The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of a clear Book, the Quran. 1 Soon will the time come when the unbelievers will wish they were Muslims. 2 so leave them to eat and enjoy themselves and let them be beguiled by vain hopes; for soon they will realise [the truth]. 3 And We did not destroy any city but that for it was a known decree. 4 No people can hasten or delay the term already fixed for them. 5 And they say, "O you upon whom the message has been sent down, indeed you are mad. 6 Why dost thou not bring the angels unto us, if thou speakest truly?' 7 But then We never send the angels down save with the purpose (of enforcing their doom), after which they will not be given more respite. 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 We sent Messengers to the ancient people who lived before you. 10 But never came a messenger to them but they mocked him. 11 Thus do We insert denial into the hearts of the criminals. 12 So, they will not believe in it: The example of former people is there. 13 Though We opened to them a gate in heaven, and still they mounted through it, 14 they would have said, "Our eyes are bewildered and we have been affected by magic." 15