How do we reconcile Allah Almighty's saying: "We will make you recite, and you will not forget, except what Allah wills. Indeed, He knows what is declared and what is hidden" with the prophetic hadith: "May Allah have mercy on him; he reminded me of such and such verses that I had omitted from such and such surah"?

Allah's statement: (We will make you recite, and you will not forget Except what Allah wills) [Al-A'la/6-7], is an informing from Allah to His Prophet that He will teach him the Qur'an and preserve it for him, so that he will not forget anything from it, except what Allah wills to lift or abrogate. This represents a preservation for him from forgetting what pertains to the fundamental conveyance of the message.

As for the forgetting mentioned in the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): "Such and such a verse, or verses, from such and such a Surah, reminded me of what I had forgotten," it is a natural, human, incidental forgetfulness that does not affect the conveyance of the message. It is proof of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) humanity, as he said: "Indeed, I am but a human being like you; I forget as you forget." There is no objection to this type of forgetfulness.

Thus, forgetting is of two types: 1. Forgetting of lifting and abrogation: This is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) was preserved from, so he does not forget anything from the Qur'an except what Allah willed to lift and abrogate. 2. Innate, natural forgetting: This is an incidental forgetfulness that sometimes occurs to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and does not compromise the duty of the message and conveyance.