The Hijjr Valley (Al-Hijjr)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Alif Lam Ra. Those are the signs of the Book and of a manifest Koran. 1 Perchance the unbelievers will wish that they had surrendered: 2 Leave them alone, to enjoy (the good things of this life) and to please themselves: let (false) hope amuse them: soon will knowledge (undeceive them). 3 We never destroyed any town without pre-ordaining the fate of its people. 4 No nation can outstrip its term, nor do they put it back. 5 And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: "O thou unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on high: verily, thou art mad! 6 Why do you not bring down angels upon us if you are indeed truthful?" 7 We do not send angels except with the truth. Then they shall have no respite. 8 Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian. 9 We had also sent apostles to people of earlier persuasions. 10 and never yet came an apostle to them without their deriding him. 11 Thus do We insert denial into the hearts of the criminals. 12 They believe not therein, and already the example of the ancients hath gone forth. 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