The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ I do not (need to) swear by this town (Mecca) 1 and thou art a lodger in this land; 2 And by the giver of birth, and whom he fathered, 3 Assuredly We have created man in trouble. 4 Does he think that never will anyone overcome him? 5 He boasts, "I have spent wealth abundant!" 6 Does man think that no one saw him? 7 Have We not given him two eyes, 8 One tongue, and two lips, 9 Have We not shown him the ways of good and evil? 10 But he could not scale the steep ascent. 11 How will you comprehend what the Steep ascent is? -- 12 (It is) the setting free of a slave, 13 the giving of food upon the day of hunger 14 of an orphan near of kin, 15 Or to the indigent (down) in the dust. 16 Then he became one of those who believed, and recommended one another to perseverance and patience, and (also) recommended one another to pity and compassion. 17 Those are the companions of the right. 18 But those who reject Our Signs, they are the (unhappy) Companions of the Left Hand. 19 over them is a Fire covered down. 20