Al Ḥijr

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذّ‌ِكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

9. “Verily, We Ourself have sent down the Reminder (the Qur’an) and verily We, (Ourself) will be its Guardian”.

According to verse 6, the unbelievers used to imply that it was not clear as to where the source of the Prophet’s Reminder was. In this noble verse, Allah says:

Stop hesitating! It is certainly We Who reveal the Qur’an and the Reminder upon him, and as the pagans used to stress the issue of insanity with regard to the Prophet (S), Allah (s.w.t.) attributes to His Own Sacred Essence the revelation of the Qur’an and its preservation. ²

The verse says:

“Verily, We Ourself have sent down the Reminder (the Qur’an) and verily We, (Ourself) will be its Guardian”.

According to the Allah’s testimony and His pledge in this verse, no changes or distortions have occurred in the Qur’an. In its other verses as well this meaning has been referred to, among which one may name Surah Fussilat, No. 41, verse 42:

“Falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind it…”

which signifies that: No untruth has any way into the Holy Qur’an. In addition to Allah’s pledge to the preservation of the Qur’an, Muslims have protected it from the beginning and have been earnest in its writing and preserving it. They would even assign the instruction of the Qur’an as a dower for their wives, and designate it for a man’s marriage as a pre-condition. They used to recite or read it in their prayers, and there were a number of scribes who were the writers of the revelations, one of whom was Hadrat Ali (as).

The Imams, the Ahl-ul-Bayt (as), used to call people to this very Qur’an which exists now. Moreover, the tradition of Thaqalayn, quoted from the Prophet (S), provides another proof for the authenticity of the Qur’an. Sincerely, can one claim that the prophetic mission of the Prophet (S) is constant but his Book is alterable?

Footnotes

1. 2. In this short verse, there are two kinds of emphasis employed. A series of 5 emphasis are dealt with for the revelation of the Qur’an which appear in words /’in/, /n a/, /nahnu/, /nazzal/ /naŏ-ŏikr/, and a series of 5 emphasis are found in the preservation of the Qur’an in such words as: /’in/, /n a/, /lahū/, /la/ and /h afizūn/, which are obvious in the Arabic literature.
   2- As for the lack of distortions of the Qur’an , there are hundreds of books and essays as well as researches written on the absence of any distortions in the Qur’an . However, it is most unfortunate that the Shi‘ites are unjustly held responsible for any idea of distortions, which is ascribed to them.
   3- The tradition of Thaqalayn has been quoted from the blissful Prophet (S). That form which has been narrated by and among all of Islamic sects on various occasions is as follows:

   “I am leaving behind me two weighty (very worthy and important) things among you: The book of Allah (i.e. the Qur’an ) and my progeny, my Ahl-ul-Bayt. Never these two get separated from each other, and once you take recourse to the two, you will never get astray.”

   4- The Qur’an is a Reminder: “…We have sent down the Reminder…”, and turning away from the Reminder and the Qur’an will lead man astray, and, hence, causes him misfortunes:

   “And whoever turns away from My remembrance verily for him is a life straitened, …” (Surah TaHa, No. 20, verse 124).

   The Qur’an is a Remembrance and only by the remembrance of Allah all hearts will be comforted.

   The Qur’an says:

   “…Behold! By Allah’s remembrance (only) the hearts are set at rest.” (Surah Ar-Ra‘d, No. 13, verse 28)