Madkhal ila al-Quran al-Karim Ard Tarikhi wa Tahlil Muqaran
- Author died
- 1377 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qalam
Madkhal ila al-Quran al-Karim: Ard Tarikhi wa Tahlil Muqaran (Introduction to the Noble Quran: A Historical Presentation and Comparative Analysis) is a work on Quranic studies by the Egyptian Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Abdullah Daraz (d. 1377 AH / 1958 CE), originally written in French under the title Initiation au Koran as a doctoral dissertation examining the history, textual transmission, thematic message, and divine origin of the Quran .
Composition and Academic Background
The work was composed as a complementary doctoral thesis alongside Daraz's primary dissertation on the moral philosophy of the Quran (دستور الأخلاق في القرآن) at the University of Paris (the Sorbonne) . Daraz had traveled to France in 1936 on an al-Azhar academic mission, where he pursued studies in philosophy, the history of religions, psychology, and ethics before completing his doctoral research . The dissertation was defended on 15 December 1947, earning the author the Doctorate of Letters with highest honors .
Structure and Contents
The book is organized into three major sections—historical, analytical, and critical-dialectical—each comprising three chapters :
- Historical Section (القسم التاريخي): Covers the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ from childhood and youth up to the commencement of his prophetic mission, highlighting his integrity and trustworthiness through historical accounts, including the dialogue between Abu Sufyan and the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius . It also examines the revelation, compilation, and transmission of the Quran, demonstrating that the preserved text corresponds verbatim to what was dictated by the Prophet ﷺ and memorized by his Companions .
- Analytical Section (القسم التحليلي): Analyzes the thematic essence of the Quranic message, demonstrating that Islam is a return to original monotheism and a continuation of the moral and legal foundations established by preceding prophets, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus . It illustrates how the Quran alleviates temporary hardships from earlier dispensations and completes universal moral ethics .
- Critical and Dialectical Section (القسم النقدي والجدلي): Addresses rational proofs of the Quran's divine origin and systematically responds to European orientalist and philosophical critiques . It presents arguments based on the sudden nature of revelation, the Prophet's illiteracy, his lack of prior acquaintance with foreign scriptural languages, his moral character, the internal harmony of the text, and the Quranic challenge: قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَىٰ أَن يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا ("Say, 'If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants'") .
Translation and Significance
The French work was translated into Arabic by Muhammad Abd al-Azim, with editorial review and an introduction provided by Dr. El-Sayed Muhammad Badawi in Benghazi in Rabi' al-Awwal 1391 AH (May 1971 CE) . The Arabic edition documented the Quranic citations and verified related texts against primary hadith and jurisprudence sources . Modern scholars count Madkhal ila al-Quran al-Karim alongside دستور الأخلاق في القرآن, al-Din, and النبأ العظيم as one of the four principal works containing the core of Daraz's intellectual thought .
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