The Town (Al-Balad)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ I swear by this city -- 1 And you are free to live upon it, -- 2 and by parent and offspring, 3 Verily We have created man into toil and struggle. 4 Does man think that no one will ever have power over him? 5 He says: “I have squandered enormous wealth.” 6 Does man think that no one saw him? 7 Have We not given him two eyes, 8 And a tongue and two lips, 9 Have We not shown him the ways of good and evil? 10 But he has not broken through the difficult pass. 11 And what will make you comprehend what the uphill road is? 12 (It is) to free a slave, 13 Or the giving of food in a day of hunger 14 to an orphaned relative 15 Or the poor in distress; 16 Then he is of those who believe and charge one another to show patience, and charge one another to show compassion. 17 Their place will be on the right hand. 18 And those who disbelieve Our signs - they are the fellows of the lefthand. 19 Fire will be an awning over them. 20