al-Hijr (The Rock, Stoneland, Rock City) at IslamAwakened.com

15:1 Alif Lam Ra, these are the signs of the Book and a clear Qur'an.

15:2 Perhaps those who have rejected the truth will wish to submit themselves to God.

15:3 Let them eat and enjoy themselves and be preoccupied with [false] hope, for they will [one day] know.

15:4 We have never destroyed a town unless it had a known decree.

15:5 No nation can speed up [the end of] its time, nor defer it.

15:6 And [yet], they [who deny the truth] say, "You, to whom the message has been sent down, you are crazy.

15:7 If you are honest, why do you not bring us angels?"

15:8 We do not send down the angels except in Truth and, [if We did so now, those who deny the truth) would have no reprieve

15:9 It is We who sent down this Reminder and We will preserve it.

15:10 We sent [messengers] before you, to earlier communities.

15:11 And every time a messenger came they mocked him.

15:12 In that way, We insert discord into the hearts of those who force others to reject Our messages.

15:13 They will not believe. This was what happened with those earlier people.

15:14 And [even] if We had opened a gate to the sky for them, and they had continued to ascend though it,

15:15 they would have said, "Our eyesight has only been befuddled," or, "We are under a spell."

15:16 We have placed constellations in the sky and have beautified it for the observers.

15:17 And We have secured it from every cursed satanic force.

15:18 Except for anyone who tries to eavesdrop [to learn the unknown]-he is pursued by a clear flame.

15:19 As for the earth - We have spread it wide and set firm mountains on it, and caused everything to grow in a well-balanced way.

15:20 And We put sustenance in it for both you and all creatures for which you don't provide.

15:21 We have the storehouse of everything that exists, and We send it down only in a known measure.

15:22 We send the winds to fertilize, and we bring water from the sky for you to drink; but it is not you who control its sources

15:23 It is We who give life and cause death, and it is We alone who will inherit all.

15:24 We know very well those of you who have gone ahead and those who are still to come;

15:25 and, behold, it is your Lord who will gather them all together [on Judgment Day]. Truly, He is the All-Wise and the All-Knowing!

15:26 We have created man out of dried clay, formed from dark mud

15:27 and, before that, we had created jinn from a scorching firestorm.

15:28 And when Your Lord said to the angels: "Behold, I am about to create mortal man out of dried clay, formed from dark mud

15:29 and when I have fully formed him and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down and prostrate [yourselves] before him!"

15:30 Then the angels prostrated themselves, all of them

15:31 except Iblis. He refused to bow down with the others.

15:32 God said, "Iblis! What prevents you from being among those who have prostrated themselves?"

15:33 [Iblis] replied, "I will not bow down before a mortal man whom You have created out of dried clay, formed from dark mud!"

15:34 God said, "Be gone! You are expelled from Our grace

15:35 and you will be cursed until the Day of Reckoning!"

15:36 Iblis said, "Then, my Lord, grant me relief until the Day when all will be raised again!"

15:37 God answered: "You will be granted relief

15:38 until the Day of the appointed time."

15:39 [Whereupon Iblis] said, "Oh, my Lord! Since You led me on to this, I will make [all that is evil] on earth appear good to people, and will most certainly entice them into sin,

15:40 all except the sincere among your worshipers!"

15:41 God said: "[Devotion] is a straight path to Me.

15:42 Truly, you will have no power over My worshipers except for the misled who follow you

15:43 and Hell is the promised meeting place for all of you.

15:44 There will be seven gates leading into Hell, each gate receiving its allotted share."

15:45 Truly, those who are ever mindful of God will be amid Gardens and springs,

15:46 "Enter it in peace, [safe and] secure!"

15:47 And We will remove whatever resentment may have been [lingering] in their hearts, brethren resting on couches facing one another

15:48 no weariness will ever touch them there, and they will never be made to leave.

15:49 Tell My worshipers that I am the Forgiving, the Mercy Giver;

15:50 and that my punishment is truly painful

15:51 And tell them all [once again] about Abraham's guests.

15:52 When they entered his presence and greeted him with "Peace", he answered, "We are afraid of you!"

15:53 They said: "Fear not! We bring you the good news of [the birth of] a son who will be endowed with profound knowledge."

15:54 Abraham said: "Do you give me this good news despite the fact that I am overwhelmed with old age? What kind of good news is this?"

15:55 They answered: "We have given you the good news of Truth so do not be among those who despair!"]

15:56 [He exclaimed]: "And who - other than those who have utterly lost their way -could ever abandon the hope of his Lord's grace?"

15:57 He added: "And, heavenly messengers, what [else] might you have in mind?"

15:58 They answered: "We are sent to a people who already cut all relations to God and rejected his messages,

15:59 except for Lot's household. All of them will be saved,

15:60 except for Lot's wife, [God] has ordained that she should be among those who stay behind!'

15:61 And when the Messengers [of God] came to the house of Lot,

15:62 he said: "Who are you? I do not know you people!"

15:63 They said, "We have come to you with what they have always rejected but wondered whether it will happen to them,

15:64 and we bring you certainty [of its fulfillment], for we speak the Truth."

15:65 Go, then with your family while it is still night, follow behind them yourself; and do not permit anyone to look back, but go where you are told to go."

15:66 And We revealed unto him the decree: "The very last of those [sinners] will be wiped out by the morning."

15:67 The people of the town came [to Lot] hoping to have fun [with the strangers]

15:68 [Lot] said, "These are my guests. Do not bring shame on me,

15:69 but fear God and do not disgrace me!"

15:70 They answered, "Have we not forbidden you [to offer protection] to any kind of people?"

15:71 [Lot] said, "Take my daughters instead, if you must!

15:72 "Do not pay attention to them [the messengers said], they are stumbling around in their wild intoxication!"

15:73 The blast [of Our punishment] overtook them around sunrise,

15:74 and We turned the town upside down, and rained down upon them stones of baked clay.

15:75 Truly, there are messages in this for those who discern

15:76 [the town] is still there standing by a road that still exists.

15:77 Truly, there is a sign in this for all who believe.

15:78 And the woods-dwellers were also unjust,

15:79 and so We inflicted Our retribution on them. Both of these [sinful communities] were on a highway, [still) plain to see.

15:80 And the people of Al-Hijr, likewise rejected our messengers

15:81 We gave them our signs, but they turned their backs to them.

15:82 They carved dwellings in the mountains, thinking themselves secure

15:83 The blast [of Our punishment] overtook them early in the morning,

15:84 and all [the power] that they had acquired was of no use to them

15:85 We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth; the Hour [when this will become clear to all] is yet to come. Hence, forgive [men's failings] gracefully.

15:86 Truly, your Lord is the All-Knowing Creator of all things!

15:87 And We have given you seven of the oft-repeated [verses], and this glorious Qur'an

15:88 [so] don't turn your eyes [longingly] towards what we have given some of them to enjoy. And neither grieve over those [who are rejecting your message], but spread your wings [of modesty and tenderness] over the believers,

15:89 and say, "I am the clear Warner!

15:90 Just as We have sent down warnings for the conspiring separatists

15:91 who reduced the Qur'an into fragments believing in some and rejecting others

15:92 By your Lord! We will call them to account, one and all,

15:93 for whatever they have done!

15:94 Hence, proclaim openly all that you have been told [to say], and leave the idolaters alone.

15:95 Truly, We are sufficient for you against all who mock this revelation.

15:96 who associate another deity with God, for in time they will know.

15:97 And We know that your heart is distressed by the things they say:

15:98 but celebrate your Lord's limitless glory, praise Him, and be among those who prostrate themselves [before Him] in worship,

15:99 and worship your Lord until you die.