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 a Qur'an luminous. 1 It may be that those who disbelieve wish ardently that they were Muslims. 2 leave them to eat, and to take their joy, and to be bemused by hope; certainly they will soon know! 3 And We did not destroy any city but that for it was a known decree. 4 Every nation can only live for the time appointed for it. 5 And they say: "O you (Muhammad SAW) to whom the Dhikr (the Quran) has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man. 6 "Why bringest thou not angels to us if it be that thou hast the Truth?" 7 We do not send down the angels except with truth; and the disbelievers would not then be reprieved. 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 assuredly We have sent apostles before thee among the sects of the ancients. 10 And there never came an apostle to them but they mocked him. 11 This is how We cause the hearts of the guilty ones to behave. 12 who do not believe in it, although the way which those [evildoers] of olden times had to go has long been within their ken. 13 Had We opened a door for them in the sky through which they could easily pass, 14 They would certainly say: Only our eyes have been covered over, rather we are an enchanted people. 15