Surah 87. Al-Ala

7Hakim has related from Hadrat Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas and Ibn Marduyah from Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) repeated the words of the Qur'an for fear lest he should forget them. Mujahid and Kalbi say that even before Gabriel finished recitation of the Revelation the Holy Prophet would start repeating the initial verses lest he should forget them. On this very basis Allah assured him that he should listen quietly when the Revelation was coming down, for, "We shall enable you to recite it; then you will remember it for ever. You should have no fear that you will forget any word of it. " This is the third occasion where the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has been taught the method of receiving the Revelation. The first two occasions have been referred to in Ta Ha: 114 and Al-Qiyamah: 16-19 above. This verse proves that just as the Qur'an was sent down to the Holy Prophet as a miracle, so also its each word was preserved in his memory as a miracle and no possibility was allowed to remain that he should forget anything of it, or that he should utter another synonymous word for any word of it.

8This sentence can have two meanings: first, "that the preservation of the entire Qur'an word for word in your memory is not a manifestation of your own power but the result of Allah Almighty's bounty and grace; otherwise if Allah so willed, He could cause it to be forgotten. " This same theme has been expressed at another place in the Qur'an, thus: "O Muhammad! We may, if We so will, take back from you all of what We have revealed to you." (Bani Isra'il: 86). Another meaning also can be: "Your forgetting something temporarily, or your forgetting a verse or a word occasionally is an exception froth this promise. What has been promised is: `You will not forget any word of the Qur'an permanently'." This meaning is confirmed by the following tradition of Bukhari: Once while leading the Fajr Prayer the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) happened to omit a verse during the recitation. After the Prayer hadrat Ubayy bin Ka`b asked if the verse had been abrogated. The Holy Prophet replied that he had forgotten to recite it.

9Although the words are general, and they mean that Allah knows everything, whether it is open or hidden, yet in the context in which they occur, they seem to mean: "O Prophet, your reciting the Qur'an along with Gabriel (peace be on him) is known to Allah and your fear for which you do so is also in Allah's knowledge." Therefore, the Holy Prophet is being assured that he will not forget it.