لا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا المُطَهَّرونَ
No one touches it except the pure ones.
EXPOSITION
This verse has a primary message and a secondary message. The primary message is that which is obtained when the verse is considered along with the verses before and after it, as well as the other verses of the Quran on the same topic. That meaning is presented under the next verse (verse 80). The secondary meaning of the verse is that which is deduced when the verse is taken alone and not bound by its specific context, which is presented here.
The Quran is In a covered book, such that No one touches it except the pure ones. If the pronoun it concerns the covered book, then the verse would serve as an exception to the quality of being covered: it is covered from everyone except for the pure ones. Thus, if one purifies oneself, he can find a way to the realities, wisdoms, and mysteries in which the Quran is rooted. One should purify and free oneself from the limitations of the realm of nature in order to reach the book that is covered from such changes and limitations.
However, apparently the pronoun it concerns the Quran (and not the covered book) because the verses before and after it all concern the Quran. This does not make a big difference in the meaning of the verse; however, there is a requirement to accessing the Quran and reaching its message: purity. To know what is meant by purity here, one should see what is meant by touching, and to know that one should look at the subject of the discussion: the Quran.
What is the Quran? Is it the uttered sounds and phones, what is written in paper and ink, the mental concepts behind the words, their spiritual realisations, what is found in the heart, something beyond time and space, or some lofty and transcendent reality? In the Quran itself, the word ‘Quran’ is used for all of these. In other words, the Quran is a comprehensive reality that exists in every level of existence in a form that is appropriate to that level. At some level it is certain words in the Arabic language (16:103, 26:195, 43:3); yet at another level, it is with Us in the mother-book, [and it is] surely sublime and wise (43:4). It is something that was carried by Gabriel and descended upon the heart (i.e. spirit) of the Prophet, and at the same time it is in Arabic language and is found in the previous scriptures: This is indeed [a book] sent down by the Lord of all the worlds, brought down by the trustworthy spirit, upon your heart, so that you may be one of the warners, in a clear Arabic language. It is indeed [foretold] in the scriptures of the ancients (26:192-196).
Hence, there are different levels of purity required for the different levels of the Quran. At the most primitive and physical level, the verse entails that it is permissible to touch the written text of the Quran only if one is in a state of ritual purity. However, the verse goes far beyond this level, because the Quran is first and foremost an advice from your Lord, and a cure for what is in the breasts, and a guidance and mercy for the faithful (10:57); Rather, it [that is, the Quran] is [present as] manifest signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge, and none contests Our signs except wrongdoers (29:49). Therefore, what is central in the verse is how to connect to the essence of the Quran with the heart, which requires the purification of one’s heart and spirit. It should be noted that these verses were revealed in Mecca, where the verses were primarily addressed to the disbelievers. Therefore, it is very unlikely for the verse to mean ‘Do not touch the Quran except with ritual purity’. At least this cannot be the primary or central message of the verse.
The condition of purity in this verse indicates that the Quran does not address its audience merely at a mental level. Rather, its place is one’s spirit – referred to in the Quran as the heart or the breast – which is of God’s command (17:85) and a breath of His spirit (15:29, 32:9, 38:72). Therefore, this verse is very similar to the following verses: a guidance to the God-wary (2:2); So admonish by the Quran those who fear My threat (50:45); There is indeed an admonition in that for one who has a heart, or gives ear, being attentive (50:37). These verses indicate that there should be an initial level of piety and purity in the person to be able to benefit from the guidance of the Quran. There must be an inner thirst and quest for the truth in the person. Otherwise, if a sick person does not feel any pain and denies his illness, he will not appreciate the remedy and will not make use of it.
The doctor of love
Is like Jesus for sure,
But where is your pain?
So who shall he cure?
Certainly We have made the Quran simple for the sake of admonishment. So is there anyone who will be admonished? (54:17, 54:22, 54:32, 54:40). And admonish, for admonition indeed benefits the faithful (51:55). He who fears [God] will take admonition (87:10). One example of those who did not meet the Quran with pure hearts are those who used to go to the Prophet and listen to the Quran not in search for the truth, but having already made their minds to reject the Quran and meet its verses with sophistries and fabrications to discredit it (5:41, 5:61, 17:47). They are the ones whose hearts Allah did not desire to purify (5:41).
Without that purity and readiness, the Quran will be of no avail to the people, but will only increase them in aversion and loss: We send down in the Quran that which is a cure and mercy for the faithful; and it increases the wrongdoers only in loss (17:82). This purity is like polishing the mirror of one’s heart in order to be able to reflect God’s light without any distortion or refraction. It is like preparing the soil or pruning the trees so that they can receive and benefit from rain and bear fruit. God is mighty and protective (ghayūr), and therefore He blocks the outsiders from the light and beauty of His speech: When you recite the Quran, We draw between you and those who do not believe in the hereafter a hidden curtain, and We cast veils on their hearts, lest they should understand it, and a deafness into their ears. When you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion (17:45-46).
If you want Him as a guest
Then clean up your place;
And polish your mirror
For the beauty of His face.
Purify yourself and then hit the pub;
Or else you will defile our club.
It is important to keep in mind that there are different degrees of purity, and one’s share of the realities of the Quran will be proportionate to his extent of purity. This means that anyone who wants to read, understand, translate, or comment on the Quran must engage in self-purification along with intellectual endeavour. It can also be argued that following the Quran will in turn lead one to higher levels of purity.
The Quran has discussed several means of purification (2:222, 2:232, 5:6, 8:11, 9:103, 11:78, 25:48, 33:53, 58:12) and several causes of defilement (5:41, 5:90, 6:125, 6:145, 9:28, 9:125, 22:30, 83:14, 10:100) that pertain to various levels of beliefs, actions, and character. These are some examples of the means of purification or the barriers to it, but what is mentioned here is a purification that goes far beyond all of these points put together. That is because the pure ones are mentioned in an unconditional form (muṭlaq), implying those who are pure from every impurity possible. This leads us to those who have reached total purity by the grace of God (33:33). They are the ones who would be on a par with the Quran and can have the last word on the meaning of its verses.
Overall, God, glorified is He, is the most pure and the most perfect one. Thus, in order to purify oneself, one should move away from any limitation or imperfection, should abstain from anything that keeps him at the level of the particulars, and should do away with all that block him from advancing toward the absolute and the universal. The command to celebrate the name of your Lord, the all-supreme (verses 74 and 96) could also be a means of purifying the reader on the spot, as it is mentioned once before and once after this verse.
These discussions, interpretations, and implications are directly inferred from the verse and are in line with the Quran, the hadith, and reason. They can certainly be held as some level of the meaning of this verse. At the same time if we take the whole set of verses here as well as other similar verses in the Quran, this verse would have another interpretation, which should be considered as its primary meaning: this verse first and foremost concerns the purity of the origin of the Quran and the means through which it was revealed, and it primarily serves as an answer to the allegations or misconceptions in this regard. See the next verse for further explanation.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Muʿādh ibn Jabal reported that one of the instructions that the Prophet gave him when he was being sent to Yemen was to not touch the Quran except with ritual purity. The same has been reported by others as a part of the Prophet’s letter to them.
Note: There are many narrations in this regard, indicating the need to have ritual purity in order to touch the Quran, some of which specifically draw on this verse. The exegetes and jurists have discussed in detail what the limits are in this regard; for example, whether this condition applies to writing, reciting, or carrying the Quran, and the rulings differ from one jurist to another. The interested reader should refer to the relevant books of law (fiqh) for such rulings. What is to be said here is the following: firstly, as mentioned earlier, it is very unlikely for these Meccan verses to have been initially and primarily concerning such specific legal rulings. These narrations represent subsequent implications and secondary levels of meanings of the verse. Muʿādh’s mission to Yemen and the letters that the Prophet sent to the new Muslims were all in the post-migration period. Secondly, the body and spirit are levels and aspects of the same reality, not separate entities from one another. Thus, the necessity to observe ritual purity in order to touch the Quran at the physical level is indicative of an even bigger necessity to acquire spiritual purity. This is true with regard to all outward and bodily rituals such as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage, and purity is no exception to that.
If the body is immersed in musk very well,
The day that it dies, it will rot and smell.
Musk is for the inside and not the façade;
I mean real musk: the Names of God.
[1] Suyuti, 7/110.
[2] Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 187.
[3] Ṣāʾib Tabrīzī.
[4] Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 423.
[5] Samarqandi, 3/398; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Tamhīd, 17/397; Suyuti, 6/162.
[6] Istibsar, 1/113-114, h. 3; Wasail, 1/383ff.
[7] Rūmī, Mathnawī, vol. 2, lines 266-267.