Al-Tamhid fi 'ulum al-Qur'an (book)
 Bibliographical Information | |
| Author | Muhammad Hadi Ma'rifat |
|---|---|
| Original title | التَمْهید فی عُلومِ القُرْآن |
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 10 volumes |
| Subject | Quranic sciences |
| Published | 1431/2009-10 |
| Publisher | Jami'a Mudarrisin publication |
| English translation | |
| En. title | Introduction to the sciences of the Qur'an |
| En. publisher | Samt publication with cooperation of The Islamic College of London, 2014 |
Al-Tamhīd fī ʿulūm al-Qur'ān (Arabic: التَمْهید فی عُلومِ القُرْآن, literally: a prolegomenon to Qur'anic sciences) is a book concerning Qur'anic sciences written by Muhammad Hadi Ma'rifat ( d.1427/2007) in Arabic. The book is a result of Ayatollah Ma'rifat's manuscripts concerning some issues of Qur'anic sciences. Al-Tamhid is published in 10 volumes regarding different issues of Qur'anic sciences, such as the history of the Qur'an, Seven Recitations of the Qur'an, naskh (abrogation), muhkam and mutashabih, the miracle of the Qur'an, and the Integrity of the Holy Qur'an. A number of summaries and translations of the book into Persian have been published.
The Author
Muhammad Hadi Ma'rifat was an Iranian Shiite scholar and a researcher of Qur'anic sciences. He was born in Karbala and his family was the progeny of Shaykh 'Abd al-'Ali al-Maysi. He studied in the Islamic seminary with prominent scholars of the seminaries of Karbala, Najaf, and Qom. Along with fiqh and usul al-fiqh, he spent his career studying the exegesis of the Qur'an and Qur'anic sciences.
The Formation of the Book
The book consists of the author's notes written throughout years with regard to Qur'anic sciences. They constituted voluminous notebooks. He found that there was no comprehensive book concerning Qur'anic sciences, so he decided to turn his notebooks into a book. After organizing his notes, he called the book "al-Tamhid" (prolegomenon) which serves as an introduction for his exegesis of the Qur'an, al-Wasit. The author believes that he dealt with every issue with precision and trust in its authenticity.
Contents
Issues discussed in al-Tamhid include the following:
- Volume 1: the history of the Qur'an, the Revelation, and the occasion of revelation
- Volume 2: recitation and abrogation
- Volume 3: muhkam and mutashabih
- Volume 4: the miracle of the Qur'an
- Volume 5: miracle of expressions
- Volume 6: scientific miracles
- Volume 7: objections and rejections
- Volume 8: the Integrity of the Holy Qur'an
- Volumes 9 and 10: the exegesis of the Qur'an and its exegetes
Style of Writing
In writing the book, al-Tamhid, Ayatollah Ma'rifat employed a number of methods:
- Teaching and discussing the issues before the publication: he discussed the issues of the book with his students in order to prepare the ground for questions and objections.
- Studying the concepts: when required, the author dealt with the explanations of the literary and terminological meanings of a concept and sometimes with its Qur'anic uses.
- Formulations: the author avoided marginal remarks and trivial comments that are common in some contemporary books. He immediately delves into discussions and considers the challenges.
- Appealing to hadiths: Ma'rifat appeals to hadiths in issues that depend on transmitted evidence. He has relied on hadith sources of both Shiite and Sunnis.
- Using examples: the author cites examples and instances in his discussions, especially when general theories are not sufficient.
- Replying to objections: he has tried to reply to objections against the religion, the Qur'an and Shi'a and defend the truth.
Summary, Translation, and Publication
Talkhis al-tamhid fi 'ulum al-Qur'an (a summary of al-Tamhid) was published by the publications of Jami'a Mudarrisin in 1415/1994 in Qom.
The English translation of the book is published under the title "Introduction to the sciences of the Qur'an" by Samt publication with cooperation of The Islamic College of London. It is an abridged translation by Salim Rossier and Mansoor Limba.
The book itself has been published in 10 volumes by the Cultural-Publishing Institute of al-Tamhid in Qom in 2009.
Software of al-Tamhid
The digital software of al-Tamhid fi 'ulum al-Qur'an was released by the Center for Islamic Information and Documents associated with the Islamic Propagations Office of the Islamic Seminary of Qom.
The software contains the full text of the 10 volumes of al-Tamhid fi 'ulum al-Qur'an with over 8000 indexed and linked terminologies of Quranic sciences, about 390 proper names used in al-Tamhid, about 5000 indices and abstracts of the text of al-Tamhid with references, and information about Ayatollah Ma'rifat (biography, films, Persian and Arabic articles) with various options.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from التمهید فی علوم القرآن (کتاب in Farsi WikiShia.