Allah aliahidi katika Qur'ani kwamba Yeye mwenyewe atachukua jukumu la kuilinda kauli yake ya mwisho isipotee. Akasema:

Allaah promised in the Qur’aan that He would take on the responsibility of protecting His final word from loss. He said,

Hivyo basi, Qur'ani imehifadhiwa kwa njia ya mdomo na pia kwa maandishi, kwa namna ambayo hakuna kitabu kingine chochote cha kidini katika historia kimewahi kuhifadhiwa.

Thus, the Qur’aan has been preserved in both the oral as well as written form in a way no other religious book in history has.

Kwa nini Allah alihifadhi Qur'ani na kuruhusu vitabu vyake vya awali vya wahyu vibadilishwe au kupotea? Jibu la swali hilo liko katika mambo yafuatayo matatu:

Why did Allaah preserve the Qur’aan and allow His earlier books of divine revelation to be changed or lost? The answer to that question lies in the following three facts:

1. Manabii waliotangulia na vitabu vyao vilitumwa kwa watu maalum katika vipindi maalum vya historia. Kipindi kilipomalizika, alitumwa nabii mpya na kitabu kipya kuchukua nafasi ya kitabu kilichotangulia. Kwa hiyo haikuwa lazima kwamba vitabu hivyo vihifadhiwe na Allaah. Uhifadhi wa vitabu vya awali uliachwa kwa watu kama mtihani kwao. Hivyo, watu walipopotea, walibadilisha yale yaliyoandikwa katika vitabu alivyoleta nabii wao, ili kuhalalisha mambo yaliyokuwa yamekatazwa kwao. Kwa njia hiyo, vitabu vyote vya awali vya wahyi vikabadilishwa au kupotea.

1. The earlier prophets and their books were sent to a particular people in particular periods of history. Once the period ended, a new prophet was sent with a new book to replace the previous book. So, it was not necessary that these books be preserved by Allaah. The preservation of the earlier books was left up to the people as a test for them. Thus, when the people went astray, they changed what was written in the books which their prophets brought in order to make allowable the things which were forbidden to them. In that way, all of the earlier books of revelation became either changed or lost.

2. Mtume Muhammad (r) alikuwa mtume wa mwisho ambaye Allah alimtuma, na hakutumwa kwa watu fulani au kwa wakati fulani maalum. Alitumwa kwa wanadamu wote hadi mwisho wa dunia. Allah amesema katika Qur'aan,

2. Prophet Muhammad (r) was the last prophet whom Allaah sent, and he was not sent to a particular people or a particular time. He was sent to all of mankind until the end of the world. Allaah said in the Qur’aan,

Hivyo, kitabu chake cha wahyu, Qur'aan, kilipaswa kuhifadhiwa kwa namna ya pekee dhidi ya aina yoyote ya mabadiliko au upotevu, ili kipatikane kwa vizazi vyote vya binadamu hadi siku ya mwisho ya dunia.

Thus, his book of revelation, the Qur’aan, had to be specially preserved from any form of change or loss so that it would be available to all the generations of man until the last day of the world.

3. Qur'ani ilikuwa ni muujiza kuu aliyopewa Nabii Muhammad (ﷺ) ili kuthibitisha kwamba yeye ni Nabii wa kweli wa Allah na si mdanganyifu. Kwa hiyo, Qur'ani ilipaswa kuhifadhiwa ili kuthibitisha kwa vizazi vya baadaye kwamba Muhammad (ﷺ) alikuwa kweli Nabii wa mwisho wa Allah. Manabii wote wa uongo waliokuja baada ya Nabii Muhammad (ﷺ) walileta vitabu ambavyo walidai vimeteremshwa kutoka kwa Allah, lakini hakuna hata kimoja kati ya hivyo chenye uwezo wa kimuujiza wa kukaririwa na maelfu ya watu, wala hakikuboresha ujumbe wa Qur'ani.

3. The Qur’aan was the main miracle given to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) to prove that he was a true prophet of Allaah and not an imposter. So, the Qur’aan had to be saved to prove to the later generations that Muhammad (ﷺ) was really the last prophet of Allaah. All of the false prophets who came after Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) brought books which they claimed to be revealed from Allaah, but none of them have the miraculous ability to be memorized by thousands, nor have they improved on the message of the Qur’aan.

Umuhimu wa kuhifadhiwa kwa Qur-aan ni kwamba Uislamu umehifadhiwa katika usafi wake wa asili kwa sababu yake. Wanadamu daima wanaweza kurejea kwenye vyanzo vya Uislamu, bila kujali watu wameongeza au kusahau nini kwa muda. Kanuni zote muhimu za Uislamu zinapatikana katika Qur-aan. Kwa hiyo, kuhifadhiwa kwa Qur-aan kulimaanisha kuhifadhiwa kwa Uislamu katika umbo lake la mwisho. Kupotea kwa Injili ya Yesu kunamaanisha kwamba Wakristo hawawezi kamwe kurejea kwenye mafundisho ya kweli ya Nabii Isa isipokuwa kwa kukubali Uislamu.107 Vivyo hivyo, Taurati ya asili ilipotea wakati Hekalu la Sulemani huko Yerusalemu lilipoharibiwa na Wababiloni.108 Hivyo basi, Wayahudi hawawezi kurejea kwenye mafundisho safi ya Nabii Musa isipokuwa kwa kufuata Uislamu.

The significance of the Qur’aan’s preservation is that Islaam has been kept in its original purity because of it. Humanity can always return to the sources of Islaam no matter what people may have added or forgotten in time. All of the essential principles of Islaam are to be found in the Qur’aan. Consequently, the preservation of the Qur’aan meant the preservation of Islaam in its final form. The loss of the Gospel of Jesus means that Christians can never return to the true teachings of Prophet Jesus except by accepting Islaam.107 Similarly, the original Torah was lost when Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians.108 Thus, the Jews cannot return to the pure teachings of Prophet Moses except by following Islaam.

Ni katika Uislamu pekee ambapo mafundisho safi ya Mitume yamehifadhiwa bila mabadiliko yoyote. Ndiyo maana Allah amesema katika Qur-ani,

It is only in Islaam that the pure teachings of the prophets have been preserved without any change. That is why Allaah said in the Qur’aan,