al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran

al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran (The Two Foundations in the Sciences of the Quran) is a treatise on Quranic studies by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Abd al-Munim al-Qayii (d. 1411 AH / 1991 CE), former head of the Department of Quranic Exegesis (tafsir) at the Faculty of Usul al-Din in Cairo at Al-Azhar University al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran. The book organizes the foundational disciplines of Quranic scholarship into an introductory manual designed to prepare students for the interpretation and comprehension of the Quran al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran+1.

Purpose and Title

The author defines the sciences of the Quran (ulum al-Quran) not as a single standalone discipline with a singular subject, but as an array of fields connecting to the Quran through two overarching foundations (aslan): one rooted in religion and its branches, and the other in the Arabic language and its branches al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran. This conceptual division provides the basis for the book's title al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran.

Al-Qayii likens the role of Quranic sciences in relation to exegesis (tafsir) to the role of legal theory (usul al-fiqh) in relation to substantive law (fiqh), serving as an indispensable methodological prerequisite for understanding the text and deriving its guidance and legislation al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran+1. In compiling the work, he sought to distill the core material of the field in a focused style that avoids both tedious prolixity and confusing brevity al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran.

Structure and Content

The book opens with an introduction outlining the definition, development, and modern literature of Quranic sciences, referencing contemporary twentieth-century works such as al-Tibyan fi Ulum al-Quran by Tahir al-Jaza'iri, Manhaj al-Furqan by Muhammad Ali Salama, and Manahil al-Irfan by Muhammad Abd al-Azim al-Zarqani al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran+1.

The core text is structured into twenty numbered subjects (mawdu'at) al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran:

1. Places, times, and circumstances of revelation (amakin al-nuzul wa-azmanuh wa-ahwaluh)
2. Revelation and related questions (al-nuzul wa-ma yata'allaq bih)
3. The unambiguous and the ambiguous (al-muhkam wa-l-mutashabih)
4. Textual correlations and verse-endings (al-munasabat wa-l-fawasil)
5. Abrogation and apparent textual contradictions (al-naskh wa-muhim al-ikhtilaf)
6. Variant readings, transmissions, pauses, and orthoepy (al-qira'at wa-l-isnad wa-l-waqf wa-l-tajwid)
7. Virtues of the Quran and related legal rulings (fadl al-Quran wa-ahkam tata'allaq bih)
8. Compilation and recording of the Quran (jam' al-Quran wa-tadwinuh)
9. Exegesis and exegetes (al-tafsir wa-l-mufassirun)
10. Hermeneutical and legal deduction (al-istinbat)
11. The inimitability of the Quran (i'jaz al-Quran)
12. Lexical meanings (ma'ani al-mufradat)
13. Objectives of the surahs and grammatical particles, nouns, and verbs needed by the exegete (maqasid al-suwar...)
14. Syntax and uncommon dialects (al-i'rab wa-ghayr al-mashhur min al-lughat)
15. Rhetorical arts (funun al-balagha)
16. Word relationships and usage ('alaqat al-kalimat ba'diha bi-ba'd wa-isti'maluha)
17. Modes of persuasion (wasa'il al-iqna')
18. Quranic expressions, their significations, and categories (al-lafz al-Qur'ani dalalatuh wa-aqsamuh)
19. Translation of the Quran (tarjamat al-Quran)
20. Essential rules of exegesis (ahamm qawa'id al-tafsir)

Composition and Editions

Al-Qayii completed the revision of the text on 28 Dhu al-Hijjah 1404 AH (23 September 1984 CE), noting in his conclusion that he excised unnecessary details from the earlier edition while adding needed discussions al-Aslan fi Ulum al-Quran. A third edition of the work was published in 1417 AH (c. 1996–1997 CE) Al-Iman bil-Yawm al-Akhir….