Kurani ina ufunuo wa Mwenyezi Mungu, Muumbaji na Mlezi wa Ulimwengu, kwa wanadamu. Ni ujumbe kutoka kwa Mungu kwa binadamu na kwa hiyo una umuhimu mkubwa sana kwetu. Ili kuelewa ujumbe kwa usahihi, mtu anahitaji kwanza kabisa kuelewa maudhui yake haswa, na kwa kusudi hili ni lazima mtu aisome Kurani kwa kina na kwa undani. Kwa hakika, wako watu wanaotumia maisha yao yote kusoma Kurani, kuisoma na kuitafakari, na wanapokua na kuendelea, kimwili na kiroho, wao wenyewe hugundua maana mpya na athari zake.

The Qur'an contains the revelations of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, to mankind. It is the message from God to man and therefore of utmost importance to us. To properly grasp a message, one needs first of all to understand its contents exactly, and for this purpose one must study the Qur'an deeply and in detail. In fact, some people do spend their whole lives studying the Qur'an, reading and reflecting upon it and, as they grow and develop, both physically and spiritually, they discover for themselves new meanings and implications.

Pili, baadhi ya maarifa maalum kuhusu mazingira yanayoizunguka ujumbe pia ni muhimu kwa ajili ya kuelewa kwa kina zaidi maana yake na athari zake. Ingawa sehemu ya maarifa haya maalum inaweza kupatikana kutoka katika Qur'ani yenyewe, bado kuna maeneo mengine ya maarifa ambayo yanaweza kugunduliwa tu kupitia masomo na utafiti wa kina zaidi.

Secondly, some special knowledge of the circumstances that surround the message is also necessary for fuller understanding of its meaning and implications. Although some part of this special knowledge can be derived from the Qur'an itself, there remain other areas of knowledge that can only be discovered by wider study and research.

Waislamu tangu zamani za mwanzo walijishughulisha si tu na ujumbe kutoka kwa Allah, yaani Qur'an, bali pia na mazingira yake na mfumo wake, na mwelekeo huu hatimaye ulizaa "sayansi" au "elimu" kuhusu Qur'an, inayojulikana kama "Ulum al-Qur'an".

Muslims have from earliest times, applied themselves not only to the message from Allah the Qur'an but also to its setting and framework, and the preoccupation with these ultimately developed into the 'sciences' of or 'knowledge' about the Qur'an, known as "ulum al-qur'an'.

Mtazamo sahihi kuhusu Qur'an, kwa mtazamo wangu mnyenyekevu, unaweza kuelezwa katika hatua tatu. Ni lazima:

The proper approach to the Qur'an, in my humble view, can be described in three stages. You must:

Kwanza, pokea ujumbe wa Qur'ani, kwa kuisikia au kuisoma.

 first, receive the message of the Qur'an, by hearing or reading it.

pili, elewa ujumbe wa Qur'ani kwa kutafakari juu yake na kusoma maana zake.

 second, understand the message of the Qur'an by reflecting upon it and studying its meanings.

Tatu, tumia ujumbe wa Qur'ani kwa kupanga maisha yako binafsi pamoja na maisha ya jamii kwa mujibu wa ujumbe wake.

 third, apply the message of the Qur'an by ordering your personal life as well as the life of society according to its message.

Tawi la elimu, linaloitwa 'Ulum al-Qur'an, linaweza kutumika kama njia ya kufikia hatua ya pili, yaani kuelewa ujumbe wa Qur'an, kwa kuelewa mazingira yake na hali zake.

The branch of knowledge, called 'ulum al-Qur'an may be used as a means for the accomplishment of the second stage, understanding the message of the Qur'an, by understanding its setting and circumstances.

Kwa mujibu wa ufafanuzi wa jumla, 'Ulum al-Qur'an [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-Tibyan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an, Beirut, 1970, uk.

According to a general definition, 'ulum al-qur'an [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-tibyan fi 'ulum al-qur-an, Beirut, 1970, p.

10.] inaashiria masomo yanayohusu kitabu cha wahyi kilichoteremshwa kwa Nabii wa mwisho Muhammad ﷺ, [Baraka za kawaida za Allah na amani ziwe juu yake ﷺ kila jina lake linapotajwa hazitarudiwa katika maandishi haya, lakini msomaji anaombwa kwa upole kuzingatia desturi hii ya Kiislamu.] yaani:

10.] denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, [The customary blessings on the Prophet (Allah's blessings and peace beupon him) each time his name is mentioned will not be repeated in the text, but the reader is kindly requested to observe this Muslim tradition.] namely:

Ni wahyi.

 Its revelation.

Ni mkusanyiko wake.

 Its collection.

Mpangilio wake na utaratibu wake.

 Its order and arrangement.

Ni kuandika tu.

 Its writing down.

Taarifa kuhusu sababu na mazingira ya kuteremka kwa Aya (Asbāb al-Nuzūl).

 Information about the reasons and occasions of revelation.

Kuhusu yale yaliyoteremshwa Makka na yale yaliyoteremshwa Madina.

 About what was revealed in Makka and what in Madina.

Kuhusu aya zinazofuta na zinazofutwa.

 About the abrogating and abrogated verses.

Kuhusu aya za wazi na aya zisizo wazi.

 About the 'clear' and the 'unclear' verses.

Neno hili pia linajumuisha tafiti zinazohusiana na Qur'ani, kama vile:

The term also covers Qur'an-related studies, such as:

Ufafanuzi wa aya na vifungu vya Qur'ani kutoka kwa Nabii mwenyewe ﷺ, Maswahaba zake, Tabi'un (wafuasi wao) na wafasiri waliokuja baadaye.

 The explanation of verses and passages by the Prophet himself, his Companions, their followers and the later exegetes of the Qur'an.

Njia za ufafanuzi.

The methods of explanation.

Wanachuoni wa tafsiri na vitabu vyao.

 The scholars of exegesis and their books.

Lengo la kitabu hiki, kama ilivyo kwa 'Ulūm al-Qur'ān zote, ni kusaidia kupata ufahamu bora wa ujumbe wa Qur'ani kwa kutoa taarifa kuhusu mazingira yake, muundo wake na hali zilizouzunguka. Kwa kiasi kikubwa ni maelezo ya kawaida ya somo la jadi la 'Ulūm al-Qur'ān. Baadhi ya matawi ya 'Ulūm al-Qur'ān, kama vile mgawanyo wa maandishi, mtindo, umbo la kifasihi n.k., yameguswa kwa ufupi tu, ilhali mengine yaliyoonekana kuwa muhimu zaidi yameshughulikiwa kwa undani zaidi. Hasa, mada zinazohusu kuelewa maandishi (asbāb al-nuzūl, al-nāsikh wa al-mansūkh, n.k.) zimeshughulikiwa kwa upana zaidi, wakati nyingine, kama vile 'the seven aḥruf' au uandishi wa 'Uthmānī, ambazo zina manufaa kwa wasomaji wenye ujuzi mzuri wa Kiarabu cha kale, zimetambulishwa lakini hazikufafanuliwa zaidi.

The aim of this book as all 'ulum al-qur'an is to help towards a better understanding of the Qur'anic message by providing information on its setting, framework and circumstances. To a great extent it is a descriptive account of the traditional subject of 'ulum al-qur'an. Some branches of 'ulum al-qur'an, such as the divisions of the text, style, literary form etc., have only been touched upon briefly, while others that seemed more important have been dealt with in more detail. In particular such topics related to the understanding of the text (asbab al-nuzul, al-nasikh wa al-mansukh, etc.) have been treated more extensively while others, such as the 'seven ahruf' or the 'Uthmanic writing, which are of benefit only to readers with a good knowledge of classical Arabic, have been introduced, but not elaborated upon.

Nimejizuia kuwasilisha maoni yanayokubaliwa kwa ujumla kuhusu masuala haya, na pale ambapo hakuna makubaliano, nimerejelea maoni muhimu zaidi yanayotofautiana. Ingawa nina maoni yangu juu ya baadhi ya maswali, lengo langu kuu katika 'Utangulizi' huu ni kumjulisha msomaji kuhusu mada hii kwa ujumla, na si kumwongoza kwa wazi au kwa siri kuelekea hitimisho langu mwenyewe.

I have restricted myself to presenting the generally-accepted views on the issues and, where no consensus exists, have referred to the most important of the divergent opinions. Although I do have my own views on some questions, my basic aim in this 'Introduction' is generally to inform the reader about the subject, and not to guide him overtly or covertly towards my own conclusions.

Kuna mambo kadhaa yanayohusiana na somo la Qur'ani ambayo nimeyapa umakini wa pekee, kwa kuwa utangulizi huu wa 'Ulum al-Qur'an unalenga hadhira maalum, yaani vijana Waislamu walioelimika wenye upatikanaji mdogo au usio nao kabisa wa vyanzo asilia vya somo hili. Kwa hiyo nimejumuisha mada kadhaa zenye umuhimu wa pekee kwa hadhira hiyo, kama vile:

There are a number of matters related to the study of the Qur'an to which I have drawn special attention since this 'Introduction' to the 'ulum al-qur'an is aimed at a special readership, namely, young educated Muslims with little or no access to the original sources on the subject. I have therefore included several topics, of special relevance for that readership, such as:

Waorientalisti na Qur'ani.

 Orientalists and the Qur'an.

Tafsiri za Qur'ani.

 Translations of the Qur'an.

Ufasiri wa kisasa wa Qur'ani.

 Modern interpretation of the Qur'an.

Lugha ya Qur'ani.

 Language of the Qur'an.

Kusoma na kuhifadhi Qur'an.

 Reading and recitation of the Qur'an.

Tena, hasa kwa manufaa ya wasomaji hawa, mara nyingi nimenukuu mifano ya kawaida ili kufafanua mambo mbalimbali yaliyojadiliwa na kuyafanya yaeleweke kwa urahisi zaidi.

Again, particularly for the benefit of these readers, I have often quoted typical examples to illustrate the various points discussed and make them more easily comprehensible.

Hatimaye, ili kuwasaidia wasomaji wasiofahamu Kiarabu, nimetoa marejeo ya tafsiri za Kiingereza pale zinapopatikana (kama tafsiri za vitabu vya hadith, n.k.). Hata hivyo, katika baadhi ya mada (kwa mfano asbab al-nuzul au al-nasikh wa al-mansukh) bado hakuna maandiko yanayopatikana kwa Kiingereza, kwa hiyo marejeo yalilazimika kuwekewa vikomo kwa vyanzo vya Kiarabu pekee.

Finally, to assist readers not familiar with Arabic, I have supplied references to English translations, where available (such as translation of hadith books, etc.). However, on certain topics (e.g. asbab al-nuzul or al-nasikh wa al-mansukh) there is no literature available as yet in English and references had to be restricted to Arabic sources only.

Nimejaribu pia kuorodhesha katika orodha ya marejeo angalau vitabu vimoja au viwili kwa kila sehemu, ambavyo kutoka kwake uelewa zaidi juu ya mada iliyojadiliwa unaweza kupatikana.

I have also attempted to note in the bibliography at least one or two books in English for each section, from which more insight may be gained on the topic discussed.

Ninatumai kwamba juzuu hii (kwa ujuzi wangu bora, ndiyo ya kwanza ya aina yake katika lugha ya Kiulaya) itatimiza kusudi lake na kukusaidia kuelewa kikamilifu ujumbe wa Qur'an na kuutumia katika maisha yako, na Allah akubali juhudi hizi za unyenyekevu na kusamehe mapungufu yake.

May this volume (to the best of my knowledge, the first of its kind in a European language) fulfil its purpose and assist you to grasp fully the message of the Qur'an and to apply it in your life, and may Allah accept this humble effort and forgive its shortcomings.

Ahmad von Denffer Leicester. Ramadan 1981/1401

Ahmad von Denffer Leicester. Ramadan 1981/1401