56.77–78 – surely it is an honorable Qur’ān indeed, in a hidden Book!
The self-referential claims in verses 77–80 became an important passage for the Islamic doctrine of scripture. At the center is the assertion that the recitation is a “sending down” (tanzīl) from the “Lord of the worlds.” On the word qur’ān, see the comment at 2.185.
The expression in verse 78, “a hidden Book,” has often been put together with another expression in 85.22 (“a guarded Tablet”) to support a belief in a preexisting archetype of the Quran kept safe in heaven. Another belief from verse 79 is that no one should touch the pages of the book except Muslims who have performed ablutions. See the discussion of the Quran’s “doctrine of scripture” at 85.21–22.