Fath al-Rahman fi Bayan Hijr al-Quran
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- Dar Ibn Khuzaymah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
Fath al-Rahman fi Bayan Hijr al-Quran (The Opening of the All-Merciful Concerning the Clarification of Abandoning the Quran) is an Islamic treatise co-authored by Abu Abd al-Rahman Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Mallah and Abu Anas Muhammad ibn Fathi Al Abd al-Aziz, focusing on the legal rulings, manifestations, and remedies associated with neglecting or abandoning the Quran.
Background and Purpose
The authors compiled the work to warn the Muslim community against the multifaceted forms of abandoning the Quran, to elucidate its worldly and otherworldly consequences, and to encourage a comprehensive return to Quranic teachings. They framed the book's premise around the verse: وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا ("And the Messenger said, 'O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Quran as [a thing] abandoned'") [Al-Furqan: 30], observing that neglect had manifested across several spheres, including recitation, listening, contemplation, practice, healing, and legal arbitration.
The compilation was encouraged by the preacher Muhammad Hassan, while parts of its research were reviewed prior to publication by Muhammad Safwat al-Shawadifi (the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian magazine Al-Tawhid), along with contributions and support from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Abd al-Aziz of Dar Umm al-Qura, Muhammad Nabih Dayfallah of al-Azhar, and Jamal Abd al-Rahman of the Ansar al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyyah society.
Structure and Contents
The book is arranged into an introduction (tamhid), six thematic chapters (abwab), and a conclusion (khatimah):
- Introduction: Defines the abandonment of the Quran (hijr al-Quran), outlines its consequences, and surveys its primary categories.
- Chapter One: Abandoning recitation (Hijr al-Tilawah).
- Chapter Two: Abandoning listening to the Quran (Hijr al-Istima').
- Chapter Three: Abandoning reflection and contemplation (Hijr al-Tadabbur).
- Chapter Four: Abandoning practical application and action (Hijr al-'Amal).
- Chapter Five: Abandoning seeking remedies and bodily and spiritual healing through the Quran (Hijr al-Tadawi wa-l-Istishfa').
- Chapter Six: Abandoning arbitration by the Quran and Islamic law (Hijr al-Tahakum).
- Conclusion: Summarizes the book's principal objectives, urging regular daily recitation, attentive listening, reflective reading, holistic implementation of divine commands, seeking healing in the Quran, and adhering strictly to revelation in governance.
Method and Sources
The authors relied on collecting, organizing, and synthesizing the statements of classical and contemporary Islamic scholars, documenting citations in the footnotes rather than appending a standalone bibliography at the end. Quranic verses are cited with chapter names and verse numbers, and hadiths are cross-referenced with evaluations of their authenticity, drawing predominantly on the grading works of Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani.
Reception and Publication
The work received introductory endorsements and prefaces from several contemporary figures, including Sa'id ibn Musfar al-Qahtani, Abd Allah ibn Mani' al-Rawaqi, and Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Dawsari. Al-Qahtani praised it for compiling scholarly rulings rooted in Quranic verses and authentic hadith, while al-Rawaqi noted its extensive documentation and described it as filling a gap in Islamic literature on the topic. Al-Dawsari acknowledged relying on the work while preparing his doctoral dissertation, Hijr al-Quran al-'Azim: Anwa'uhu wa-Ahkamuh, noting that it was the first extensive study of the subject.
The book has been printed across multiple editions by publishing houses including Dar Ibn Khuzaymah and Dar Tayyibat al-Khadra' in Mecca. In their preface to the revised and expanded third edition, dated 23 Jumada al-Akhirah 1429 AH in Riyadh, the authors incorporated additional legal rulings (such as the rulings on listening to the Quran and seeking treatment), added subheadings, and rectified typographical errors and omitted footnotes from the second edition.
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