelation), commentaries, etc. It also touches on topics such as Orientalism, and issues of Arabic script.

The branch of knowledge, called 'Ulum al-Qur'an' may be used as a means for the accomplishment of the second stage, understanding the message of the Qur'an, by understanding its setting and circumstances. According to a general definition, 'Ulum al-Qur'an [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-Tibyan fi 'Ulum al-Qur-an, Beirut, 1970, p.10.] denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, ?, 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 Makkah and what in Madina,
   *** About the abrogating and abrogated verses,
   *** About the 'clear' and the 'unclear' verses.

The aim of this book as all 'Ulum al-Qur'an is to help towards a better understanding of the Qur'anic message by providing information on its setting, framework and circumstances. To a great extent it is a descriptive account of the traditional subject of 'Ulum al-Qur'an. Some branches of 'Ulum al-Qur'an, such as the divisions of the text, style, literary form etc., have only been touched upon briefly, while others that seemed more important have been dealt with in more detail. In particular such topics related to the understanding of the text (Asbab al-Nuzul, al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh, etc.) have been treated more extensively while others, such as the 'seven Ahruf' or the 'Uthmanic writing, which are of benefit only to readers with a good knowledge of classical Arabic, have been introduced, but not elaborated upon.

**This book, as with most academic books should only be used with the guidance of a qualified scholar.

More on the Qur'anic Sciences,
Also see Qur'an/Tafsir related books.