إِنَّا نَحۡنُ نَزَّلۡنَا ٱلذِّكۡرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَٰفِظُونَ
Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’an], and indeed, We will be its guardian.
The disbelievers had said mockingly: “O you upon whom the message has been sent down! You are mad” (that is, you are under the influence of the jinn, and it is the jinn who give you this so-called message).
Allah, however, replies with absolute clarity:
إِنَّا نَحۡنُ نَزَّلۡنَا ٱلذِّكۡرَ
Indeed, it is We who sent down the message.
He uses the pronoun نَحۡنُ (We), which expresses majesty. Not the jinn; not a product of the Prophet’s imagination.
The source is Us; that is, Allah.
Then comes that eternal promise:
وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَٰفِظُونَ
And indeed, We will be its guardian.
The word حَٰفِظُونَ comes from the root حِفۡظ, which means to guard, to preserve and to memorize. A “hafiz” is someone who has memorized the Qur’an, and this choice of word is itself inspired by this very ayah.
This preservation of the Qur’an manifests in various ways; but its primary means of preservation has always been memorization and safekeeping in the hearts of the believers.
Although various criticisms have been raised about manuscripts, lost parchments or the compilation process, the Qur’an’s primary and most secure form of preservation has never depended on paper. It has always been preserved فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ, that is, in the breasts, through memorization and hifz.
When we devote ourselves and our children to memorizing the Qur’an, we attain the honor of carrying forward the fulfillment of the divine promise “Indeed, We will be its guardian.”