The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
This is an instance where dhalimun means ‘disbelievers’, see verse 
44 and 31: 11, 13.
Abraham
161
14: 52

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15. AL-HIJR
A Meccan sura which takes its title from the reference to the people of al-Hijr
(verses 
80–4). These are an example of the many who disbelieved and
rejected their prophets. Each has its own time for punishment so the Prophet
should bear patiently, not grieve over what the disbelievers say, and continue
with his worship. The sura uses the example of nature and Iblis’s insistence
on corrupting people to show, in turn, God’s grace and the danger Satan
personi
fies.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Alif Lam Ra
These are the verses of the Scripture, a Qur
an that makes things
clear. 
2The disbelievers may well come to wish they had submitted
to God, 
3so [Prophet] leave them to eat and enjoy themselves. Let
[false] hopes distract them: they will come to know. 
4Never have We
destroyed a community that did not have a set time; 
5no community
can bring its time forward, nor delay it. 
6They say, ‘Receiver of this
Qur
an! You are definitely mad. 7Why do you not bring us the
angels, if you are telling the truth?’ 
8But We send down the angels
only to bring justice and then these people will not be reprieved. 
9We
have sent down the Qur
an Ourself, and We Ourself will guard it.
Even before you [Prophet], 
10We sent messengers among the various
communities of old, 
11but they mocked every single messenger that
came to them: 
12in this way We make the message slip through the
hearts of evildoers. 
13They will not believe in it. That was what
happened with the peoples of long ago, 
14and even if We opened a
gateway into Heaven for them and they rose through it, higher and
higher, 
15they would still say, ‘Our eyes are hallucinating. We are
bewitched.’
16We have set constellations up in the sky and made it beautiful for
all to see, 
17and guarded it from every stoned satan:
a
18any eaves-
dropper will be pursued by a clearly visible 
flame. 19As for the earth,
We have spread it out, set 
firm mountains on it, and made everything
a
See
72: 8–9.

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grow there in due balance. 
20We have provided sustenance in it for
you and for all those creatures for whom you do not provide. 
21There
is not a thing whose storehouses are not with Us. We send it down
only according to a well-de
fined measure: 22We send the winds to
fertilize, and We bring down water from the sky for you to drink –
–
you do not control its sources. 
23It is We who give life and death; it is
We who inherit [everything]. 
24We know exactly those of you who
come
first and those who come later. 25[Prophet], it is your Lord who
will gather them all together: He is all wise, all knowing.
26We created man out of dried clay formed from dark mud–– 27the
jinn We created before, from the 
fire of scorching wind. 28Your Lord
said to the angels, ‘I will create a mortal out of dried clay, formed
from dark mud. 
29When I have fashioned him and breathed My
spirit into him, bow down before him,’
30and the angels all did so.
31But not Iblis: he refused to bow down like the others. 32God said,
‘Iblis, why did you not bow down like the others?’
33and he
answered, ‘I will not bow to a mortal You created from dried clay,
formed from dark mud.’
34‘Get out of here!’ said God. ‘You are an
outcast,
35rejected until the Day of Judgement.’ 36Iblis said, ‘My
Lord, give me respite until the Day when they are raised from the
dead.’
37‘You have respite,’ said God, 38‘until the Day of the
Appointed Time.’
39Iblis then said to God, ‘Because You have put
me in the wrong, I will lure mankind on earth and put them in the
wrong, 
40all except Your devoted servants.’ 41God said, ‘[Devotion]
is a straight path to Me: 
42you will have no power over My servants,
only over the ones who go astray and follow you. 
43Hell is the
promised place for all these, 
44with seven gates, each gate having its
allotted share of them. 
45But the righteous will be in Gardens with
springs –
–
46“Enter them in peace and safety!”––47and We shall
remove any bitterness from their hearts: [they will be like] brothers,
sitting on couches, face to face. 
48No weariness will ever touch them
there, nor will they ever be expelled.’
49[Prophet], tell My servants
that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful, 
50but My torment is the truly
painful one.
51Tell them too about Abraham’s guests: 52when they came to him
and said, ‘Peace,’ he said, ‘We are afraid of you.’
53‘Do not be afraid,’
they said, ‘We bring you good news of a son who will have great
knowledge.’
54He said, ‘How can you give me such news when old
age has come to me? What sort of news is this?’
55They said, ‘We
Al-Hijr
163
15: 55

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have told you the truth, so do not despair.’
56He said, ‘Who but the
misguided despair of the mercy of their Lord?’
57and then asked,
‘Messengers, what is your errand?’
58They replied, ‘We have been
sent to a people who are guilty.’
59But We shall save the household of
Lot,
60all except his wife: We have decreed that she will be one of
those who stay behind.
61When the messengers came to the household of Lot, 62he said,
‘You are strangers.’
63They said, ‘We have brought you what they
said would never happen: 
64we have brought you the Truth. We
speak truly, 
65so leave in the dead of the night with your household,
and walk behind them. Let none of you look back. Go where you are
commanded.’
66We made this decree known to him: the last remnants
of those people would be wiped out in the morning. 
67The people of
the town came along, revelling, 
68and he told them, ‘These are my
guests, do not disgrace me. 
69Fear God, and do not shame me.’
70They answered, ‘Have we not told you not to interfere [between us
and] anyone else?’
71He said, ‘My daughters are here, if you must.’
72By your life [Prophet], they wandered on in their wild intoxication
73and the blast overtook them at sunrise: 74We turned their city
upside down and rained on them a shower of clay stones. 
75There
truly is a sign in this for those who can learn –
–
76it is still there on the
highway –
–
77there truly is a sign in this for those who believe.
78The forest-dwellers,
a
too, were wrongdoers 
79and We took retri-
bution on them; both are still there on the highway, plain for all to
see. 
80The people of al-Hijr
b
also rejected Our messengers: 
81We
gave them Our signs, but they turned their backs. 
82They carved out
dwellings in the mountains, and lived in security –
–
83the blast over-
whelmed them early in the morning. 
84What they had gained was of
no use to them.
85We did not create the heavens and the earth and everything
between them without a true purpose: the Hour will certainly come,
so [Prophet] bear with them graciously. 
86Your Lord is the All
Knowing Creator. 
87We have given you the seven oft-recited verses