Al Ḥijr

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, The Merciful

الر تِلْكَ ءَايَاتُ الْكِتَابِ وَقُرْءَانٍ مُّبِينٍ

رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ

1. “Alif ‘A’, Lam ‘L’, Ra ‘R’. These are the verses of the Book and (of) a clear Qur’an (that makes things manifest).”
2. “Often will those who disbelieved wish that they were Muslims.”

We notice once again that this noble Surah begins with the abbreviated letters of Alif, Lam, Ra, which exhibit the combination of these great celestial words, that lead all men towards happiness, are made up of simple alphabetical letters, the same raw material which are at the disposal of all human beings even children aged 2 or 3 years. This is the utmost kind of miraculous performance that such a unique feat should be produced out of such ordinary kinds of material.

Therefore, immediately next to them, it has been added:

“Alif ‘A’, Lam ‘L’, Ra ‘R’. These are the verses of the Book and (of) a clear Qur’an (that makes things manifest).”

That is: these are the verses of the celestial Book, revealed in the Qur’an, which express facts and which reveal the truth as distinguished from the untruth! In Tafsir-i-Tabari and Majma‘ul-Bayan, there has been cited a tradition implying that in Hereafter the pagans tell those Muslims who are entangled in the inferno “Did you also become hellish people like us, and, you were not saved by Islam?” While the sinful Muslims will be saved after sometime being punished, but the pagans will be remaining in the Fire of Hell for ever, saying:

“We wish we were Muslims, too.”

It says:

“Often will those who disbelieved wish that they were Muslims.”

Although the holy Qur’an has got a very highly esteemed position, yet it is always available for all and everybody can have access to it. At the same time, it is written in a book format and is readable by all, ‘the Qur’an’. It is for this reason that its discussions are explicit and they draw a line between right and wrong. It will be a source of credit for Islam in the future and, at the same time, it will be a source of regret for disbelievers.

Thus, those who are ridiculing Islam today, will regret tomorrow. Many a time, pagans aspire to embrace Islam, but they are involved in the affairs to the despots or entangled in their corrupt environment. Therefore, we have it in history that the Caesar of Rome decided to embrace Islam when he saw the letter of the holy Prophet of Islam (S), but he said:

“My life is in danger and my kingdom will be lost.”