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 Soon will the time come when the unbelievers will wish they were Muslims. 2 Leave them thou to eat and to enjoy, and let vain hope divert them; presently they will know. 3 We have never destroyed a township without a definite decree having been issued; 4 No community precedeth the term thereof nor doth it fall behind. 5 And they say: O thou unto whom the Reminder is revealed, lo! thou art indeed a madman! 6 Why do you not bring us the angels, if you should be among the truthful?" 7 But then We never send the angels down save with the purpose (of enforcing their doom), after which they will not be given more 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 We sent Messengers to the ancient people who lived before you. 10 And never does a Noble Messenger come to them, but they mock at him. 11 Thus do We insert denial into the hearts of the criminals. 12 So, they will not believe in it: The example of former people is there. 13 Even if We open a door in the heavens and they ascend through it in broad daylight, 14 they would have said, "Our eyes are bewildered and we have been affected by magic." 15