The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Alif. Lam. Ra. These are the verses of the Book and the glorious Quran. 1 Often will those who disbelieve wish that they had been Muslims. 2 Leave them alone; let them eat and enjoy themselves the while the hope [of vain delights] beguiles them: for in time they will come to know [the truth]. 3 Not one habitation have We destroyed but at the time determined for it. 4 no people can forestall their doom, nor can they delay it. 5 And they say: O thou unto whom the Reminder is revealed, lo! thou art indeed a madman! 6 Why do you not bring to us the angels if you are of the truthful ones? 7 We do not send down the angels (in frivolity); and when We do send them down, We do so with Truth; then people are granted no 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 there was never a messenger who came to them but they mocked him: 11 So We make it enter the hearts of the sinners. 12 They believe not therein, and already the example of the ancients hath gone forth. 13 Even if We opened out to them a gate from heaven, and they were to continue (all day) ascending therein, 14 they would have said, "Our eyes are bewildered and we have been affected by magic." 15