The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Alif. Lam. Ra. These are verses of the Scripture and a plain Reading. 1 And it will come to pass that those who are [now] bent on denying this truth will wish that they had surrendered themselves to God [in their life time]. 2 Let them eat and enjoy themselves and be diverted by [false] hope, for they are going to know. 3 And never did We destroy a township but there was a known decree for it. 4 No group may advance its appointed promise nor postpone it. 5 And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: "O thou unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on high: verily, thou art mad! 6 "Why do you not bring angels to us if you are of the truthful ones?" 7 We do not send angels except with the truth. Then they shall have 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 And indeed We sent Noble Messengers before you, to the former nations. 10 but there was never a messenger who came to them but they mocked him: 11 Thus do We make it traverse the hearts of the guilty: 12 They believe not therein, and already the example of the ancients hath gone forth. 13 And if We open for them a gate in the heavens, to ascend it through the day – 14 They would say, "Our eyes have only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic." 15