We Shall Guard It

Then Allah (swt) says innā naḥnu nazzalnā al-dhikra wa innā lahu la-ḥāfiẓūn. We have revealed this Reminder, which is the Qur'an — so the Qur'an is a dhikr, a reminder — and We shall protect it.

This is a book of Allah (swt) so protected that, whereas with the other prophets and their scriptures the scriptures were given over to the people to protect, and certain laws and the like were given them, they did not fulfil that charge, and so the books became interpolated: their scriptures were changed and altered and divided up, and all manner of things befell them. A great deal of change took place there. But as for the Qur'an — and though this is an oft-quoted idea, it is well worth stating again — over fourteen hundred years and more, Allah (swt) has Himself taken the responsibility of its preservation.

One might ask why He did not take the responsibility of the earlier ones. The earlier ones were specific to their time. Another prophet was to come, and a new Sharīʿah, a new revival of things. So perhaps that is why He left them to the people, and the people changed them, since they were never meant to last for ever. But the Qur'an is meant to last for ever. Which means it cannot be left to human beings. Humans are prone to mistakes; the insān makes a great many mistakes. That is why Allah (swt) has taken the preservation upon Himself, and why He has facilitated several different things for it.