The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Alif Lam Ra. Those are the signs of the Book and of a manifest Koran. 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 leave them to eat, and to take their joy, and to be bemused by hope; certainly they will soon know! 3 And never did We destroy a town but it had a term made known. 4 No people can outstrip the term for its destruction nor can it delay it. 5 They say: "O thou to whom the Message is being revealed! truly thou art mad (or possessed)! 6 “Why do you not bring angels to us, if you are truthful?” 7 We do not send down angels except for a genuine purpose, at which time none will be given any further 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 never came a messenger to them but they mocked him. 11 Even so do We [now] cause this [scorn of Our message] to pervade the hearts of those who are lost in sin, 12 They believe not therein, though the example of the men of old hath gone before. 13 Yet even had We opened to them a gateway to heaven and they had ascended, on and on, up to it, 14 They would surely say: intoxicated have been our sights; aye! we are a people enchanted. 15