Mabahith fi Ulum al-Quran li-Manna al-Qattan
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Maʻārif lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ
Mabahith fi Ulum al-Quran (Studies in the Sciences of the Quran) is an academic handbook on Quranic sciences written by the Egyptian scholar and professor at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Manna al-Qattan (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) . The single-volume work serves as a comprehensive modern introduction to the foundational disciplines, historical development, and interpretive principles of the Quran .
Background and Purpose
Al-Qattan explained in his preface that the first edition was prepared in response to requests to offer a concise compilation of the core subjects of Quranic studies . It was intended for students and Muslim youth who lacked the opportunity to delve into voluminous classical reference manuals, providing them with essential knowledge in clear phrasing and a structured arrangement while sparing them the difficulty of navigating dense classical prose styles .
Content and Structure
The book spans about three hundred pages and systematically covers twenty-six core topics and chapters :
- Foundations and Revelation: The definition and historiographical development of ulum al-Quran; the definition, titles, and characteristics of the Quran, alongside distinctions between the Quran, hadith qudsi (sacred hadith), and prophetic hadith; and the nature of divine revelation (al-wahy), its modes, and responses to the claims of skeptics .
- Chronology and Context: The Makkan and Medinan revelations (al-Makki wal-Madani) and their distinguishing criteria; the first and last revealed passages; causes of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) and their hermeneutical and pedagogical value; and the descent of the Quran, including its piecemeal revelation (tanjim) and the divine wisdom behind it .
- Transmission and Textual History: The compilation and preservation of the Quran during the prophetic era, under Abu Bakr, and under Uthman ibn Affan; the ordering of verses and surahs; the Uthmanic orthography (al-rasm al-Uthmani); the revelation of the Quran upon seven ahruf (modes); and the variant readings (qira'at), reciters, rules of pausing and starting (al-waqf wal-ibtida'), and recitation etiquette .
- Linguistic and Legal Hermeneutics: Exegetical grammar and linguistic rules (such as pronouns, definiteness, and conjunctions); the clear and ambiguous verses (al-muhkam wal-mutashabih); general and specific rulings (al-'amm wal-khass); abrogation (al-nasikh wal-mansukh); absolute and qualified texts (al-mutlaq wal-muqayyad); and explicit and implicit textual indications (al-mantuq wal-mafhum) .
- Literary Features and Thematic Disciplines: The inimitability of the Quran (i'jaz al-Quran) across linguistic, scientific, and legislative dimensions; Quranic parables (amthal), oaths (aqsam), arguments and dialectics (jadal), and narrative stories (qasas) .
- Exegesis and Translating: Rules and legal rulings concerning the translation of the Quran; the definition and distinctions between tafsir (exegesis) and ta'wil (interpretation); the required qualifications and ethics of an exegete; the historical stages of exegesis; transmission-based exegesis (al-tafsir bil-ma'thur) and reason-based exegesis (al-tafsir bil-ra'y); thematic exegesis (al-tafsir al-mawdu'i); Isra'iliyyat (Judaic traditions); Sufi and allusive exegesis (al-tafsir al-ishari); surveys of major classical and modern commentaries (including works by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi); and biographical profiles of renowned exegetes such as Abdullah ibn Abbas, Mujahid ibn Jabr, and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shawkani .
Reception and Publication
The manual gained broad currency across the Muslim world and was adopted as a standard curriculum textbook across numerous Islamic universities and colleges . Contemporary scholars noted that the work filled an important instructional void for students of religious knowledge . The book has been translated into several languages and has gone through dozens of printings, including editions by Maktabat al-Ma'arif in Riyadh and Mu'assasat al-Risala in Beirut .
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