The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the Book and a clear Qur'an. 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 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 Never did We destroy a population that had not a term decreed and assigned beforehand. 4 No nation will precede its term, nor will they remain thereafter. 5 And they say: O thou unto whom the admonition hath been sent down! verily thou art possessed. 6 “Why do you not bring angels to us, if you are truthful?” 7 We send not the angels down save with judgment, and then they would not be respited. 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 did send messengers before thee amongst the religious sects of old: 10 And no messenger would come to them except that they ridiculed him. 11 Even so we make a way for it in the hearts of the culprits. 12 they believe not in it, though the wont of the ancients is already gone. 13 And even if We open to them a gateway of heaven, so that they ascend into it all the while, 14 they would still say, "Our eyes have been dazzled. We are bewitched." 15