The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Alif-Lam-Ra. These are the verses of the Book, and a Qur'an luminous. 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 that they may eat and enjoy themselves and (that) hope may beguile them, for they will soon know. 3 And We destroyed no township but there was a known decree for it. 4 No people can hasten on their doom nor can they postpone (it). 5 And they say: O you to whom the Reminder has been revealed! you are most surely insane: 6 If you are a man of truth, why can't you bring the angels to us?" 7 We do not send the angels but with truth, 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 verily sent (messengers) before thee among the factions of the men of old. 10 But never came a messenger 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 believe not in it, though the wont of the ancients is already gone. 13 If We opened a gate in the heaven and they kept ascending through it, 14 They would say, "Our eyes have only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic." 15