The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Alif. Lam. Ra. These are verses of the Scripture and a plain Reading. 1 Often will those who disbelieve wish that they had been Muslims. 2 Let them eat and enjoy; and let their hopes deceive them, soon they shall know. 3 Never a city have We destroyed, but it had a known decree, 4 and no nation outstrips its term, nor do they put it back. 5 And yet they say: "You, to whom this Exposition has been sent are surely possessed of the Devil. 6 Why dost thou not bring before us angels, if thou art a man of 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 But never once an apostle came to them at whom they did not scoff. 11 Even so do we let it creep into the hearts of the sinners - 12 That they should not believe in the (Message); but the ways of the ancients have passed away. 13 And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to continue ascending thereto, 14 Even then they would say, “Our sights have been hypnotised – in fact, a magic spell has been cast upon us.” 15