The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of a clear Book, the Quran. 1 A time will surely come when those who are bent on denying the truth will wish that they had surrendered themselves to God, 2 Leave them to feast and revel, beguiled by hope; they will come to know soon. 3 Never a city have We destroyed, but it had a known decree, 4 and no nation outstrips its term, nor do they put it back. 5 They say, "You to whom the Reminder [the Quran] has been sent down, you are surely possessed. 6 Why dost thou not bring before us angels, if thou art a man of truth? 7 We do not send the angels but with truth, and then they would not be respited. 8 As for the Admonition, indeed it is We Who have revealed it and it is indeed We Who are its guardians. 9 AND, INDEED, [O Prophet,] even before thy time did We send [Our apostles] unto communities of old 10 but there was never a messenger who came to them but they mocked him: 11 This is how We make the mocking* enter the hearts of the guilty. (* The acts of disbelief.) 12 They do not believe in it even though the practice of the ancients has already gone. 13 And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to continue ascending thereto, 14 They would say, "Our eyes have only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic." 15