Evolution of the Science of the Qur'an

The Qur'an is the final revelation sent by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad, [sallallahu alayhe wa sallam (SAWS)]; it is an eternal miracle that grows in clarity, strength and with time and each new scientific discovery. It was revealed over approximately 23 years during which the Prophet (SAWS) taught it and explained it to his Companions; he also answered all of their questions and did not die before completely delivering the message of the Qur'an, making it clearly understood.

At the same time, the Companions were very keen to memorize, understand and practice it. Due to their mastery of Arabic, the purity of their minds and hearts, and because they had witnessed the Qur'an being revealed under many circumstances and in response to diverse events, they were able to accumulate a great deal of understanding and knowledge of the Qur'an.

Some of them actually mastered its knowledge. Abdullah ibn Masoud is one of those who realized this great achievement. He described his knowledge of the Qur'an by saying, "By Allah there is not a verse of the Qur'an except that I know where and why it was revealed and if I knew anyone who knows the Book of Allah more than I do, I would travel to him." (Bukhari).

Others devoted all of their lives to the Qur'an. Abdullah ibn Umar, for example, was reported by Imam Malik in 'al-Muwatta' as having spent eight consecutive years completely memorizing and learning the Surah of al-Baqarah. It was also reported that the Companions used to say, "it is considered to be a great thing that one of us learns the Surahs of al-Baqarah and aali-Imran (The Cow and the Family of Imran)." And that, "They used to learn the Qur'an from the Prophet (SAWS), ten verses at a time, and that they will not go beyond them until they have learned all possible knowledge and actions in them."

This great knowledge was not all written down as text, except for what was written down by some Companions. The reason was that the basic process of teaching and learning in those times was the oral tradition. Only the Qur'an itself and those Companions' writings were received in a written format by the next generation of Muslims, the Tabi'een, or the Followers.

However, many of the Companions were known for their excellent knowledge and understanding of the Qur'an. People like Uthman, Ali, Zayd, Ubai, Ibn Masoud, Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar to mention a few; each of those - as well as others - had many brilliant and inspired students, who then conveyed that knowledge to the rest of Ummah as the practice of writing down knowledge became widespread.

The Companions' circles of teaching were attended by hundreds of students; and loudly repeat what the Companions say so that all students could hear. As those students went back home, they taught others the same knowledge as they had learned and within a short period the Companions' knowledge was broadcast over the vast Muslim lands.

What is so remarkable is that after writing became popular, the pieces of knowledge which were collected from different scholars who had never seen or known one another was found to be the same and therefore supported one another - showing consistency in the knowledge and the guidance of Islam. To this day and forever, no other Ummah or religion can claim similarity to this unique feature of Islam.

After the Era of the Companions

It was through the efforts of such companions as the four Caliphs, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masoud, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Mousa al-Ash'ari, Ubai ibn Ka'b and Abdullah ibn az-Zubair, among others, that all of knowledge related to the Qur'an was transferred and conveyed to the Successors or the Tabi'een and from them onto the rest of the Ummah (Muslim Nation).

Among these successors, some are noteworthy: Mujahid, Ataa ibn Rabah, Ikrimah, Qatadah, al-Hasan al-Basri, Malik ibn Anas. These great scholars laid the foundation for the subject of Tafseer of the Qur'an as well as the numerous other branches of knowledge that eventually comprised the Sciences of the Qur'an. Unfortunately, very little was written in specialized books or treatises in the first century of Hijrah, but many were later documented towards the end of the second century, marking the beginning of what is referred to as, "The Era of Scriptwriting."

Since most scholars were focused on the hadeeth, this remarkable era provided the first collections of ahadeeth (Prophet's sayings) dealing with the subject of Tafseer (Explanation), such as those collected by Shu'bah ibnul Hajjaj (160 AH), Waki' ibnul Jarrah (197 AH), Abdurrazzaq (211AH), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (240 AH) whose collection exceeded 100,000 ahadeeth, but never reached us except what has remained as part of his Musnad.

So, Tafseer originated as an oral tradition that was orally transmitted along with other topics of the Sunnah to find its place as part of the Sunnah books. If any of these scholars had written a Tafseer book, then it was either lost or not yet reached us. The first major, authentic and complete Tafseer compilation was to be written by Ibn Jareer at Tabari (310 AH). Many similar writings followed after that.

Parallel to this, many other books were written that dealt with other topics and subjects related to the Qur'an. These writings primarily focused on a single issue or one theme per book. Of the many books written throughout the centuries, only some have been checked, edited and printed.

Ali ibnul Madeeni (234 AH) for example wrote about the Circumstances of Revelation, Abu Ubaid al-Qasim ibn Sallam (224 AH) wrote about the Abrogation and about the Qira'at, while Ibn Qutaibah's (276 AH) book dealt with the subject of Mushkil or the unclear worlds and meanings of the Qur'an. This thematic approach still continues to this day, and al-Baqillani (403 AH) wrote about the Miraculousness of the Qur'an while al-Mawirdi (450 AH) chose to discuss its proverbs or parables, Amthal. Later, Imam Ibnul Qayyim (751 AH) wrote about Oaths or vows of the Qur'an.

The first book known to use the term and was entitled "Uloom al-Qur'an" was written by Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Houfi (430 AH). It is available but it is missing some volumes, and is still in manuscript form, and has not yet been printed. This book deals with the topics that partially comprise what we consider today as Sciences of the Qur'an, which is a major treatment of the majority of topics, related to the Qur'an, and it has been printed in four large volumes.

Later, Imam as-Suyooti (911 AH) wrote al-Itqan fi Uloom al-Qur'an that went along the same lines as al-Burhan, but in an abridged format and also added more topics to it, and is also printed today in two large volumes. These two works are considered the classical references on the subjects of the Sciences of the Qur'an.

Today, there are more than a hundred books written on all aspects related to the Qur'an and Tafseer, some of which are now translated into English.

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Anonymous 10 December 2003
The Era of The Companions The Qur'an is the final revelation sent by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad, [sallallahu alayhe wa sallam (SAWS)]; it is an eternal miracle that grows in clarity, strength and with time and each new scientific discovery. It was revealed over approximately 23 years during which the Prophet (SAWS) taught it and explained it to his Companions; he also answered all of their questions and did not die before completely delivering the message of the Qur'an, making it clearly understood. At the same time, the Companions were very keen to memorize, understand and practice it. Due to their mastery of Arabic, the purity of their minds and hearts, and because they had witnessed the Qur'an being revealed under many circumstances and in response to diverse events, they were able to accumulate a great deal of understanding and knowledge of the Qur'an. Some of them actually mastered its knowledge. Abdullah ibn Masoud is one of those who realized this great achievement. He described his knowledge of the Qur'an by saying, "By Allah there is not a verse of the Qur'an except that I know where and why it was revealed and if I knew anyone who knows the Book of Allah more than I do, I would travel to him." (Bukhari). Others devoted all of their lives to the Qur'an. Abdullah ibn Umar, for example, was reported by Imam Malik in 'al-Muwatta' as having spent eight consecutive years completely memorizing and learning the Surah of al-Baqarah. It was also reported that the Companions used to say, "it is considered to be a great thing that one of us learns the Surahs of al-Baqarah and aali-Imran (The Cow and the Family of Imran)." And that, "They used to learn the Qur'an from the Prophet (SAWS), ten verses at a time, and that they will not go beyond them until they have learned all possible knowledge and actions in them." This great knowledge was not all written down as text, except for what was written down by some Companions. The reason was that the basic process of teaching and learning in those times was the oral tradition. Only the Qur'an itself and those Companions' writings were received in a written format by the next generation of Muslims, the Tabi'een, or the Followers. However, many of the Companions were known for their excellent knowledge and understanding of the Qur'an. People like Uthman, Ali, Zayd, Ubai, Ibn Masoud, Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar to mention a few; each of those - as well as others - had many brilliant and inspired students, who then conveyed that knowledge to the rest of Ummah as the practice of writing down knowledge became widespread. The Companions' circles of teaching were attended by hundreds of students; and loudly repeat what the Companions say so that all students could hear. As those students went back home, they taught others the same knowledge as they had learned and within a short period the Companions' knowledge was broadcast over the vast Muslim lands. What is so remarkable is that after writing became popular, the pieces of knowledge which were collected from different scholars who had never seen or known one another was found to be the same and therefore supported one another - showing consistency in the knowledge and the guidance of Islam. To this day and forever, no other Ummah or religion can claim similarity to this unique feature of Islam. After the Era of the Companions It was through the efforts of such companions as the four Caliphs, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masoud, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Mousa al-Ash'ari, Ubai ibn Ka'b and Abdullah ibn az-Zubair, among others, that all of knowledge related to the Qur'an was transferred and conveyed to the Successors or the Tabi'een and from them onto the rest of the Ummah (Muslim Nation). Among these successors, some are noteworthy: Mujahid, Ataa ibn Rabah, Ikrimah, Qatadah, al-Hasan al-Basri, Malik ibn Anas. These great scholars laid the foundation for the subject of Tafseer of the Qur'an as well as the numerous other branches of knowledge that eventually comprised the Sciences of the Qur'an. Unfortunately, very little was written in specialized books or treatises in the first century of Hijrah, but many were later documented towards the end of the second century, marking the beginning of what is referred to as, "The Era of Scriptwriting." Since most scholars were focused on the hadeeth, this remarkable era provided the first collections of ahadeeth (Prophet's sayings) dealing with the subject of Tafseer (Explanation), such as those collected by Shu'bah ibnul Hajjaj (160 AH), Waki' ibnul Jarrah (197 AH), Abdurrazzaq (211AH), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (240 AH) whose collection exceeded 100,000 ahadeeth, but never reached us except what has remained as part of his Musnad. So, Tafseer originated as an oral tradition that was orally transmitted along with other topics of the Sunnah to find its place as part of the Sunnah books. If any of these scholars had written a Tafseer book, then it was either lost or not yet reached us. The first major, authentic and complete Tafseer compilation was to be written by Ibn Jareer at Tabari (310 AH). Many similar writings followed after that. Parallel to this, many other books were written that dealt with other topics and subjects related to the Qur'an. These writings primarily focused on a single issue or one theme per book. Of the many books written throughout the centuries, only some have been checked, edited and printed. Ali ibnul Madeeni (234 AH) for example wrote about the Circumstances of Revelation, Abu Ubaid al-Qasim ibn Sallam (224 AH) wrote about the Abrogation and about the Qira'at, while Ibn Qutaibah's (276 AH) book dealt with the subject of Mushkil or the unclear worlds and meanings of the Qur'an. This thematic approach still continues to this day, and al-Baqillani (403 AH) wrote about the Miraculousness of the Qur'an while al-Mawirdi (450 AH) chose to discuss its proverbs or parables, Amthal. Later, Imam Ibnul Qayyim (751 AH) wrote about Oaths or vows of the Qur'an. The first book known to use the term and was entitled "Uloom al-Qur'an" was written by Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Houfi (430 AH). It is available but it is missing some volumes, and is still in manuscript form, and has not yet been printed. This book deals with the topics that partially comprise what we consider today as Sciences of the Qur'an, which is a major treatment of the majority of topics, related to the Qur'an, and it has been printed in four large volumes. Later, Imam as-Suyooti (911 AH) wrote al-Itqan fi Uloom al-Qur'an that went along the same lines as al-Burhan, but in an abridged format and also added more topics to it, and is also printed today in two large volumes. These two works are considered the classical references on the subjects of the Sciences of the Qur'an. Today, there are more than a hundred books written on all aspects related to the Qur'an and Tafseer, some of which are now translated into English. Source: Al Jumu'ah Vol. 14 Issue 6