وَإِنَّهُ في أُمِّ الكِتابِ لَدَينا لَعَلِيٌّ حَكيمٌ

And indeed, it is with Us in the mother-book [and it is] surely sublime and wise.

EXEGESIS

The preposition inna serves to emphasise certainty, addressing the disbelievers who rejected the Quran as a revelation from Allah. As seen in verse 30 of this chapter and other passages (such as 10:2, 34:43, and 46:7), the disbelievers dismissed the Quran, claiming that Prophet Muhammad (s) was a sorcerer. Alternatively, inna could also indicate emphasis.^{‎[1]Mizan, 18/84.}

Umm literally means origin and foundation. The Arabs call a mother umm because she is the foundation of the family and point of reference for the children.^{‎[2]Amthal, 16/12.} Rāghib explains that the term umm refers to a source of existence, nurturing, or development for a thing. The city of Mecca is referred to in the Quran as umm al-qurā (the mother of cities) (6:92), because according to some reports, the rest of the earth was made to spread from underneath it (79:30).^{‎[3]Raghib, p. 84.} The first chapter of the Quran, Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, is also known as umm al-kitāb, because of its significance and the fact that it succinctly contains the whole message of the Quran.

Ladaynā combines the location adverb laday (meaning ‘with’ and connoting close proximity) and the possessive pronoun nā (us). Laday suggests being distinct yet very close to something, encompassing both material and non-material closeness.^{‎[4]Tahqiq, 10/183.}

EXPOSITION

The mother-book has been understood by many exegetes to refer to the protected tablet (lawḥ maḥfūẓ).^{‎[5]Tibyan, 9/181.} This verse indicates that the Quran has a higher level of reality above its readable Arabic form, and this reality is the one that is in the preserved tablet, This is indeed a noble Quran, in a guarded book (56:77-78), Rather it is a glorious Quran, in a preserved tablet (85:21-22).

The reason why the book at the level of the preserved tablet has been called the mother-book is because that is the origin and source of all divine books. As all revealed divine books stem from this exalted reality, it is fittingly called umm (origin).^{‎[6]Munyah, 25/159.}

Putting the two verses together, we can conclude that the Quran has two stages of existence: 1. The stage where it exists in the preserved tablet. 2. The stage where it was put into Arabic and thus became perceptible – the revealed Quran.

The verse proceeds to describe two qualities of the Quran at the stage of the mother-book. At this stage, the Quran is described as ʿalī (sublime), indicating that it is far beyond human intellect and cannot be fully comprehended by man. Additionally, ḥakīm has been interpreted as muḥkam, meaning that the Quran at that stage was compact and not yet divided into chapters and verses.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It has been reported from the Prophet: ‘God wrote a book before the creation of the heavens and the earth and it is with Him above the Throne (ʿarsh). All of creation shall ultimately move to what is in that book, and the confirmation of that is in the book of Allah, And indeed, it is with Us in the mother-book [and it is] surely sublime and wise.’^{‎[7]Bihar, 54/371.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some exegetes have suggested that there might be a third stage of the Quran between the stage of the preserved tablet and the revealed Arabic Quran, and that is the stage where it exists in the heart of Prophet Muhammad (s) where it was revealed on the Night of Ordainment (see 44:1-3 and 97:1). They base this stage on 11:1: [This is] a book, whose verses have been made definitive and then elaborated, from one [who is] all-wise, all-aware. In this verse, the verses being definitive has been considered as the middle stage, between the preserved tablet and the readable Arabic form, which is thought to be the heart of Prophet Muhammad (s), and elaborated refers to the stage of being put in the form of Arabic words.

Some scholars propose that umm al-kitāb in this verse might refer to the definitive verses mentioned in 3:7, which characterises some verses as the umm al-kitāb: It is He who has sent down to you the book. Parts of it are definitive verses, which are the mother of the book (umm al-kitāb), while others are metaphorical. As such, this verse is saying that Sūrat al-Zukhruf is from amongst the definitive verses.^{‎[8]Razi, 27/618; Muhit, 9/358.}

[1] Mizan, 18/84.
[2] Amthal, 16/12.
[3] Raghib, p. 84.
[4] Tahqiq, 10/183.
[5] Tibyan, 9/181.
[6] Munyah, 25/159.
[7] Bihar, 54/371.
[8] Razi, 27/618; Muhit, 9/358.