79لا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا المُطَهَّرونَAli UnalNone except the purified ones can reach it (to obtain the knowledge it contains. And none except those cleansed of material and spiritual impurities should touch it).1This verse expresses both a reality and an order. In expressing a reality, it means that none except the purified ones (the angels and the human beings whom God has purified, such as the Prophets) can reach the well-guarded Book (the Supreme Preserved Tablet) to attain any knowledge that is contained in it. Such beings as devils cannot reach it. Whenever they make any attempt to ascend through the heavens, they are expelled (see 15: 18, note 5; 26: 212, note 37; 67: 5, note 4). In expressing an order, it means that none except those who have purified themselves from any material impurity by taking minor or major ablution, and those purified from the spiritual impurity of unbelief and the association of partners with God, should touch the Qur’ān. Both the syntax of the verse and the words used equally give both meanings.