The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Alif-Lam-Ra. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. These are the Verses of the Book, and a plain Quran. 1 Often will those who disbelieve wish that they had been Muslims. 2 Leave them to eat and enjoy, and let them be preoccupied with (false) hope. They will come to know! 3 And never have We destroyed any community [for its wrongdoing] unless a divine writ had [previously] been made known to it; 4 No nation can outstrip its term nor can they lag behind. 5 They say: 'Thou, upon whom the Remembrance is sent down, thou art assuredly possessed! 6 Why do you not bring down angels upon us if you are indeed 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 Indeed, We sent Messengers before thee, among the factions of the ancients, 10 and not a single Messenger came to them, but they mocked at him; 11 Even so we make a way for it in the hearts of the culprits. 12 They do not believe in him, and the tradition of earlier nations has passed. 13 and even if We opened to them a door from heaven, and they began ascending through it, 14 still they would say: 'Our eyes were dazzled; truly, we must have been a bewitched people' 15