Overview:
The Department of Quran and Sunnah was inaugurated in 1391/1392 as part of the College of Shai’ah and Islamic Studies. At that stage, the Quran and Sunnah subjects failed to meet the goals of the specialty because its courses contained rare details about researches conducted in the same field.
Therefore,the subjects were upgraded and developed to realize the objectives of the Quran and Sunnah's department goals. New subjects were added to address the history of Sunnah, (Knowledge of Men) biographical evaluation [which is a science of Hadith narrators], Takhreej (a process to study narrators of the same Hadith in order to analyze them and establish authenticity), Isnad (Sanad) [verification of the continuous and unbroken chain of narrators], and the Objective Interpretation [Tafsir]. A collection of Hadith [Sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad] were added to give the student a brief on the essences and ethics of Islam. The detailed courses gave no explanation for the goals and information about the then-adopted study plan.
When the King Abdulaziz University's branch in Makkah was announced as an independent university (Umm al-Qura University), a decree was issued to announce the foundation of Da’wa and Usul-ud-Din College. Later, the Department of Quran and Sunnah was established under decree no. 1/6827/16/04/30, dated 22/07/1404AH in accordance with the UQU Supreme Council's decision issued in its second session held on 22/04/1404AH. The decision dictated that the department shall be annexed to the Da’wa and Usul-ud-Din College.
The postgraduate studies (Master's and Ph.D degrees) included two branches of study:
First: Tafsir (Interpretation of Holy Quran).
Second: Hadith studies.
The department has developed new courses which were later adopted by the councils in concern.
Objectives:
1- Making sure that the Quran and Sunnah are the real Religious References of Islam by the easy access to their studies.
2- Spreading the correct and moderate understandings of the Quran and Hadith without exaggeration or negligence.
3- Highly qualification in the field of Quran and Sunnah's research and study.
4- Preparation of specialized researches in the field to serve the Muslim world's causes.
5- Creating a favorable environment for conducting scientific researches in the domain.
6- Providing scientific and preaching services in Makkah during Hajj and Umrah seasons.
7- Providing consultancy services in the field of Quran and Sunnah.
Vision:
The department is planning to present an example in qualifying specialized cadres in the fields of Quran and Hadith studies to serve the local community and world in a manner commensurate with the UQU motto: "Noble Knowledge in Holy Place."
Message:
The Department of Quran and Sunnah is established to provide high quality education services for professors, students and researchers. Also, it aims at supplying the local and international community with highly qualified cadres and researches to bolster the correct image of Islam according to the Quran, Hadith and the teachings of Salf (first generations of the proponents of Islam).