An Introduction to
The Evolutionnary Course of the Quran
The Cultural Foundation of Mehdi Bazargan Publication
Translation by: Bagher Asadi
Published in June of 2019
Number of Pages: 299 The Evolutionary Course of the
Quran (Seyr-e Tahawwul-e Quran), a two-volume work, is widely considered as
one of the major intellectual works of the late Mehdi Bazargan (1907-1995), the
prominent reform-minded Muslim thinker, university professor, public servant,
entrepreneur, political activist, and the first prime-minister of the
post-revolutionary Iran. He wrote the book in Persian - during the years
1344-45 (1965-1966) while serving a ten-year sentence as a political prisoner
under the Pahlavi regime. The first volume was published in 1355 Solar Hijri
(1977). The preparation of the second volume, comprising of charts and curves,
by Bazargans elder son, Abdolali Bazargan, took a number of years and came out
in early 1981.
Bazargans method of research, and more importantly, his illuminating findings
in deciphering and explaining - the evolutionary course in the revelation of
the Holy Quran, goes beyond all historiographical works in the Muslim world as
well of as such prominent Western Orientalists as Theodore Nldeke and Regis
Blachere. It represents a major step forward in this important field at the
time. The work is the product of rigorous research with historical significance
and import; equally a solid foundation for further exploration and analysis.
Despite some valuable efforts during the past decades to translate the book into
English, most notably in the 1980s by Dr. Ali Asghar Agah, a Muslim
student/academic activist in the United States, it has not yet been made
available to English-speakers. A Turkish translation of the book was published
in 1998. An Arabic translation has also appeared in recent years.
The Cultural Foundation of Mohandes Mehdi Bazargan (established 1995), in charge
of collection of his works, has thus far compiled and published 30 volumes,
inclusive of books, pamphlets, essays, articles, and lectures, and expects to
publish 4 more volumes within the next two years. Following an 8-year expert
review, including thorough the use of advanced computer software, all the
quantitative data, statistical tables and charts, and curves in the original
2-volume version of The Evolutionary Course of the Quran, have been checked
and assessed for accuracy in reproduction. The outcome of the review has been
compiled and re-arranged in Volumes 12 and 13 of the Collected Works. Volume 12,
containing volume I of the Seyr-e Tahawwul-e Quran, includes the temporal
sequence of the Quran and all relevant tables and diagrams, and the rationale
for their calculation. Volume 13 includes thematic evolution and substantive
evolution of the Quran.
The Cultural Foundation, acutely aware of the obvious lacunae in regard with an
English translation of the late Bazargans work, has discussed the matter at
different junctures of time. However, considering the fact that an English
rendition of the detailed two-volume book now Volumes 12 and 13 -- replete
with numerous mathematical equations, hundreds of tables, charts and diagrams,
and corresponding complex argumentation, could simply prove too technical and
cumbersome for general, non-technical readership, the Foundation ultimately
resolved to settle for a brief, compact introduction of the work. The principal
objective of the preparation of the present book is to open a window into
Bazargans intellectual journey of exploration. The Foundation believes the
synopsis presented in this book, based on the material in Volumes 12 and 13,
will serve to familiarize non-Persian-speaking readers, both Muslims and
non-Muslims, and more specifically, Quranic scholars, with a succinct expose of
Bazargans valuable contribution and its quite enlightening findings and
conclusions. And, needless to say, the elaborate presentation of Bazargans
journey of exploration, as fully contained in Volumes 12 and 13, will remain the
enduring, and sole authoritative source on the detailed discussions, and all
finer points and subtleties relating to the initial questions and concerns,
rationale for the research, the research method, reasoning, analysis, and
findings and conclusions.
The Foundation has also decided to include in the present volume the rather
recent research article of Dr. Behnam Sadeghi under the title of The Chronology
of the Quran: A Stylometric Research. This landmark research could be
considered as the first rigorous evaluation of Bazarganss work on the
Chronology of the Quran. He writes: Bazargans work has inspired mine and
provided the starting point. Its focus on style and quantitative cast are
methodological features that carry over into my work. Thus, he considers his
seven-phase chronology as Modified Bazargan Chronology (pp. 211, 212, and 215).
The Foundation deems it necessary to express gratitude to Amb. Bagher Asadi, a
retired career Iranian diplomat, for his dedication and hard work throughout the
preparation of this book, including, in particular, for writing: 1- a compact
Introduction on the life and thought of Mehdi Bazargan as the necessary
background for the volume, and 2 - the synopsis of Bazargans seminal work. We
are also thankful to Dr. Seyyed Ali Mahmoudi, diplomat and professor of
political sciences (School of International Relations, Tehran), whose serious
interest in and effective pursuit of the idea of the preparation of a compact
synopsis instead of the full rendition of the original work made the present
volume possible. A special words of thanks is also due Dr. Agah, whose
invaluable effort in translating the bulk of the original work in the 1980s
was, for a host of reasons, left incomplete even if, as Asadi humbly states, has
provided the solid foundation for his prose. We also express our deep
appreciation to a number of Iranian academics, inside the country and in
diaspora, including Mr. Abdolali Bazargan, for his full cooperation and also for
his provision of the resources and services necessary for publishing the present
volume. We also express our gratitude to Dr. Mohammad Hossein Baniasadi, who has
also meticulously and patiently read the entire draft synopsis and made
extremely useful comments and observations of a lingual and substantive nature.
Dr. Farhad Bebahanis creative effort in preparing a condensed version of the
quite detailed chronological tables of the Quranic verses in the original work
is also greatly appreciated. All these valuable contributions have indeed helped
enrich the final outcome. A fuller list of all the contributions to the
synopsis, at various stages, is duly acknowledged by the author at the end of
that text.
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