Surah Hijr

Surah Hijr (سورة الحجر) is the 15th surah of the Quran that Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the city of Mecca. The surah is named Hijr because it refers to the story of the people of Prophet Saleh or the tribe of Thamūd who lived in a land called Hijr, and were thus called the people of Hijr as well. In this article on Islam4u, the following topics will be discussed:

Facts About Surah Hijr

Surah no.	15
Place	Juz’ 14
Makki/Madani	Makki
Order of revelation	54
No. of verses	99
No. of words	658
No. of letters	2881

Benefits of Reciting Surah Hijr

1. Receiving reward to the number of the Muhajirun and Ansar: The Noble Prophet has been quoted as saying, “Whoever recites surah Hijr, Allah will reward him to the number of the Muhajirun and Ansar.”¹
2. Increasing milk supply of breastfeeding women: The Prophet has said, “By writing surah Hijr with saffron and giving it to a breastfeeding woman who has little milk, her milk will increase.”²
3. For prosperity in business: If a seller of goods writes surah Hijr and wears it around his arm, his goods will sell well and people will become interested in doing business with him. And, as long as this writing is with him, his provision and sustenance will be abundant.³
4. For fulfillment of wishes: If someone recites verse nine of surah Hijr 1000 times while paying attention to the meaning, Allah will fulfill whatever wish that person has.⁴
5. For improving memory: Whoever recites verse nine of surah Hijr 41 times to dry figs and eats a few of them every day, his memory will improve.⁵

The Gist of Surah Hijr

Surah Hijr can be summarized in the following way:

• it has verses concerning the origin of the universe and belief in Allah by means of reflecting on the creation
• verses relating to resurrection and punishment of wrongdoers
• the importance, grandeur, and characteristics of the Quran
• relating different stories such as the story of the creation of Adam, prostration of the angels to Adam and Satan’s refusal to prostrate to Adam, the story of Prophet Ibrahim and the angels who descended on him to give him good news, and punishment of the people of Prophet Lot and the tribe of Thamūd
• warning, giving good news, and giving effective pieces of advice along with threatening and encouraging people
• inviting the Prophet to resistance and sympathizing with him concerning the evil plots of the enemies in Mecca who were great in number and very dangerous⁶

Famous Verses of Surah Hijr

At least four verses of surah Hijr are among the famous verses of this surah. They are verse nine, verse 88, verse 98, and verse 99 of surah Hijr.

Verse 9: The Verse of Protection

Verse nine of surah Hijr reads:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ ‎﴿٩﴾

Indeed, We sent down the Reminder and We guard it Ourselves.⁷

This verse proves that the Quran can never be altered or distorted. Dhikr in this verse of surah Hijr means the Quran. Therefore, Allah Himself protects the Quran from being distorted or for something to be added or subtracted from it. The Quran is the living miracle of the Prophet that has remained intact for more than 14 centuries. Any sensible person who reads the Quran will know this reality.

Verse 88 of Surah Hijr: The Verse of Humility

لَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا تَحْزَنْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَاخْفِضْ جَنَاحَكَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴿٨٨﴾

Do not fix your eyes on what We granted to certain classes of them, and do not grieve for them, but lower your wings of kindness to the believers.⁸

Exegetes have said that “lower your wings of kindness to the believers” in this verse of surah Hijr means to be humble before them the same way a chicken opens its wings to embrace its chicks.⁹ Some other exegetes believe that this expression means to be patient and get along with believers. In other words, it means to devote yourself fully to associating with and educating Muslims and never to separate yourself from them.¹⁰

The Verse of Glorification

فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَ‌بِّكَ وَكُن مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ ﴿٩٨﴾

So celebrate the praise of your Lord and be among those who prostrate.¹¹

One of the purposes of saying dhikr and glorifying Allah is that it helps one to cope with grief. In this verse of surah Hijr, Allah commands His prophet to celebrate the praise of His Lord in order to get rid of the sadness caused by the diatribes of the disbelievers against him.

Verse 99: The Verse of Worship

وَاعْبُدْ رَ‌بَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ ﴿٩٩﴾

And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you.¹²

According to most exegetes, certainty in the above verse of surah Hijr means death because death certainly happens. The reason it is said worship Allah until death comes to you is that one can become a servant of Allah by worshipping Allah once, but when it is said until death comes to you, man is obligated to worship Allah until his death comes.¹³ Furthermore, the word of certain Sufis who say they do not need to worship Allah after passing certain stages is refuted.¹⁴

Conclusion

Surah Hijr is one of the Makki surahs that teaches many things. Allah says in verse nine of this surah that He Himself has sent down the Quran and He Himself will protect and guard it against distortion and alteration. One of the benefits of reciting surah Hijr according to the Prophet is that one will receive as much reward as the number of the Muhajirun and Ansar. So let us recite surah Hijr and act upon its teachings so that we may prosper in both this world and the hereafter.

---