The Town (Al-Balad)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nay! I swear by this city 1 and you are a lodger in this country. 2 And the parent and the offspring, 3 That We created man in toil and trouble. 4 Does he think then that no one has power over him? 5 And he saith: I have destroyed vast wealth: 6 Thinketh he that none beholdeth him? 7 Have We not appointed to him two eyes, 8 and a tongue, and a pair of lips, 9 And shown him the two ways (good and evil)? 10 But he could not scale the steep ascent. 11 Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Ascent is! - 12 It is freeing someone's neck from slavery; 13 Or, feeding, in a day of privation, 14 to an orphaned relative 15 or some needy person in distress, 16 and to be one of those who believe and urge one another to steadfastness and compassion. 17 These are the fellows of the righthand. 18 As for those who disbelieve in Our revelations, they are the people of the left 19 Over them shall be Fire closing round. 20