The Course of Development of the Quranic Sciences

The subject of this article is to examine the course of development of the Qur’ānic sciences and dividing these sciences into three types: 1. Sciences in the Qur’ān (‘ulūm fī al-Qur’ān); Sciences of the Qur’ān (‘ulūm li al-Qur’ān); Sciences concerning the Qur’ān (‘ulūm ḥawl al-Qur’ān). The subject of this discourse is the third type of the above. In continuing, several major issues are set forth, including: the scantiness of the writings by Shī‘a scholars on this issue in comparison to those of the Sunni scholars, although with superior contents; the necessity of taking a comprehensive look at the issue, i.e., examining the true and false matters in the course of history; and reference to the Qur’ānic collections, including: principles of the Qur’ān, main definitions and discourses, and finally the necessity of structuring in the Qur’ānic sciences.