Al Hejr

Surah 15 of the Quran
الحِجْرْ
Al-Ḥijr
The Stoneland
ClassificationMeccan
Other namesAl-Hijr Valley
PositionJuzʼ 13-14
Hizb no.27
No. of verses99
No. of Rukus6
No. of words657
No. of letters2882
Mada'in Salih
مَدَائِن صَالِح
Al-Hijr
ٱلْحِجْر
Hegra
Hegra (Mada'in Salih)
Al Hejr is located in Saudi Arabia
Al Hejr
Location within Saudi Arabia
26°47′30″N 37°57′10″E / 26.79167°N 37.95278°E / 26.79167; 37.95278
TypeSettlement
LocationAl Madinah Region, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia
Official name
Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâ’in Sâlih)
TypeCultural
Criteriaii, iii
Designated2008 (32nd session)
Reference no.1293
Region
Arab States

Al-Ḥijr (Arabic: الحِجْرْ, lit. 'The Stoneland') is the 15th sūrah (chapter of the Quran). It has 99 verses (āyāt).

The asbāb al-nuzūl (timing and contextual background) is that it was revealed in Mecca revealed during the middle period and received by Muhammad shortly after sura Yusuf. Like other surahs of this period, it praises God. Parts of the verses 4-74 are preserved in the Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.

This surah takes its name from its 80th āya, which refers to a pre-Islamic archaeological site called Hegra (Arabic: الحِجر, romanized: al-ḥijr, lit. 'the Stone').

Summary

1-3 Unbelievers will one day wish themselves Muslims
4-5 Every nation has its day of grace
6 Muhammad charged with demoniacal possession by the disbelievers (the Quraysh)
7 The unbelievers say a true prophet would have come with a company of angels
8 Angels are not sent to gratify curiosity, but to minister judgment
9 God the revealer and preserver of the Quran
10-11 The former prophets were laughed to scorn
12-15 The scoffing Quraysh judicially blinded
16-20 God declares his glory in the heaven and the earth
21-22 He is active in every part of Nature
23-25 He is the God of life, death, and judgment
26-29 God says men created of clay—the Jinn of fire
29-33 Iblis, unlike the angels, refuses to prostrate to Adam
34-38 He is cursed and respited until the judgment
39-40 Satan declares to God his purpose to seduce men
41-42 The elect are safe from Satan’s power
43-44 The seven gates of hell will receive Satan’s followers
45-50 Paradise joys in store for true believers
51-77 The story of Abraham and Lot's conflict
78-79 The unbelieving Midianites are destroyed
80-81 The scoffing inhabitants of al Hijr reject their prophets though accompanied with miracles
82-84 Rock-hewn houses fail to save them
85-86 The heaven and earth created in righteousness
87 Command to repeat the seven verses (al-Fatiha)
88-90 Muhammad not to consider the prosperity of infidels
91-93 The enemies of God will surely be punished
94-96 Muhammad commanded to preach boldly
97-99 He is exhorted to praise and serve God until death

Central theme

This surah contains brief mentions of Tawhid, and provides an admonition to the disbelievers. The primary subjects of the surah are:

  1. cautioning the individuals who dismissed the message and
  2. providing solace and support to Muhammad,

The Quran never limits itself to mere rebuke; reproach and reprimand. It depends on its statute. The surah contains brief contentions for Tawhid and admonition in the tale of Adam and Satan.

Exegesis

15:9 Preservation of the Quran

15:9 We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). Translation Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)

Ibn Kathir says, "God, may He be exalted, stated that He is the One Who revealed the Dhikr to him, which is the Qur'an, and He is protecting it from being changed or altered".

Notes

  1. ↑ The first-person plural pronoun we as traditionally used by a sovereign (believed by Muslims to be God in this case) in formal speech to refer to themselves in their role as the monarch.

References

  1. 1 2 Ibn Kathir. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Hijr". Quran 4 U. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Sadeghi, Behnam; Goudarzi, Mohsen (January 2012). "Ṣan'ā' 1 and the Origins of the Qur'ān". Der Islam. 87 (1–2): 37. doi:10.1515/islam-2011-0025.
  3. ↑ "The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Word by Word Grammar, Syntax and Morphology of the Holy Quran".
  4. ↑ Wherry, Elwood Morris (1896). A Complete Index to Sale's Text, Preliminary Discourse, and Notes. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik (translator), Al-Qur'an, the Guidance for Mankind - English with Arabic Text (Hardcover) ISBN 0-911119-80-9
  6. ↑ "Quran 15:9 Translation Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)". Islam Awakened. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.