al-Muqawwimat al-Shakhsiyya li-Muallim al-Quran al-Karim
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- King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran
al-Muqawwimat al-Shakhsiyya li-Muallim al-Quran al-Karim (Personal Constituents of the Teacher of the Noble Quran) is a treatise by the Palestinian scholar Hazim Haydar examining the essential personal, intellectual, and pedagogical qualifications required for teachers and instructors of the Quran and its recitation modes (qira'at) .
Background and Purpose
The author frames the work around the pivotal role of the teacher in Islamic education, emphasizing that Quranic transmission fundamentally relies on oral recitation, direct audition, personal reception, and continuous chains of transmission (isnad) rather than book-learning alone . He traces institutional and pedagogical concern for Quran teachers back to early Islamic history, beginning with Caliph Uthman ibn Affan dispatching designated reciters alongside the standard codices (masahif) to major metropolitan centers (amsar) to instruct their communities .
The work includes a preliminary discussion highlighting the merits of learning and teaching the Quran—citing the prophetic tradition خيركم من تعلم القرآن وعلمه ("The best of you is he who learns the Quran and teaches it")—and traces the emergence of specialized reciters (qurra') and instructors back to the era of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his Companions .
Structure and Contents
The book divides the necessary attributes of the Quran instructor into three core thematic chapters:
- Intrinsic Qualifications (المقومات الذاتية): Focuses on the teacher's internal character, ethics, and religious foundation. The author highlights four primary traits, leading with firm adherence to orthodox creed (aqida) following the method of the early righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-salih) .
- Scholarly Qualifications (المقومات العلمية): Emphasizes that instructors must not limit themselves merely to rote memorization of the Quranic text, but must master foundational Islamic disciplines—starting with theology—as well as the specialized rules of recitation and related sciences .
- Pedagogical Qualifications (المقومات التربوية): Outlines practical instructional skills, teaching manners, and communication methods necessary for effective mentorship in the study circles .
In setting pedagogical standards, the author draws on classical treatises across the history of Quranic scholarship, citing ethical and instructional models established by scholars such as Abu Muzahim al-Khaqani, Makki ibn Abi Talib, al-Shatibi, Ibn al-Jazari, and al-Sifaqisi .
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