`Ulum al-Qur'an appeared early with the dawn of Islam. The first generation of believers used to meet in the house of Al-Arqam to memorize, recite, contemplate and learn the Qur'an. The most important forms of Qur'anic sciences were learned orally by the Companions and were not recorded for various reasons. Some of these reasons were:
1. Most of the Companions were illiterate and did not know how to read or write.
2. The tools for writing were not easily accessible to them.
3. The Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) order: "Do not take down anything from me, and he who took down anything from me except the Qur'an, he should efface that." (Narrated by Abu Said al-Khudri. Collected by Muslim No. 7147).
Note that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) later authorized the writing of his Hadith. Scholars give many reasons for this, including the concern that the Qur'an might be confused with Hadith or other sayings, or because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to show that the duty of conveying the Message is not restricted to the scribes, and Allah Knows best.
The Companions were pure Arabs whose spoken language enabled them to comprehend the meanings of the Qur'an and their sincerity guided them to internalize and manifest the Qur'an in their character and behavior. Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The man amongst us used to learn no more than ten verses till he knew their meaning and acted upon them" ( tafseer of at-Tabari, vol. 1, p. 80.). He also said: "By the One besides whom there is no other god, I know where and why every verse of Allah's Book was revealed" (Al-Bukhari).
During the caliphate of `Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), events led to the preparation of the standard copy of the Qur'an known as the Mushaf which refers to the sheets on which the Qur'an was collected during the time of the Companions. The copy of the Qu'ran from the time of `Uthman (Al-Mushaf Al-Imam) was sent to various countries. `Uthman's order to transcribe the Qur'an paved the way for what was later called `Ilm Rasm al-Qur'an or `Ilm ar- Rasm al-`Uthmani (The Science of Qur'anic Transcription).
`Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), during his caliphate, ordered Abu al-Aswad al-Da'uli (d. 69 H) to affix Tashkil to the Qur'anic manuscript based on Arabic grammar. ( Tashkil is the name for the signs indicating the vowels in Arabic script. It helps to determine the correct pronunciation of words and to avoid mistakes). For this reason `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is regarded as the founder of `Ilm I`rab al-Qur'an (The Science of Qur'anic Syntax).
Most of the Companions were renowned for their authoritative exegetical ( tafseer ) expertise, especially the four Righteous Caliphs, Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Mas`ud, ‘Ubay bin Ka`ab, Ibn az-Zubair, Zayd bin Thabit, Abu Musa al-Ash`ari, `A'ishah and others (may Allah be pleased with them all).
As Islamic conquests extended, the Companions scattered throughout the newly established Muslim lands to teach the people the Qur'an and its interpretation and sciences. Their efforts led to the development of centers and schools of tafseer. The most prominent of these were:
1. The school of Ibn `Abbas in Makkah
2. The school of ‘Ubay bin Ka`ab in Madinah
3. The school of Ibn Mas `ud in Kufah
The schools of the Companions and their students, at-Tabi`in (lit. the Followers), were not restricted to teaching tafseer but also included ` ilm gharib al-Qur'an, `ilm asbab an-nuzul, `ilm an-nasikh wa al-mansukh, and other sciences. Until today, these Qur'anic sciences are learned and transmitted orally.
Sources:
• Ar-Rumi, Fahd. Dirasat fi `Ulum al-Qur'an.
• As-Salih, Subhi. Mabahith fi `Ulum al-Qur'an.
• Al-Qattan, Manna'a. Mabahith fi `Ulum al-Qur'an.
• As-Suyuti, Jalaluddin. Al-'itqan fi `Ulum al-Qur'an.
• http://www.islam.org.au/articles/24/sciences2.htm
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