As a reminder it was said that the holy Qur’an is not the word of the Prophet of Islam let alone an ordinary human being. Today we are going to continue this discussion.

Speaking on a group of the People of the Book and polytheists, who would insist on their false creed feigning to pursue divine proof, the holy Qur’an says in surah Bayyinah, “An apostle from Allah reciting impeccable scriptures, wherein are upright writings.”

As it is evident here, two features are mentioned in these ayahs. First, purity and impeccability of the Qur’an which shows that this Book has been sent down from a lofty and sacred position; hence it is far from any waywardness and shortcoming. Secondly, the writings and concepts of this Book are upright and solid.

Ruling out the ideas of those who compare the holy Qur’an with other books, God says in surah Abas, “No indeed! These verses of the Qur’an are a reminder – so let anyone who wishes remember it – in honoured scriptures, exalted and purified, in the hands of envoys, noble and pious.”

These ayahs refer to two important characteristics of the Qur’an. First, the Qur’an has a lofty status with God proving that it is not a terrestrial scripture. Another characteristic is that it has been written by the angels who are noble and pious and human beings had no role in it.

Describing the lofty position of the holy Qur’an, we read in ayahs 2-4 of surah Zukhruf, “By the Manifest Book: We have made it an Arabic Qur’an so that you may apply reason, and indeed it is with Us in the Mother Book and it is surely sublime and wise.”

The points to ponder here are: First, God swears by the Qur’an. For sure, the divine oath is taken on purpose and shows that God intends to raise a very important issue. Secondly, God calls the Qur’an as the Manifest Book. It means that the holy Qur’an sheds light on all dos and don’ts, truth and falsehood, and every need of mankind. It is a roadmap of human life. Thirdly, God says that the Qur’an is sent down in Arabic so that everybody knows that the Arab Prophet has no role in determining the language of the Scripture. The most important point of these ayahs is that God says: The Qur’an is with Us in the Mother Book. According to the exegetes the reality of this divine Book is not known to us and ordinary people are not able to understand it as it is at a very lofty status. Yet, God has made it simple for cognizance of ordinary people. The last point of these ayahs is that the holy Qur’an is wise, i.e. it is not an aimless book but just as its sender it is wise and full of lofty goals.

In surah Waqia’ Almighty God swears by the stars to show the lofty position of this Book. Then He says, “This is indeed a noble Qur’an in a guarded Book – no one touches it except the pure ones – gradually sent down from the Lord of all the worlds.”

Considering these points, there is no doubt that the holy Qur’an is a thoroughly unmatched divine book and it is full of unknown mysteries. Many of the exegetes of the holy Qur’an are of the opinion that the “pure ones” mentioned in the ayah are the Prophet and his 12 infallible successors (Imams) of his Ahl al-Bayt. This is evident in ayah 33 of surah Ahzab, “Indeed Allah desires to repel all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and purify you with a thorough purification.”

The ultimate message of the ayah is that the progeny of the Prophet (Blessings of God upon them) are the means of accessing the realities and mysteries of the Qur’an since they are immune and pure from any sin or flaw. However, regarding the part of the ayah, no one touches it except the pure ones, some of the exegetes maintain that it means the ayahs of the Qur’an shouldn’t be touched except with ritual ablution.

In short, the lofty realities of this divine Book are attainable only for the spiritually and physically pure people.

RM/SS