سورة Al-Hijr ( The Rocky Tract )

Alif. Lam. Ra. These are the verses of the Book and the glorious Quran.

How strongly the unbelievers will wish that they had been Muslims.

(Muhammad), leave them alone to eat and enjoy themselves and let their desires deceive them; they will soon know (the Truth).

We never destroyed any town without pre-ordaining the fate of its people.

Every nation can only live for the time appointed for it.

(The unbelievers have said), \"You to whom the Quran has been revealed are insane.

Why do you not bring down the angels if what you say is true\".

We do not send down angels except for a genuine purpose, at which time none will be given any further respite.

We Ourselves have revealed the Quran and We are its Protectors.

We sent Messengers to the ancient people who lived before you.

No Messenger went to them whom they did not mock.

This is how We cause the hearts of the guilty ones to behave.

They do not believe in the Truth and they exactly follow the tradition of the ancient (unbelievers)

Had We opened a door for them in the sky through which they could easily pass,

they would have said, \"Our eyes are bewildered and we have been affected by magic.\"

We have made constellations in the sky and decorated them for the onlookers.

We have protected them from every condemned devil,

except for those who stealthily try to listen to the heavens, but who are chased away by a bright flame.

We have spread out the earth, fixed mountains thereupon and caused everything to grow to its proper weight

to provide you and those for whose sustenance you are not responsible, with the necessities of life.

With Us is the source of everything and We do not send it down except in a known quantity.

We send impregnating winds and send down water from the sky for you to drink and you have no (control over its) storage.

It is We who give life and cause things to die and We are the sole Heirs.

We know the people who lived before you and those who will come into existence after you.

Your Lord will resurrect them all; He is All-wise and All-knowing.

We have created the human being out of pure mud-moulded clay

and the jinn before (the human being) of smokeless fire.

When your Lord said to the angels, \"I will create the human being out of pure mud-moulded clay.

When it is properly shaped and I have blown My Spirit into it, you should then bow down in prostration\".

All the angels prostrated before Adam

except Iblis who refused to join with the others in prostration.

God asked Iblis, \"What made you not join the others in prostration?\"

Iblis replied, \"I did not want to prostrate before a human being whom You have created out of mud-moulded clay\".

God told him, \"Get out of the garden; you are rejected

and will be subjected to condemnation until the Day of Judgment.\"

Iblis prayed, \"Lord, grant me respite until the Day of Judgment\".

The Lord said, \"Your request is granted

for an appointed time.\"

Iblis said, \"Lord, because you have caused me to go astray, I shall make earthly things attractive to (people) and mislead all of them

except Your sincere servants\".

God said, \"The path which leads to Me is a straight

and you have no authority over My servants except the erring ones who follow you.

Hell is the promised place for them all.

It has seven gates and each gate is assigned for a certain group of people.

The pious will live in gardens with streams

and they will be told to enter there in peace and safety.

We shall remove all hatred from their breasts and make them as brothers reclining on thrones facing one another.

No fatigue will touch them nor will they be expelled therefrom.\"

(Muhammad), tell My servants that I am All-forgiving and All-merciful

and that My punishment is a painful one.

Tell them about the guests of Abraham

who came to him saying, \"Peace be with you.\" Abraham said, \"We are afraid of you\".

They replied, \"Do not be afraid. We have brought you the glad news of (the birth) of a learned son\".

Abraham asked, \"Are you giving me the glad news of a son in my old age? What reason can you give for such glad news?\"

They said, \"We have given you the glad news for a true reason so do not despair\".

He said, \"No one despairs of the mercy of his Lord except those who are in error.

Messengers, what is your task?\"

They said, \"We are sent to a sinful people.

Only the family of Lot will all be saved,

except his wife who is doomed to be left behind.\"

When the Messengers came to the family of Lot,

he said, \"You seem to be strangers\".

They replied, \"We have come to you about the matter which the (unbelievers) have rejected.

We have come to you for a genuine purpose and We are true in what we say.

Leave the town with your family sometime during the night. Walk behind them and let no one turn around. Proceed as you are commanded.\"

We informed him that the unbelievers would be utterly destroyed.

The people of the town rejoicingly

rushed towards the house of Lot. Lot said to them, \"These are my guests. Do not disgrace me.

Have fear of God and do not humiliate me\".

They replied, \"Did we not forbid you to bring anyone to your house?\"

Lot said, \"These are my daughters if you want them.\"

By your life! In their drunkenness they were truly blind.

An explosion struck them at sunrise.

We turned the town upside-down and showered on them lumps of baked clay.

In this there is evidence (of the Truth) for the prudent ones.

That town lies on a road which still exists.

In this there is evidence (of the Truth) for the believers.

Since the People of the Forest were unjust,

We afflicted them with punishment. Both people had clear (divine) authority among them.

People of Hijr rejected the Messengers.

We showed them miracles but they ignored them.

They would carve secure houses out of the mountains.

An explosion struck them in the morning.

Out of what they had gained, nothing proved to be of any benefit to them.

We have created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, for a genuine purpose. The Day of Judgment will certainly approach, so (Muhammad) forgive them graciously.

Your Lord is certainly the All-knowing Creator.

(Muhammad), We have given you the seven most repeated (verses) and the great Quran.

Do not yearn for other people's property and wives and do not grieve (that they do not believe). Be kind to the believers.

Say, \"Indeed, I am simply one who warns.\"

(We have given you the Quran) as We had given (the Bible) to those who divided themselves into groups

and also divided the Quran believing in some parts and rejecting others.

By the Lord, We will hold them all responsible

for what they have done

Preach what you have been commanded to and stay away from the pagans.

We shall help you against those who mock you

and believe other things to be equal to God. They will soon know the truth.

We certainly know that you feel sad about what they say against you.

Glorify and praise your Lord and be with those who prostrate themselves before God.

Worship your Lord until you achieve the ultimate certainty.