Human Forgetfullness Caused by Allah of the parts of the Quran Between the Possible and the Actual

Abstract

The research tackles an important religious issue, and one of the problems in Quranic sciences, which arose from a question that emerged from some traditions by the Prophet peace be upon him, or by his Companions. This question is whether part of the Quran was revealed, read, memorized and preserved among people, then lost from the memories of all those who memorized it at once, a complete loss to the extent that no one remembers anything about it.This is an important question as it is connected to a major religious issue which is the certainty of the Quranic text. In spite of all that has been written about it, the topic is still being discussed, due to the long-running dispute, the strength of the arguments and the validity of the evidence.

In the course of the study, I have found that forgetfulness in language, which determines the meaning in the Quran, refers to loss from memory, and neglect. I have also found that this meaning is the same in the Quran, which has caused differences among scholars on the meaning of forget fullness in the verse: {We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it} [Al-Baqarah (The Cow): 106].The best known positions about the meaning of forgetfulness are loss from memory, neglect, and delay, the most likely of which is that forgetfulness in the above verse indicates loss from memory, and therefore the verse is an evidence of complete forgetfulness of the Quran by all people. In other words, part of the Quran was revealed then extracted from the memory of those who memorized it, leaving nothing. This is not excluded by text or reasoning, neither for people nor for the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him. For me, this type off or get fullness is actually confirmed, as proved by some valid traditions by the Prophet peace be upon him, or by his Companions.