Fahm al-Quran
- Author died
- 243 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kindī
Fahm al-Quran (Understanding the Quran) is a 3rd-century AH / 9th-century CE treatise on Quranic sciences and hermeneutics by the Baghdadi theologian and ascetic al-Harith al-Muhasibi (d. 243 AH / 857 CE) . It is considered one of the earliest extant works dedicated to the disciplines of Quranic studies (ulum al-Quran) .
Scope and Structure
The work is organized into thematic sections addressing theoretical hermeneutics, legal abrogation, theological polemics, and Quranic stylistic analysis:
- Limits of Abrogation: In the third section, al-Muhasibi delineates what may and may not be abrogated within the Quranic text . He establishes that abrogation (naskh) applies exclusively to legal rulings, commands, and prohibitions, whereas divine names and attributes (asma wa-sifat) and historical or theological reports (akhbar) can never be abrogated . He declares that claiming abrogation in divine reports or attributes amounts to disbelief, as it implies attributing falsehood or alteration to God .
- Rulings on Abrogation: The fifth section classifies legal abrogation into fifteen distinct categories . To establish the relative chronology required to determine abrogating and abrogated passages, al-Muhasibi prefaces this discussion with an overview of the distinction between Meccan and Medinan surahs (al-Makki wa-al-Madani) and surveys scholarly views regarding their enumeration .
- Linguistic and Rhetorical Devices: In the sixth section, al-Muhasibi analyzes Quranic literary styles and grammatical conventions (asalib al-Quran), discussing word transposition (al-taqdim wa-al-ta'khir), ellipsis (al-idmar), emphatic or pleonastic particles (al-huruf al-za'idah), and pausing and connection (al-fasl wa-al-wasl) in recitation and syntax .
Method and Sources
In his exposition, al-Muhasibi integrates early grammatical and philological traditions, showing the influence of early linguistic works such as Majaz al-Quran by Abu Ubaydah Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna as well as the teachings and transmissions of his teacher Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam .
The book carries an explicit polemical dimension situated in early Abbasid theological disputes . Al-Muhasibi argues against Mu'tazilite, Shi'ite (Rafidite), and anthropomorphist (Mushabbihah / Hashwiyyah) interpretations, particularly concerning the interpretation of ambiguous verses (al-mutashabihat) and the nature of divine attributes and divine will .
Reception and Editions
Fahm al-Quran served as a key source for later scholars studying early theological positions and Quranic hermeneutics. Ibn Taymiyyah cited the work extensively in texts such as Dar' Ta'arud al-Aql wa-al-Naql and al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyyah al-Kubra, especially relying on al-Muhasibi's arguments regarding the non-abrogation of divine attributes and divine reports .
The text has been published in modern editions, notably edited by Husayn al-Quwatli (under titles including Fahm al-Quran wa-Ma'anih and published alongside al-Muhasibi's treatise Kitab al-Aql) through Dar al-Kindi and Dar al-Fikr in Beirut .
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