Surah Al Hijr Notes (1-18)

( Source: Ibn Kathir )

Al-Hijr was revealed in Makkah

The Disbelievers will someday wish that They had been Muslims

 (1) Alif-Lam-Ra. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. These are the Verses of the Book, and a plain Quran.

(2) Perhaps (often) will those who disbelieve wish that they were Muslims [those who have submitted themselves to Allah's Will in Islam Islamic Monotheism, this will be on the Day of Resurrection when they will see the disbelievers going to Hell and the Muslims going to Paradise].

(How much would those who disbelieved wish) Here Allah tells us that they will regret having lived in disbelief, and will wish that they had been Muslims in this world.

Sufyan Ath-Thawri reported from Salamah bin Kuhayl, who reported from Abi Az-Za`ra', from `Abdullah, who said: "This is about the Jahannamiyyun (the sinners among the believers who will stay in Hell for some time), when they ﴿the disbelievers﴾ see them being brought out of Hell.''

(How much would those who disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims.) Ibn Jarir reported that Ibn `Abbas and Anas bin Malik explained that this Ayah refers to the Day when Allah will detain the sinful Muslims in Hell along with the idolators. He said: "The idolators will say to them, `What you used to worship on earth has not helped you.' Then by virtue of His mercy, Allah will be angry for their sake, and He will remove them ﴿from it﴾.

(3) Leave them to eat and enjoy, and let them be preoccupied with (false) hope. They will come to know!

(Leave them to eat and enjoy) this is a stern and definitive threat for them, like His saying,

(Say: "Enjoy your brief life! But certainly, your destination is the Fire!'') ﴿14:30﴾

(let them be preoccupied with false hope.) i.e., distracted from repentance and turning to Allah, for

(They will soon come to know!) that is, their punishment.

Every Township has its allotted Time

(4) And never did We destroy a township but there was a known decree for it.

(5) No nation can anticipate its term, nor delay it.

Allah is informing us that He never destroys a township until He has established evidences for it and its allotted time has ended. When the time for a nation's destruction has come, He never delays it, and He never moves its appointed time forward. This was a message and a warning to the people of Makkah, telling them to give up their Shirk, their stubbornness and disbelief for which they deserved to be destroyed.

The Accusation that the Prophet was a Madman and Demands for Him to bring down Angels

Allah tells us about the disbelief, arrogance and stubbornness of the disbelievers as reflected in their words:

(6) And they say: "O you (Muhammad SAW ) to whom the Dhikr (the Quran) has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man.

(O you (Muhammad) to whom the Dhikr (the Qur'an) has been revealed!) i.e., the one who claims to receive it.

(Verily, you are a mad man!) i.e., by your invitation to us to follow you and leave the way of our forefathers.

(7) "Why do you not bring angels to us if you are of the truthful ones?"

(Why do you not bring angels to us) i.e., to bear witness to the accuracy of what you have brought to us is true, if you are really telling the truth This is similar to what Pharaoh said: 

(Why then are not golden bracelets bestowed on him, or angels sent along with him)(43:53).

 And Allah said:

(And those who do not expect a meeting with Us (i. e., those who deny the Day of Resurrection and the life of the Hereafter), say: "Why are not the angels sent down to us, or why do we not see our Lord'' Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and are scornful with great pride. On the Day that they do see the angels - there will be no good news given on that day to the guilty. And they (angels) will say: "All kinds of glad tidings are forbidden for you.'') (25:21-22)

 For this reason Allah said:

(8) We send not the angels down except with the truth (i.e. for torment, etc.), and in that case, they (the disbelievers) would have no respite!

(We do not send the angels down except with the truth) "﴿i.e.,﴾ with the Message and the punishment.'' Then Allah, 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.

(9) Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).

The Idolators of Every Nation made a Mockery of their Messengers

Consoling His Messenger for the rejection of the disbelieving Quraysh, Allah says that He has sent Messengers before him to the nations of the past, and no Messenger came to a nation but they rejected him and mocked him. Then He tells him that He lets disbelief enter the hearts of those sinners who are too stubborn and too arrogant to follow His guidance.

(10) Indeed, We sent Messengers before you (O Muhammad SAW) amongst the sects (communities) of old.

(11) And never came a Messenger to them but they did mock him.

(12) Thus do We let it (polytheism and disbelief) enter into the hearts of the Mujrimun [criminals, polytheists, pagans, etc. (because of their mockery at the Messengers)].

(Thus We allow it to enter the hearts of the guilty.) Anas and Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that this referred to Shirk.

(13) They would not believe in it (the Quran), and already the example of (Allah's punishment of) the ancients (who disbelieved) has gone forth.

(and already the example of the ancients has gone forth.) meaning the destruction wrought by Allah on those who rejected His Messengers, and how He saved His Prophets and their followers in this world and in the Hereafter, is well known.

The Stubborn Disbelievers will never believe, no matter what Signs and Wonders They see

(14) And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to continue ascending thereto,

Allah explains the extent of their disbelief and stubborn resistance to the truth by stating that even if a door to heaven were to be opened for them, and they were to be taken up through it, they would still not believe. 

Rather, they would say:

(15) They would surely say: "Our eyes have been (as if) dazzled. Nay, we are a people bewitched."

(Our eyes have been (as if) dazzled.) Mujahid, Ibn Kathir and Ad-Dahhak said, "﴿this means﴾ our vision has been blocked.'' Qatadah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "﴿this means﴾ our eyesight has been taken away.'' Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "﴿this means﴾ we were confused and put under a spell.''

(Our eyes have been (as if) dazzled.) Ibn Zayd said: "The one who is dazzled ﴿lit. intoxicated﴾ is the one who cannot reason.''

The Power of Allah and His Signs in the Heavens and on Earth

(16) And indeed, We have put the big stars in the heaven and We beautified it for the beholders.

To those who ponder, and look repeatedly at the dazzling signs and wonders that are to be seen in the creation, Allah mentions His creation of the heavens, with their immense height, and both the fixed and moving heavenly bodies with which He has adorned it. Here, Mujahid and Qatadah said that Buruj ﴿big stars﴾ refers to the heavenly bodies.

Atiyah Al-`Awfi said: "Buruj here refers to sentinel fortresses.'' He made the "shooting stars'' to guard it against the evil devils who try to listen to information conveyed at the highest heights. If any devil breaches it and advances hoping to listen, a clear "shooting star'' comes to him and destroys him. He may already have passed on whatever he heard before the fire hit him, to another devil below him; the latter will then take it to his friends ﴿among humans﴾, as is stated in the Sahih.

(17) And We have guarded it (near heaven) from every outcast Shaitan (devil).

(18) Except him (devil) that gains hearing by stealing, he is pursued by a clear flaming fire.

Explaining this Ayah, Al-Bukhari reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: (When Allah decrees any matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to His Word, ﴿with a sound like﴾ a chain ﴿beating﴾ on a smooth rock.'') (`Ali and other subnarrators said, "The sound reaches them (devil).'') "When the fright leaves their (angels') hearts, they (angels) are asked (by devils): `What did your Lord say' They respond: "The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.' So those who hope to hear something listen, and they are standing one above the other.'' Sufyan ﴿the narrator﴾ described them with a gesture, spreading the fingers of his right hand and holding it in such a way that the fingers were above one another. "Sometimes the flaming fire hits one of these listeners before he is able to convey what he has heard to the one who is beneath him, and he is burned up, or sometimes the fire does not hit him until he has pit on to the one beneath him, so he brings it to the earth.'' Perhaps Sufyan said: "...until it reaches the earth and he puts it into the mouth of the sorcerer or fortune-teller, so that after telling a hundred lies he gets something right, and the people say, `Did he not tell us that on such and such a day such and such would happen, and we found it to be the truth among the statements which were heard from heaven.