The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 359
PT. 13 CH. 15 (AL-HIJR) 1. "In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. 1708 2 ركوعاتها ٦ سُورَةُ الْحِجْرِ مَكّيَّةُ ١٥ بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ مُّبِيْنٍ تِلْكَ أَيْتُ الْكِتَبِ وَقُرْآنِ 2. 'Alif Lām Rā. "These are verses of the Book and of the illuminating Quran. 1709 ª1:1. 10:2; 11:2; 12:2; 13:2; 14:2. °º27:2; 31:3. 1708. Commentary: See 1:1. 1709. Commentary: مبين For the abbreviated letters see 2:2. The word (illuminating), meaning (1) to make plain and (2) to be plain, signifies both that which makes other things plain and that which is plain itself. In 12:2, the word has been used in the first-mentioned sense, while in the verse under comment it has been used in the latter sense, which signifies that the Quran itself bears testimony to its truth. It is worthy of note that the Word of God sent to the Holy Prophet is spoken of here both as 15 (that which is written) and (that which is read), to indicate that it will be preserved both, through writing and reading. And this has in fact been so. For, of all revealed Scriptures, the Quran alone has been preserved by its verses having been committed to writing as soon as they were revealed and also by its having been committed to memory by hundreds of thousands of Muslims during the past fourteen centuries. The practice of committing the Quran to memory has continued among Muslims since the time of the Holy Prophet, and in every age there have been thousands of Muslims who could recite from memory the whole of it-a distinction shared by no other revealed Book. Even if all copies of the Quran were lost, it would not disappear from the face of the earth, for it is indelibly inscribed on the memories of hundreds of thousands of Muslims from one end of the earth to the other. Thus has the Divine promise made in v. 10 below met with wonderful fulfilment. One more point is worthy of special note here. Only at two places in the Quran do the words (Book) and قرآن word (Quran) occur together viz. in 27:2 and in the verse under comment. In the present verse the word (Book) precedes the (Quran), while in 27:2 the order has been reversed. As stated above the word (Book), implies a prophecy that the Holy Book of Islam will continue to be written, and the word J (Quran), points to the prophecy that it will continue to be increasingly read and recited. Now whereas in the present verse the word 1567 مبين