al-Inaya bil-Quran al-Karim wa Ulumihi min Bidayat al-Qarn al-Rabi al-Hijri ila Asrina al-Hadir
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- King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran in Medina
al-Inaya bil-Quran al-Karim wa Ulumihi min Bidayat al-Qarn al-Rabi al-Hijri ila Asrina al-Hadir (Care for the Holy Quran and Its Sciences from the Beginning of the Fourth Hijri Century to Our Present Era) is a scholarly treatise by Dr. Nabil bin Muhammad Al Ismail, a faculty member in the Department of the Quran and Its Sciences at the Faculty of Usul al-Din in Riyadh . The work surveys the historical and institutional efforts undertaken by Muslim scholars and states to teach, preserve, and transmit the Quran and its auxiliary disciplines from the fourth century AH down to contemporary times .
Subject and Historical Scope
The author frames the study around the preeminence of Quranic studies and readings (qira'at), noting that the nobility of any discipline stems from its subject matter, with the Quran being the speech of God . Tracing the educational transmission of the Quran from the prophetic era through early learning circles in homes and mosques, the work highlights the evolution of Quranic teaching spaces into specialized schools attached to mosques and, subsequently, organized educational institutions—a transition marked by the founding of al-Madrasa al-Nizamiyya in Baghdad in 459 AH . The text draws on historical accounts, including citations from Ibn Hazm, to demonstrate how Quranic instruction expanded across Islamic territories .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into thematic chapters and sections covering both biographical history and modern developments:
- Scholars and Quranic Instruction (Chapter One): Titled Muslims' Efforts in Teaching the Quran and Qira'at and the Most Famous Scholars in This Regard (جهود المسلمين في تعليم القرآن والقراءات وأشهر العلماء في ذلك), this chapter contains two main sections . The first section surveys prominent figures in Quranic recitation and sciences from the 4th to the 14th century AH, providing concise biographical profiles arranged chronologically . These entries begin in the fourth century AH with figures such as the Baghdadi exegete and reciter Ahmad ibn Farah (d. 303 AH) and the Egyptian authority on the reading of Warsh, Abu Bakr ibn Sayf (d. 307 AH) .
- Modern Care and Institutional Efforts: The treatise examines contemporary services dedicated to the Quran, giving particular focus to initiatives in Saudi Arabia . It highlights fine typography and mass printing, audio recordings, translation of Quranic meanings and exegeses into living languages, memorization circles, and local and international competitions, alongside prominent contemporary Quranic scholars and reciters such as Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Hudhayfi, Ibrahim al-Akhdar, and Muhammad Ayyub .
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