[3100] This statement is a quick rejoinder to the Deniers’ mention of the ‘Reminder’ in their deriding earlier use of the word (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). This also affirms the Divine source of the Qur’an to bolster the position of the Messenger (ﷺ) in the face of his people’s ridicule (cf. al-Zamakhsharī, al-Baiḍāwī).
[3101] Innā Naḥnu (We are Who) signifies both majesty (cf. Abū al-Suʿūd) and confirmation in the strongest of terms (cf. al-Zamakhsharī, al-Baiḍāwī, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3102] La-ḥāfiẓūn (lit. We shall indeed be Preserving ˹it˺) strongly affirms the Qur’an’s preservation from deletion, addition, alteration and loss (cf. al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar, al-Tafsīr al-Muḥarrar): “It is verily a glorious Qur’an; *in a Tablet preserved!” (85: 21-22).
This preservation is of two stages: during its descent, it is preserved from devils ever eavesdropping on it and mixing it up with their own words (cf. Ayas 16-18 below), and after its descent from undergoing any change (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “It is verily a sublime Book. *Falsehood approaches it not from before it, nor from behind it; ˹it is˺ a sending down successively from The Wise, The Worthy of Praise!” (41: 41-42).
By God Almighty’s preserving it, the Qur’an is and will always remain an everlasting miracle up to the Day of Judgement. Whereas all other signs and miracles which were proven so to their contemporaries, and later generations through narration, and yet still did not have the same effect on those who received news of it no matter how Believing they are, the Qur’an is amongst us; we hear it, we see it, we feel it and we recite it. This is why it is a Sign for all people and all times (cf. Ibn ʿUthaymīn).