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Surah 15 · Makkah · 99 āyāt

Phase 04 · Ṭāʾif, al-Isrāʾ and the final Makkan years(c. 5–1 BH) — view in timeline

Al-ḤijrThe Rocky Tract

الحجر

Revealed 54th. A short, hard-edged Makkan surah that answers mockery with three guarantees: We revealed the Reminder and We are its guardian; We will suffice you against the mockers; and the day will come when those who disbelieved will wish they had been Muslims. Between them stand Iblīs's refusal and his open declaration of strategy, the guests of Ibrāhīm, the people of Lūṭ, and the rock-carvers of al-Ḥijr whose fortress homes did not save them.

Why it was revealed

Quraysh had moved from argument to ridicule, calling the Prophet ﷺ possessed and demanding angels be sent down. The believers were few and pressed, and the surah was revealed to fortify the Messenger ﷺ personally.

Drawn fromBukhārī 4474 and 4703 (al-sabʿ al-mathānī as al-Fātiḥah); Al-Qurṭubī on 15:7–8; Ibn Kathīr on 15:9; Ibn Kathīr on 15:95; Ibn Kathīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Ḥijr

No single authenticated occasion is transmitted for the surah. Reports mention the mockers of Quraysh — a small group who ridiculed the Prophet ﷺ publicly — as the referent of āyah 95, and Ibn ʿAbbās is reported to explain 'the seven oft-repeated' in āyah 87 as Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, which is confirmed in the ṣaḥīḥ.

Cited toBukhārī 4474 and 4703 (al-sabʿ al-mathānī as al-Fātiḥah); Ibn Kathīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Ḥijr

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

LossEarly to mid-Makkan period · Age About 43–44 · Makkah

Open ridicule of the Prophet ﷺ

A group of Quraysh made a practice of mocking him publicly; he was told plainly that Allah Himself would suffice him against them.

Recalled in āyah 95, 97

إِنَّا كَفَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْمُسْتَهْزِءِينَ

Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 15:95

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–15

We revealed it, and We are its guardian

They call him possessed and demand angels. The reply is not a miracle but a guarantee: indeed We sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will be its guardian. Then the reminder that messengers before him were mocked too, and that mockery is a repeating pattern, not a verdict.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 15:8; Ibn Kathīr on 15:9

9

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا ٱلذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ

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Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’ān], and indeed, We will be its guardian.

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From the tafsīr

Allah guarantees the preservation of the Qurʾān from any addition, omission or alteration — a promise not made for earlier scriptures, whose custody was entrusted to their scholars.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 15:9

'We do not send down the angels except with the truth' means their descent would end the period of respite, so their demand was in reality a request for their own destruction.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 15:8

Key takeaways

Reflect

How does knowing the text you study is divinely guarded change how you read it?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

Why was sending angels not granted, per al-Qurṭubī?

Question 2 of 2

What does Ibn Kathīr say is distinctive about the promise in 15:9?

THEME 02Āyāt 26–44

Iblīs declares his method

Man is created from sounding clay, the angels prostrate, Iblīs refuses. He then states his plan openly: because You misled me, I will make wrong seem beautiful to them on earth and mislead them all — except Your chosen servants among them. The reply names the only firewall: over My servants you have no authority, except those who follow you.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 15:42; Ibn Kathīr on 15:39

39

قَالَ رَبِّ بِمَآ أَغْوَيْتَنِى لَأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ

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[Iblees] said, "My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them [i.e., mankind] on earth, and I will mislead them all

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42

إِنَّ عِبَادِى لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَـٰنٌ إِلَّا مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ ٱلْغَاوِينَ

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Indeed, My servants - no authority will you have over them, except those who follow you of the deviators.

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From the tafsīr

Tazyīn — making sin appear beautiful — is named as Iblīs's principal weapon; he cannot compel, only decorate.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 15:39

The protection is tied to being a true servant of Allah: sincerity in servitude is what removes Shayṭān's authority over a person.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 15:42

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which sin currently looks attractive to you? Name the decoration on it.

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What does Ibn Kathīr identify as Iblīs's main weapon in 15:39?

Question 2 of 2

Who is exempt from Shayṭān's authority per 15:42?

THEME 03Āyāt 51–84

Fortresses carved in rock did not help them

The guests of Ibrāhīm bring both glad tidings and the news of Lūṭ's people; the cry seizes them at sunrise. Then the companions of al-Ḥijr — Thamūd — who denied the messengers and used to carve secure homes from the mountains; the cry seized them in the morning and what they earned did not avail them.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 15:56; Ibn Kathīr on 15:82–84

From the tafsīr

Their carved fortresses show that engineering and security measures are no protection when the decree comes.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 15:82–84

Ibrāhīm's answer — none despairs of the mercy of his Lord except those astray — is placed among the destruction narratives to keep hope and fear balanced.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 15:56

Key takeaways

Reflect

What are you relying on for safety that is essentially carved rock?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

Why is Ibrāhīm's statement about despair placed among these narratives?

Question 2 of 2

What lesson does Ibn Kathīr draw from Thamūd's rock-carved homes?

THEME 04Āyāt 87–99

The seven oft-repeated, and 'We suffice you against the mockers'

We have given you seven of the oft-repeated verses and the great Qurʾān — so do not strain your eyes towards the enjoyments We have given others. Proclaim what you are commanded and turn away from the polytheists; indeed We are sufficient for you against the mockers. And when your chest tightens at what they say, the prescription is: glorify your Lord with praise, be of those who prostrate, and worship your Lord until the certainty comes to you.

Drawn fromBukhārī 4474; Al-Saʿdī on 15:88; Ibn Kathīr on 15:97–99

88

لَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِۦٓ أَزْوَٰجًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا تَحْزَنْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَٱخْفِضْ جَنَاحَكَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

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Do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [certain] categories of them [i.e., the disbelievers], and do not grieve over them. And lower your wing [i.e., show kindness] to the believers.

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95

إِنَّا كَفَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْمُسْتَهْزِءِينَ

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Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers

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98

فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَكُن مِّنَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ

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So exalt [Allāh] with praise of your Lord and be of those who prostrate [to Him].

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99

وَٱعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ ٱلْيَقِينُ

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And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty [i.e., death].

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From the tafsīr

The Prophet ﷺ explained al-sabʿ al-mathānī as Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, the seven repeated āyāt, and 'the great Qurʾān'.

Cited toBukhārī 4474

The remedy prescribed for a constricted chest is tasbīḥ, prayer and prostration — worship until death, which is 'the certainty'.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 15:97–99

'Do not extend your eyes' forbids fixing the gaze on what worldly people have been given, because contentment is destroyed by comparison.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 15:88

Key takeaways

Reflect

What have you been staring at that you need to look away from this week?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What is al-sabʿ al-mathānī in 15:87?

Question 2 of 2

What does the surah prescribe when the chest tightens?

FROM CLASS

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

ح ف ظ

āyāt 9

to guard, preserve, keep intact

  • حَـٰفِظُونguardians
  • حِفْظpreservation
  • مَحْفُوظpreserved

ذ ك ر

āyāt 6, 9

to remember, to mention; the Reminder

  • ٱلذِّكْرthe Reminder
  • ذِكْرَىٰa reminder
  • ذَاكِرone who remembers

ز ي ن

āyāt 39

to adorn, to make something appear attractive

  • زَيَّنَhe adorned
  • زِينَةadornment
  • مُزَيَّنmade attractive

ك ف ي

āyāt 95

to suffice, to be enough

  • كَفَىٰHe sufficed
  • كَافِىsufficient
  • ٱكْتَفَىٰhe was content with

ي ق ن

āyāt 99

certainty beyond doubt

  • ٱلْيَقِينthe certainty
  • مُوقِنone certain
  • ٱسْتَيْقَنَhe became certain

س ج د

āyāt 29, 98

to prostrate in submission

  • سَـٰجِدِينthose prostrating
  • سُجُودprostration
  • مَسْجِدplace of prostration

Carry this with you

  • The text you are studying carries a divine guarantee of preservation.
  • Shayṭān decorates; he cannot compel.
  • Sincere servitude is the firewall he himself admitted he cannot cross.
  • Fortresses of stone did not save Thamūd, and neither will yours.
  • What you hold of the Qurʾān is greater than anything the world hands to others.
  • Do not stare at what others have been given; comparison eats contentment.
  • When your chest tightens, prostrate before you analyse.
  • Worship has no retirement date — 'until the certainty comes to you'.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

The signs you already walk on2 movementsRefuge, protection and the unseen harm1 movement
All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Al-Ḥijr

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Full exam — the whole surah, from memory

Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.

Al-Ḥijr — full exam

1 / 8 · 0 correct

8 questions across 4 themes.

Al-Ḥijr · We revealed it, and We are its guardian

What does Ibn Kathīr say is distinctive about the promise in 15:9?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol