History is the record and study of past events, people, societies, and civilizations. It embodies in itself mention of how how communities lived, what they believed, how they ruled, fought, traded, built, and how they rose and fell over time. And more importantly, what their faith was and how they listened to the call by the prophets of the Lord of the world and changed course to the righteous path. History also tells us the fate of those whose arrogance rejected the Divine Commandments and were reduced to rubble and became a lesson for the coming generations to ponder over and seek true guidance.
Allah has revealed many a account of people of past nations who disobeyed His prophets and who paid dearly for their arrogance and rejection of Allah's prophets. There are many Sürahs in the Qur'an which mention the fate of the deniers. Today we share the 15th Sürah of Qur'an, Al Hijr, which mentions the “People of the Stone Valley” (Ashāb al-Ḥijr). These were the Thamūd, who lived in the rocky valley region between Madinah and Syria (present-day Al-Hijr / Madā’in Ṣāliḥ in Saudi Arabia). They were given Prophet Ṣāliḥ (عليه السلام) and a miraculous she-camel as a test. But they arrogantly rejected him, killed the camel, and were destroyed by a mighty blast. They carved luxurious homes into mountains, thinking they were safe — but Allah’s decree destroyed them instantly.
The 80th verse of Sürah Al-Ḥijr is named after these people:
وَلَـقَدۡ كَذَّبَ اَصۡحٰبُ الۡحِجۡرِ الۡمُرۡسَلِيۡنَۙ
(15:80) Surely the people of al-Hijr also rejected the Messengers, calling them liars.
Sürah Al-Ḥijr الحِجْرْ "The Stone Land" is the 15th Sürah of Al Qur'an with 99 verses / ayat with six rukus part of Juz 13-14. Juz Fourteen contains two surahs in their entirety: Surah al-Ḥijr and Surah al-Naḥl. A common theme that runs through this Juz concerns the amazing blessings from Allah, and the importance of showing gratitude for those blessings. Both surahs continue the theme from Surah Ibrahim of reminding us of the various reasons why we should be grateful to Allah. The greatest gift that Allah has given us is guidance to the straight path. Surah al-Ḥijr begins by showing the results of following that guidance and the results of neglecting it.
We have already shared the Tafseer / Exegesis of the Surah which can be read from links given below:
Supporting Qur’anic Links: Many such warnings have been Divinely issued to people of the past who did not heed to these and Divine wrath was their ultimate fate, as mentioned in following links from Al Qur'an:
- “And those cities — We destroyed them when they wronged, and We made for their destruction an appointed time.” (18:59)
- “Have they not traveled through the land and observed how was the end of those before them? They were greater in power…” (40:82)
Herein under we will only present a condensed overview of the entire Sūrah, for the scope of this post is to only to introduce the Sūrah and provide links to some of the selected verses from this Sūrah for selective reading / references. The following bird eye view includes the context, major themes and subjects and lessons that we can learn from this Sūrah, followed by references to some of the selected verses already published.
About Sürah Al-Ḥijr
- Title of the Surah: This surah takes its name from 80th verse (āyah), already referred above which refers to Mada'in Saleh, a pre-Islamic archaeological site, also called Hegra (from Arabic: الحِجَارَة, romanized: al-ḥijāra, lit. 'the Stones') or al-Ḥijr (Arabic: الحِجر, romanized: al-ḥijr, lit. 'the Stone').
- Period of Revelation: Makkan Surah, revealed during a time when the Prophet ﷺ was facing intense mockery and rejection from the Quraysh.
- Historical Setting:
- Meccans were demanding miracles and ridiculing the Qur’an.
- The Prophet ﷺ was being accused of falsehood and magic.
- Theme of the Sürah: This surah contains brief mentions of Tawhid, and provides an admonition to the disbelievers. The primary subjects of the surah are:
- Cautioning the individuals who dismissed the message and
- 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.
Major Subjects
- Authenticity of the Qur’an: Allah has promised to preserve it from corruption (15:9).
- Signs of Creation: Sky, earth, mountains, plants — all signs of Allah’s power.
- Stories of Past Nations:
- People of Noah, Lūṭ, and Thamūd — destroyed for disbelief.
- The story of Abraham and Lot's conflict (Verses 51-77 )
- People of the Stone Valley (Thamūd) - Despite advanced civilization, they fell due to arrogance and rejection of a prophet.
- Prophet’s Consolation: Remain patient; rejecters will one day regret.
- Iblīs’s Arrogance: Reminder of Satan’s enmity and his vow to mislead mankind (verses 29-44)
Lessons for Today
- For Individuals
- Arrogance leads to downfall — like the Thamūd, many today rely on technology, wealth, or power and ignore God’s guidance.
- Material security is an illusion — palaces, skyscrapers, or underground shelters cannot protect from divine judgment.
- Divine warning always comes before punishment — rejecting it brings consequences.
- For Societies
- Civilizations collapse when morality collapses — history shows moral decay invites destruction regardless of economic or military strength.
- Spiritual heedlessness — prioritizing worldly beauty, engineering marvels, or entertainment over faith can blind to ultimate truth.
- Parallels to the Present
- Modern nations with towering buildings, advanced science, and great armies may feel untouchable — just like the Thamūd — but can still fall through natural disasters, economic collapse, or moral corruption.
- Many still repeat the Thamūd’s mistake: ignoring divine guidance while enjoying worldly comforts.
Now let us share herein some of the selected ayat / verses from this surah already shared:
In time we will add more selected ayat / verses from this surah.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
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