The First to Write on Qu’ranic Sciences:  A New View

by

Dr Khalid ibn Yusuf al-Wasil*

This study deals with an old  subject which keeps appearing every now and then, i.e., ‘Who is the first to write on Qur’anic Sciences?’  using the term ‘Quranic Sciences’ in its comprehensive application.

I started by concisely stating the prominent views on the issue and have  included a new opinion, which has not been discussed before. And that is the central point of my research. According to this view the person deserving this unique position should be Abu ĂUbaid al-Qasim ibn Sallam (224 AH) on the basis of his book Fada’il al-Qur’an wa Ma’alimuhu wa Adabuhu. I arrived at this conclusion  on the basis of many points, the most prominent amongst them are the following:

1)  Abu ĂUbaid’s precedence, scholarly status and his efforts in the field of Qur’anic Sciences compared with the prominent scholars of the second and third centuries. I concisely dealt with this issue in the first chapter.

2)  Distinction of his book amongst those written by others. And among these distinguishing features are:

• The diversity of  Qur’anic Sciences mentioned in it. This establishes the fact that this work deals with a variety of Quranic Sciences, not with just one science.
• The wording of the title of his book is suggestive of the term  Qur’anic Sciences.
• Its explicit impact on later woks on Qur’anic Sciences whether dealing with multiple sciences or with a single science.

I mentioned this conclusion in the epilogue with a caviat that this is not conclusive, but is based on what I have observed.

• Chairman, Editorial Board  of the Journal of Imam al-Shatibi Institute for Qur’anic Studies and researcher at the Centre for Qur’anic Studies and Information in the Iman al-Shatibi Institute, Jeddah.

Popularity: 5%