Transliteration:( Illaa maa shaaa'al laah; innahoo ya'lamul jahra wa maa yakhfaa )
8. It means he does forget on the basis of his weakness. If Allah Almighty so Wills he will forget. But Allah Almighty did not desire this. Thus, he did not forget (Tafseer Khazain and Khazainul Irfaan). Says Allah Almighty: "Undoubtedly it is upon Us to preserve it and recite it"(S75:V17). And how will the Holy forget? If the صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Prophet Hadith of a narrator with a weak memory were not reliable, then how would the narration of the Holy Qur'aan be reliable? Also, the Holy had prayed for صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Prophet Hazrat Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him) as a result of which he never forgot. The one who can eliminate the forgetfulness of others cannot forget himself. Wherever forgetfulness of is proven in صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم the Holy Prophet Salaah, etc. is apparent forgetfulness and is in accordance with Divine Will in which there are thousands of wisdoms. صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم Otherwise, the Holy Prophet is totally free from weakness of memory and illness of forgetfulness.
9. For the deeds and intentions of man, or apparent and concealed deeds. Or, O My Beloved! For your apparent and concealed attributes which is beyond access to any human intelligence. From the first explanation we learn that a person should rectify his outer and inner life. The physical life will only be established in a proper manner if the heart and mind are both in correct order. The life of faith is dependent on the correctness of form and character. From the second explanation one learns that the believer should perform some deeds openly and some deeds secretly. Perform the Friday Salaah and Eid Salaah openly, but Tahajjud Salaah secretly. From the third explanation one understands that the personality of the Holy .is apparent to all صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Prophet but the reality of the Holy Prophet is not known to anyone صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم besides Allah Almighty. If to this day no one has understood that from which power is the light of the sun, then who can understand the underlying power of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم
The tafsir of Surah Al-Ala verse 7 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Al-Ala ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 13.
(87:7) except what Allah should wish.[8] He knows all that is manifest and all that is hidden.[9]
8. This sentence can have two meanings: First, that the preservation of the entire Quran 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 Quran, thus: O Muhammad! We may, if We so will, take back from you all of what We have revealed to you. (Surah Bani Israil, Ayat 86). Another meaning can also be: Your forgetting something temporarily, or your forgetting a verse or a word occasionally is an exception from this promise. What has been promised is: You will not forget any word of the Quran permanently. This meaning is confirmed by the following tradition of Bukhari: Once while leading the Fajr Prayer the Prophet (peace be upon him) happened to omit a verse during the recitation. After the Prayer Ubayy bin Kaab asked if the verse had been abrogated. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied that he had forgotten to recite it.
9. Although 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 Quran along with Gabriel is known to Allah and your fear for which you do so is also in Allah’s knowledge. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is being assured that he will not forget it.
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