وَإِنَّهُ لَتَذكِرَةٌ لِلمُتَّقينَ
Indeed it is a reminder for the God-wary.
EXEGESIS
The pronoun it refers to the Quran, for it is the subject discussed in verses 40-44 and after this verse in verses 49-51. The pronoun could also be understood as a reference to the Day of Resurrection, discussed in preceding verses, but that would only be understood as an additional, compatible meaning for the pronoun.
The word tadhkirah (remembrance) given here, can also be translated as admonition. It is derived from dhakara (to remind) and is a synonym to the more common term dhikr (remembrance).
Numerous verses refer to the Quran as tadhkirah (20:3, 69:48, 73:19, 74:49, 74:54, 76:29, 80:11) and as dhikr (3:58, 7:63, 15:6, 15:9, 16:44, 21:50, 36:11, 36:69, 38:1, 38:8, 43:44, 54:25, 65:10).
Dhikr, besides being a common synonym for the Quran, is also a reserved word frequently used to refer to the oft-encouraged constant remembrance and glorification of God (2:200, 4:142, 13:28, 18:101, 20:124, 23:110, 24:37, 29:45, 33:35, 33:41, 39:22-23, 43:36, 57:16, 58:19, 63:9).
Muttaqīn (the God-wary) is derived from wiqāyah, to safeguard, protect, or shield oneself or others from harm. The verb is used in the imperative in the verse: O you who have faith! Save (qū) yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones (66:6). Taqwā is therefore a state of constant God-consciousness, which in turn gives one a form of infallibility from sin and a safeguard from anything that would jeopardise one’s eternal life in the hereafter.
The God-wary however are not an elite class within the faithful like, for example, the humble (khāshiʿūn), the charitable (mutaṣaddiqūn), the sincere (mukhliṣūn), and so on, all of whom are regarded as possessing higher ranks of faith. God-wariness is used almost synonymously with faith (īmān) and its mention occurs so frequently in the Quran that it would be safe to assume it to be a prerequisite and an all-encompassing trait permeating all the various ranks of the faithful, albeit in different degrees and according to their varying levels of faith.
EXPOSITION
Why the God-wary are singled out for guidance has been explained in detail in previous surahs (such as 2:2). In summary, the faithless do not benefit from the Quran as a reminder. Hence it is only a reminder to him who fears [his Lord] (20:3). For those who have faith, it is a guidance and healing; but for those who are faithless, there is a deafness in their ears and it is lost to their sight (41:44). So, whereas the Quran offers guidance to all mankind (2:185), only the God-wary take its guidance (2:2). It serves as an explanation (bayān) for mankind but remains a guide (hudā) and advice (mawʿiẓah) only for the God-wary (3:138).
Reminding is how the Quran guides the faithful and the sincere – it constantly reminds them of God, the hereafter, the need to be God-wary, and so on. Humans by nature are prone to heedlessness and require a sustaining of their faith. The Quran helps provide this spiritual sustenance through a constant nudging. The Prophet is told: So remind, for reminding is indeed beneficial: he who fears will mind (87:9-10).
For more on the fluctuation of faith and how God increases it in the faithful and adds faith to their existing faith, see 48:4. And for an example where God asks the faithful to adopt greater faith, see 4:136.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Imam Ali (a), in his description of the God-wary, wherein he speaks of their interaction with the Quran and its role as a reminder: ‘During the night they are upstanding on their feet reading portions of the Quran and reciting it in a well-measured way, creating through it grief for themselves and seeking by it the cure for their ailments. If they come across a verse creating eagerness [for paradise] they pursue it avidly, and their spirits turn towards it eagerly, and they feel as if it is in front of them. And when they come across a verse causing fear [of hell] they bend the ears of their hearts towards it, and feel as though the sounds of hell and its cries are reaching their ears.’
[1] Nahj, sermon 193.