في كِتابٍ مَكنونٍ
In a covered book.
EXEGESIS
Maknūn means something that is concealed and protected. Thus it involves the two elements of concealment and protection. This meaning is confirmed by the next verse: No one touches it except the pure ones.
A covered book is mentioned in the indefinite form apparently because it is unknown to the people. The same form is used in the Quran when talking about the manifest book (6:59, 10:61, 11:6, 27:75, 34:3) and the preserved tablet (85:22).
EXPOSITION
This verse and the next identify why the disbelievers cannot grasp the message of the Quran and realise its truth: because it is in a covered book. Two meanings for this verse are: 1. The Quran (or its reality) is found in a covered book. 2. The Quran is noble in a covered book; that is, even though you do not appreciate this book, it is noble and honoured in the realm of the covered book. The first meaning seems more plausible.
The term covered book is not used anywhere else in the Holy Quran. However, a very similar idea is found at the end of chapter 85: Rather, it is a glorious Quran, in a preserved tablet (85:21-22). Furthermore, the Quran is in the mother-book (umm al-kitāb): We have made it an Arabic Quran so that you may apply reason, and indeed it is with Us in the mother-book, [and it is] surely sublime and wise (43:3-4). This mother-book is the same book in which the knowledge of everything and the ends of affairs is reported (13:39), in a realm above and beyond time and temporal change. That is because with Him is the mother-book (13:39) and what is with Allah shall last (16:96). The Quran has referred to this more commonly as a manifest book (kitāb mubīn): Nor is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or withered but it is in a manifest book (6:59); Not an atom’s weight escapes your Lord in the earth or in the sky, nor [is there] anything smaller than that nor bigger, but it is in a manifest book (10:61); not [even] an atom’s weight escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, nor [is there] anything smaller than that nor bigger, but it is in a manifest book (34:3); Everything is in a manifest book (11:6; also see 27:75).
Based on these verses, one can argue that the covered book, the preserved tablet, the mother-book, and the manifest book all refer to the same reality. They describe a level of God’s knowledge that is eternal and encompasses every level of existence. It is called a book or tablet since the knowledge to everything is inscribed therein. The four qualities of covered, preserved, mother, and manifest refer to four different aspects and attributes of this book. It is covered and hidden because it is not accessible to everyone, and/or because it incorporates the divine secrets and mysteries. It is guarded and preserved from the reach of outsiders, strangers, and the misguided. It is also covered and guarded from changes and modifications that occur in the realm of nature and matter. It is the root, source, and mother of all books, meaning that the divine will and decree emanates from there and flows down to the other realms of existence. Any act or change that is made by God is based on the mother-book (39:13). Finally, it is manifest in the sense that it contains the final and certain knowledge to everything (therefore the book being manifest does not contradict it being covered or hidden, for each concerns a different aspect of the book). It should be noted that sometimes the Quran itself is described as the manifest book (5:15, 12:1, 26:2, 27:1, 28:2, 43:2, 44:2).
The nobility of the Quran and its presence in the covered book is best described in the following verses: By the manifest book: We have made it an Arabic Quran so that you may apply reason, and indeed it is with Us in the mother-book, [and it is] surely sublime and wise (43:2-4). Its sublimity apparently corresponds to its nobility, and the mother-book apparently corresponds to a covered book.
Hence, It is in a covered book refers to the Quran’s comprehensive reality, which extends over all planes of existence. It tells the reader: ‘Do not underestimate this book, for it is of an elevated status.’ It points to the origin of the Quran, meaning that anything found in this book is rooted in God’s eternal and unchanging knowledge of everything. For this reason, Falsehood cannot approach it, from before it nor from behind it (41:42). It also means that the truth, secrets, and wisdoms behind the Quranic reports, commands, and principles are covered and hidden from an ordinary individual. This is exactly why the Quran demands an element of faith, conviction, and submission from its audience, for not everything is known or manifest to them.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- In one narration, the Prophet described the covered book as a book that is with God in pure scriptures. He then interpreted the pure ones as the close ones (al-muqarrabūn).
[1] Tahqiq, under k-n-n.
[2] Sadra, 7/104-106.
[3] Suyuti, 6/162.