The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Alif-Lam-Ra. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. These are the Verses of the Book, and a plain Quran. 1 Perchance the unbelievers will wish that they had surrendered: 2 Let them eat and enjoy life, and let (false) hope beguile them. They will come to know! 3 We never destroyed any town without pre-ordaining the fate of its people. 4 No people can hasten on their doom nor can they postpone (it). 5 They say, "You to whom the Reminder [the Quran] has been sent down, you are surely possessed. 6 Why bringest thou not angels unto us if thou art of the truthtellers! 7 But We send down the angels only to bring justice and then they will not be reprieved. 8 Indeed We have sent down the Qur’an, and indeed We Ourselves surely are its Guardians. (This is one of the miracles of the Qur’an – no one has been able to change even one letter of its text, despite every effort. It has remained in its original form since the 6th Century (A. D) and will remain so forever. Other Holy Books such as the Torah and the Bible have lost their originality.) 9 Indeed, We sent Messengers before thee, among the factions of the ancients, 10 And never came a Messenger to them but they did mock him. 11 Even so We make a way for it (that is, the Admonition) in the hearts of the culprits (like a hot rod); 12 they do not believe in it. This has been the wont of people of this kind from ancient times. 13 Even if We open a door in the heavens and they ascend through it in broad daylight, 14 yet would they say, 'Our eyes have been dazzled; nay, we are a people bewitched!' 15