The Town (Al-Balad)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ No! I swear by this land, 1 And you, [O Muhammad], are free of restriction in this city - 2 And [by] the father and that which was born [of him], 3 Verily We have created man into toil and struggle. 4 Does he think that no one has power over him? 5 He boasts, "I have spent wealth abundant!" 6 Does he believe that none has seen him? 7 Have We not given him two eyes, 8 and a tongue, and a pair of lips, 9 And did We not show him the two highroads (of good and evil)? 10 But he hath made no haste on the path that is steep. 11 And what could make thee conceive what it is, that steep uphill road? 12 It is the freeing of a slave; 13 Or the giving of food in a day of hunger 14 to an orphaned relative 15 Or some poor wretch in misery, 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 Such are the Companions of the Right Hand. 18 As for those who rejected Our Signs, they are the People of the Left Hand. 19 and the Fire will close in on them. 20