Volume 10 Surah 12 - 15 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Ĥijr | PROLOGUE
they were Muslims. Let them eat and enjoy themselves, and let their hopes beguile them. For
they will surely come to know [the truth]. Never have We destroyed any community unless
divine revelations have been made known to it. No community can ever forestall its term, nor
can they delay it.” (Verses 1-5)
The sūrah then refers to some scenes from the universe: the heavens and the
constellations, the expanded earth and the mountains set firm on it, the plants that
demonstrate a balanced method of creation, the winds full of moisture, water and
drinking, and the life, death and resurrection of all mankind. This is followed by the
story of Adam and Iblīs leading up to the destinies of all believers and unbelievers.
Then we have brief references to the stories of Abraham, Lot, Shu`ayb and Şāliĥ, with
the emphasis being placed on the destiny of unbelievers in each case. We note here
that the Arabs were aware of the ruins left by these communities, as they passed by
them on their traditional journeys to Syria.
The main line in both sūrahs is the same, but each has its own special features.
Their rhythm is similar, but not identical. This is the system followed by the Qur’ān,
tackling its topics in a variety of ways that may be similar in some aspects but totally
different in others, and where they are never repeated or allowed to be identical.
The sūrah can be divided into five sections, each of which includes a specific topic.
The first explains the law that God has set in operation concerning His message and
people’s attitudes to it, either accepting and believing in it or rejecting it. This starts
with an implicit warning which is covered with mystery: “These are the verses of the
Book, a clear discourse. Little do those who disbelieve wish that they were Muslims. Let them
eat and enjoy themselves, and let their hopes beguile them. For they will surely come to know
[the truth].” (Verses 2-3) This section ends with a statement that the unbelievers reject
the message out of stubbornness, not because they do not have sufficient evidence to
lead them to faith: “If We opened for the unbelievers a gateway to heaven and they had
ascended higher and higher, still they would surely say: ‘It is only our eyes that are
spellbound! Indeed, we must have been bewitched.’“ (Verses 14-15)
They are all of the same type: “Indeed We have sent before you messengers to
communities of old, but whenever a messenger came to any of them they mocked at him. Thus
do We cause it [i.e. this scorn of the revelation] to slip into the hearts of the guilty, who do not
believe in it, although the ways of ancient communities have gone before them.” (Verses 10-
13)
The second section portrays some of the signs God has placed in the universe,
both in the heavens and the earth and in between. All of these have been set in
accordance with God’s precise wisdom, and according to a definite measure: “We
have indeed set up in the heavens constellations, and endowed them with beauty for all to
behold, and We have guarded them from every cursed devil, so that anyone who tries to
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