In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

Praise belongs to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, ask His forgiveness, and repent to Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils within ourselves and from our misdeeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomever He allows to stray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger—may Allah’s abundant blessings and peace be upon him.

To proceed: I had previously written an extensive, detailed tafsīr (exegesis) of the Quran whose length discourages readers from continuing and dampens the determination to publish it. Some knowledgeable, sincere advisors therefore suggested that I compose a shorter work which would contain the essence of that tafsīr, in which we limit ourselves to discussing selected verses drawn from every field of Quranic science and every one of its objectives. I accordingly sought Allah’s assistance in undertaking this blessed project for several reasons:

• First, its conciseness will make it manageable for students and beneficial for readers.

• Second, the Glorious Quran is unlike other books in arrangement and classification, for it has reached the pinnacle of eloquence, the utmost degree of beauty, and a uniquely wondrous style with an astounding impact—qualities that are [one] (1) of the greatest proofs that it is the speech of Allah, a revelation from the All-Wise, the Praiseworthy. Within a single verse you will find a union of means and ends, of evidence and what it proves, of encouragement and warning, of foundational and subsidiary sciences, and between