Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:78
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 78 of 96
فِى كِتَٰبٍۢ مَّكْنُونٍۢ
Translation
in a protected Record
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'In a well-guarded Book.' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note 'kitabin maknun', the Qur'an preserved in a hidden, protected register with God (the Preserved Tablet), sheltered from corruption and change. Ask yourself: the Book I hold is a copy of something kept safe beyond all tampering, its origin is guarded, its integrity secured at the source. In a world where every text is edited, spun, and degraded, this is a stunning claim: a message preserved intact from its divine original. It invites a settled confidence, that when I open the Qur'an, I am not reading something eroded by history but something anchored in a guarded source. And it presses a question of my own 'guarding': do I treat this preserved Book with the care its guardedness deserves, in how I read it, handle it, and let it into my heart?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:78 is discussed in 4 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:78 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.