The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 15. al-Hijr: The Rock

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This is Surah Al-Hijr (Chapter 15) of the Quran, in M.M. Pickthall's 1930 English translation — a rendering notable for its attempt to preserve the archaic, liturgical register of the Arabic original through King James-style diction. The chapter's central argument is divine sovereignty and the inevitability of judgment: God controls creation, sustenance, life, and death, and all nations that rejected their prophets were destroyed at a divinely appointed hour. A substantial portion recounts the fall of Iblis (Satan), who refused to prostrate before newly created humanity and was consequently cursed until the Day of Judgment — a scene that frames human vulnerability to temptation as divinely permitted yet bounded, since God's sincere servants remain beyond Satan's power. The surah also retells the stories of Abraham's angelic visitors and the destruction of Lot's people, presenting them as historical proof of the pattern: disbelief leads to annihilation, while the faithful are spared and rewarded with gardens and peace. A distinctive rhetorical move runs throughout: the Quran frames its own existence as divinely guarded and self-authenticating ("Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo! We verily are its Guardian"), directly countering those who mock Muhammad as a madman. The chapter closes by counseling the Prophet to persevere through ridicule with prayer and proclamation, assuring him God will protect him from his opponents.

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 15. al-Hijr: The Rock

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