al-Madkhal li-Dirasat al-Quran al-Karim
- Author died
- 1403 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Sunnah
Al-Madkhal li-Dirasat al-Quran al-Karim (An Introduction to the Study of the Noble Quran) is a treatise on Quranic sciences by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Abu Shahba (d. 1403 AH / 1983 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Abu Shahba authored the work after being assigned to teach Quranic sciences (ulum al-Quran) in the Department of Graduate Studies at the Faculty of Usul al-Din at al-Azhar University for the specialized branch of Quranic exegesis (tafsir) and hadith . He designed it as an intermediate textbook—neither overly lengthy nor defectively brief—intended as a foundational reference for graduate students and researchers . He considered it the first work in this specific discipline produced by a scholar of his generation for that graduate division .
Content and Method
The book integrates classical presentations of Quranic sciences with contemporary apologetics and critical engagement . Its main subjects include:
- The definition, linguistic etymology, and prominent names of the Quran, as well as the conceptual scope of Quranic sciences .
- The transmission of the Quranic text through mass transmission (tawatur) and its preservation from corruption or alteration .
- The revelation of the Quran according to the "seven modes" (sab'at ahruf) .
- The arrangement and enumeration of Quranic verses (ayat) and chapters (suwar), demonstrating that verse ordering was divinely determined by consensus (tawqifi) .
- Detailed refutations of arguments advanced by Western orientalists and modern polemicists concerning alleged omissions or discrepancies in the text .
In later revisions, the author expanded sections addressing the conclusive epistemological certainty of the text's preservation and responses to misconceptions surrounding early variant readings and dialectal modes .
Publication
The work was printed in a single volume, including editions published by Maktabat al-Sunna in Cairo .
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