Divine Protection of Holy Qur’an on the Basis of Passive Defense Strategy: An Examination

Today, passive defense strategy is applied for protecting and preserving whatever is taken to be of utmost significance in the life of the citizens in a country when faced with serious threats from enemies. Since the Holy Qur’an is the last divine book of guidance for human, it must be safeguarded for the coming generations. In the Holy Qur’an, God introduces Himself as the Guardian of this heavenly book: “Indeed We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will preserve it.” (15: 9). However, little attention has been paid to the way God has watched over the Holy Qur’an against its enemies. It seems that passive defense principle has been applied for the divine preservation of the Holy Qur’an, the issue which was not known to the opposition groups or enemies at the time of revelation. Meanwhile, drawing upon a descriptive-analytical method, this research examines the ways in which the divine preservation and protection of the Holy Qur’an is conducted based on passive defense. To preserve and protect the Holy Qur’an, various appropriate defensive measures have been used, some of which are as follows: separation and dispersion, civil defense, concealment, camouflage conscious resistance, obscuration or covering, and replacement. Based on these methods, a series of measures and activities have been done within and without the Holy Qur’an (textual and non-textual) which resulted in the protection and preservation of the Holy Qur’an throughout the history; therefore, it could be said that God the Almighty has protected the Holy Qur’an by means of the passive defense strategy for the future generations. This study will resolve the doubts as to the alleged distortion (Tahrif) of the Qur’an, and provide a psychological ground for believing that the Holy Quran is not distorted at all. Besides, it will help to explain the conscious defensive system of the Holy Qur’an and enhance human’s knowledge of passive defense as well. Another achievement of this research is the development in raising issues regarding defensive measures as well as the adoption of the knowledge of passive defense with regard to the Shia’s strategic plans and objectives.