analysis of the classical Muslim sources appears to have been undertaken phenom‌ enologically, with an extreme sensitivity toward the Quran as the divinely inspired book, whose history of collection was at times impaired by the ideological consider‌ ations of the authors.
The exegesis of the Quran is essentially founded on a historical method in which the sources that provide evidential documentation are examined thoroughly to ascer‌ tain their reliability. Each piece of evidence is further analyzed for its internal con‌ sistency before it is admitted as a valid argument in support of a particular thesis. Undoubtedly, in all this intellectual activity, one cannot fail to observe al-Khuis implicit scholarly precommitment-namely, to reaffirm the intellectual credentials of a Shiite mujtahid as an authoritative exegete of the Islamic revelation. In Islamic scholarly circles, such a reaffirmation requires the author to refute attacks, both internal and external, on the integrity of Islamic revelation.
Internally, al-Khui was responding to the Sunni refutation of the Shiite position about the belief in the actual extent of the Quranic revelation. According to some rare Shiite opinions, certain sections of the Quran that included praise for Ali b. Abi Talib, the Imam of the Shia, were intentionally suppressed by Sunni readers. ٣٤
Externally, he was responding to Christian scholarship on Islam-produced in large measure by missionaries-which had challenged the very claim of divine origin of the Islamic revelation and regarded the Quran as Mul)ammads own creation.
The first three chapters of The Prolegomena, entitled "Miracle of the Quran," "Erroneous Impressions concerning the Miracle of the Quran," and "Discussion about Other Miracles," are certainly in response to external criticism leveled at the Muslim scripture by non-Muslims; the rest of the book responds to Sunni criticisms against the Shiites. In addition, the latter chapters, specifically Chapters ٨ on, provide the corrective to Sunni views about the history of the revealed text. Although al-Khuis command of Sunni materials that deal with the history of the Quran is rigorous and compelling in regard to internal criticism, his polemical treatment of the biblical materials from the Old and the New Testaments in response to external skepticism toward the Quran is cursory. There is little, if any, reference to the biblical scholar‌ ship that regards different books of the Bible as being compiled in different stages of their development before their ultimate canonization.
The polemical dimension of traditional Muslim scholarship can be gauged pre‌ cisely in its attitude toward other Abrahamic scriptures. The "theological" approach prevalent in all centers of traditional Islamic religious learning finds expression in The Prolegomena in the way comparisons between the Quran and other revelations are tackled. Biblical sources are evaluated in terms of their being acclaimed as di‌ vinely inspired texts, whereas their present state reveals interpolations that distort their true intent for worldly gains. In the final analysis, such biblical citations are brought into focus to enhance the validity of the belief about the Quran being t e inimitable miracle of Islam and its founder.
Of all the traditional sources used to interpret the Quran, Muslims found that the exegesis based on the traditions (f:zadfth) that recounted the explanations of specific passages of the Quran was most acceptable because it seemed to recapture the es‌ sential meaning of the text under discussion. However, what was actually taught by the Prophet was not always easy to determine because quite often there existed vari-