Lesson 3: ‘Uloom al Quran vs Usūl at- Tafsīr

Question 1

As the word ‘Uloom al Quran is very general, what are the 3 ways it can be categorized into

Answer 1

• ما يتعلق بلفظه- What pertains/goes back to its wording (its pronunciation, articulation of the Qurān, and under it fall القراءات and تجويد
• ما يتعلق بمعنه- What pertains/goes back to its meaning and under it fall التفسير and الوقف والإبتداء the meaning and the places you stop in the Quran (this may sometimes be lumped with تجويد) and this because when recitation, you may stop at a place where you cause there to be a bad meaning.
• ما يتعلق بشكله-What pertains/goes back to the structure/shape, writing of the Quran- علم رسم المصحف and علم عدّ الأي - counting the ayat (Like is the basmalah included in the Qurān)

So ‘Ulūm al Qurān go back to these 3 things, and many things under it.

Question 2

We learned that some of the scholars used ‘Uloom al Quran and Usul at Tafsir interchangeably, who were some scholars who did so?

Answer 2

• أحمد بن عبد الرحيم الدهلوي (Ahmed ibn Abdur-rahim ad-dihlawi) he is more commonly known as شاه ولي الله الدهلوي (shah Wali-ullah ad-dihlawi (1176 AH) رحمه الله **

the great scholar from the subcontinent, has a work titled الفوز الكبير في اصول التفسير

• محمد ابن صالح العثيمين (1421 AH)

He wrote a book called أصول في التفسير and he mentions a lot of issues related to ‘Ulūm al Qurān

Question 3

Some scholars differentiated ‘Uloom al Quran and Usul at- Tafsir, why?

Answer 3

some said usūl at-tafsīr is in Tafsīr (subcategory of the subcategory of ‘Uloom al Quran ما يتعلق بمعنه) so in ‘Ulūm al Qurān is tafsīr, and in tafsīr is usūl at-tafsīr

Question 4

Despite the differentiation of ‘Uloom al Quran and Usul at Tafsir, what are some examples of when they overlap and why?

Answer 4

the issues of mecci and medani would be studied in ‘Usūl at-Tafsīr just like it would be studied in ‘Ulūm al Qurān due to the this topic having an effect on the interpretation in the Quran

But this is also because that we have ulum al Quran as a general concept, then if we have tafsir and usul at tafsir (as a subgroup of Tafsir) anything in usūl at- Tafsīr by default must also be in ‘Ulūm al Quran

وَٱلشُّعَرَآءُ يَتَّبِعُهُمُ ٱلْغَاوُۥنَ

And the poets - [only] the deviators follow them;

This ayah is a khabar-statement not a request, and the scholars say a khabar can’t be abrogated. You can’t say I drove here, and then say you walked, it’s one of the either. But if one asks for coffee every Monday, and then changes his mind you can retract it, a request/command/prohibition can be abrogated, while a statement can’t as it would be a lie.

So, this issue has an effect on the ayah, so you will find abrogation being taught in usul at-tafsir being taught in usūl at-tafsīr and ‘Ulum al Qurān by extension

Question 5

Despite ‘Uloom al Quran and Usul at Tafsir overlapping at times, when might it be the case when any science may not overlap with another despite sharing or being a part of something (such as ‘Uloom al Quran and Usul at Tafsir)?

Answer 5

things that aren’t relevant to a subscience such as issues of writing the mushaf (apart of ‘ulum al Quran) will also not be found in usul at tafsir

Question 6

Principle of when things are together, they separate, and when separate join together and some examples

Answer 6

إِذَا اجْتَمَعَا افْتَرَقَا وَإِذَا افْتَرَقَا اجْتَمَعَا
When they come together, they separate, and when they separate, they come together

if these terms come together in the same context, they take 2 different meanings, and if they’re mentioned in 2 different places, they’re synonymous

in Islam some examples are:

• الإيمان and الإسلام
• الفقير and المسكين

in this case علوم القرآن واصول التفسير have become like that through the history of Islām