Ulum al Qur'an. Ahmad Von Denffer

      

       ‘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

Preface

Foreword to the Second Edition

Introduction

1. The Qur’ān and Revelation

Revelation and Scripture before the Qur’ān

The Qur’ān, Ḥadīth and Ḥadīth Qudsī

Revelation and how it came to the Prophet Muḥammad

Beginning of the Revelation

2. Transmission of the Qur’ānic Revelation

Memorisation and Oral Transmission

Transmission of the Written Text

The Maṣāḥif of the Companions

The Muṣḥaf of ‘Uthmān

       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.

Preface

      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