Tafsir of Al-A'la 87:7

"Except what Allah wills": This is an exception from the most general of objects (istithna' mufragh). That is: You shall not forget anything at all of what We shall cause you to recite, except for what Allah wills that you forget. It is said: This means "ever." Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and others said: This pertains to what Allah the Exalted decreed to be abrogated, such that its ruling and its recitation are raised.

The apparent meaning is that the forgetting is to be taken in its literal sense. In al-Kashshaf, it is stated: "Except what Allah wills," meaning what He removes from your memorization by lifting its ruling and recitation. He posits "forgetting" here as a synecdoche for the lifting of the ruling and recitation, because that which has its ruling and recitation removed is abandoned and thus forgotten. It is as if it were said—based on the desire for both meanings in synecdoche—"We shall make you recite the Quran, so you will not forget anything of it, nor will its ruling and recitation be raised, except what Allah wills, so you will forget it and its ruling and recitation will be raised," or something similar.

I do not see the necessity of considering this. The 'ba' in "by lifting" (bi-raf') is for causality. The intent is either to explain the remote customary cause for Allah the Exalted removing it from [the Prophet’s] memory—for the lifting of the ruling and recitation leads customarily, in most cases, to the abandonment of its recitation because it is no longer an act of worship, and to it not being brought to mind because its ruling no longer remains, which also customarily leads to forgetting—or to explain the cause that repels the improbability of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) losing it from his memory, acting as a justifying cause for that. In any case, there is no need to make the meaning of "you shall not forget" be "you shall not abandon the recitation of anything of it and acting upon it." Contemplate this.

Furthermore, it does not follow from the fact that what Allah wills to be forgotten is among what He has decreed to be abrogated in ruling and recitation, that everything whose ruling and recitation has been lifted is something Allah the Exalted willed for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to forget. Some of it is that which scholars have memorized to this day. The two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) recorded from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that among what was revealed was "ten sucklings that make a marriage unlawful," which were then abrogated by "five known ones," and so on. The notion that he (peace and blessings be upon him) forgot all of it after conveying it, and that only what remained with some of those who heard it from him was transmitted until it reached us, is far-fetched, even if it is intellectually possible.

It is said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to hasten in recitation when Gabriel (peace be upon him) prompted him, so it was said: "Do not hasten, for Gabriel (peace be upon him) is commanded to recite it to you repeatedly until you memorize it; then you shall not forget it, except what Allah wills, then you will remember it after forgetting." You know that remembering after forgetting, while a duty, is not a matter whose knowledge is derived from this context.

It is said: The exception refers to a small amount. This is current in usage, as if it were said: "Except what is not known," because the [divine] Will is unknown, and it is inevitably less than what remains after the exception. Thus, it is as if it were said: "You shall not forget anything, except for a little." It has been reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and others that he (peace and blessings be upon him) omitted a verse in his recitation during prayer—it was the dawn prayer—and thought it was abrogated. When asked, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I forgot it." Furthermore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) is not left to persist in his minor forgetting; rather, Allah the Exalted reminds him, or facilitates someone to remind him. In al-Bahr, it is mentioned that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said when he heard the recitation of 'Abbad ibn Bishr: "He has reminded me of such and such verse in such and such surah."

It is said: The exception denotes a small amount, and is intended for negation metaphorically, as in the saying: "Few are those who say such and such." It is said that the speech here is of the category of [the verse]: "There is no fault in them except that their swords..." The meaning being: "You shall not forget, except for a non-existent forgetting." In the Hawashi (glosses) of al-'Isami on Anwar al-Tanzil, it is stated that the exception in this manner is to emphasize the universality of the negation, not to negate its universality.

It may also be said that the exception is from the most general of times: "You shall not forget at any time, except the time that Allah wills you to forget," but He, the Exalted, does not will it. This is similar to what was said regarding His saying concerning the people of Paradise: "Abiding therein as long as the heavens and the earth endure, except what your Lord wills." We have already discussed this. Al-Farra' went to this view, saying that Allah the Exalted did not will that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forget anything, but the intent of the exception is to demonstrate that if He, the Exalted, had willed to make him, peace and blessings be upon him, forget it, He would have been able to do so, as He, the Exalted, said: "And if We willed, We could surely take away that which We have revealed to you." Then we are certain that He, the Exalted, did not will that. He said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): "If you should associate [anything with Allah], your work would surely become worthless," even though he (peace and blessings be upon him) never associated anything at all. In sum, the benefit of this exception is for Allah the Exalted to make him know His power, so that he (peace and blessings be upon him) may know that the absence of forgetting is from the bounty and grace of Allah the Exalted, not from his own strength—that is, so that this [realization] is greatly strengthened—or for others to know that. It is as if the negation of Allah willing his forgetting is known from outside [the verse], and from it is the verse: "Do not move your tongue with it to hasten with it."

Abu Hayyan pointed to what al-Farra' said and to the previous view, but he rejected them both strongly because he did not find them to be based on a reality. He said: "It is not fitting for this to be in the speech of Allah the Exalted, nor even in the speech of an eloquent person." This is rashness on his part—may Allah forgive him. Furthermore, the intent of the negation of forgetting anything of the Quran is the negation of total, continuous forgetting of what he (peace and blessings be upon him) would not be left to persist in, unlike that which the previous report contained—that is not the same. They have mentioned that he (peace and blessings be upon him) is not left to persist in forgetting regarding what pertains to the foundations of the Shari'ah and obligations, though he may be left to persist in what is not of that, or what is of it but pertains to manners and customs. This is reported from Imam al-Razi—may mercy be upon him—so let it be remembered.

The shift to the Majestic Name (Allah) in all these views is for the cultivation of awe and to signal that the Will revolves around the title of Divinity, which entails all other attributes. Connecting the verse to what precedes it in the manner we mentioned is what was chosen in al-Irshad. Abu Hayyan said: When He, the Exalted, commanded him (peace and blessings be upon him) to glorify [His name], and that could only be completed by reciting what was revealed to him of the Quran, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to contemplate within himself for fear of forgetting, He, the Exalted, removed that from him by [saying] that He—Mighty and Majestic is He—makes him recite, and that he does not forget except what He wills him to forget for a beneficial purpose. There is a view in this that is not hidden.

If it were said that "We shall make you recite" is an isti'naf (a new beginning) in the position of providing the cause for the glorification, or for the command to do so, then it conveys the majesty of the recitation and that it is something that ought to be met with the transcendence of Allah and His glorification, that would be easier than what was mentioned. Similar to it is its being in the position of a cause in the sense of: "Prepare yourself for the effusion upon you by glorifying Allah, for We shall make you recite, so you will not forget, except what Allah wills." This implies a sign of the merit of glorification, and many reports have come regarding that. Al-Tha'labi mentioned some of them, and Ibn al-Shaykh transmitted it in his glosses on the commentary of al-Baydawi. Allah the Exalted knows best the truth of it.

"He knows what is spoken aloud and what is hidden": This is a cause for what precedes it. "Spoken aloud" (al-jahr) here is what is manifest, whether in speech, action, or otherwise; it is not restricted to speech, by the context of the contrast. That is: He, the Exalted, knows what is manifest and what is hidden of matters—among which is your state and your intense desire to memorize all that is revealed to you—so He makes you recite what He makes you recite, preserves you from forgetting what He wills of it, and makes you forget what He wills of it, in consideration of the interests and legislative wisdom attached to each. It is said: It is a confirmation of all that preceded it, and a confirmation of what follows it. It is also said: It is a confirmation of His saying, "We shall make you recite," etc., on the basis that al-jahr is what is manifest of speech—that is: He, the Exalted, knows your recitation aloud with Gabriel (peace be upon him) and what prompted you to that out of fear of forgetting, so He knows what is in it of benefit, whether of preservation or causing to forget. So, do not fear, for that which you fear is sufficient for you. It is also said that it is connected to His saying: "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High," though this is of no account, as you see.