The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ I swear by this city, Makkah - 1 And thou art an indweller of this city - 2 and by parent and offspring, 3 that We have created man into a life of toil and trial. 4 Does man think that no one will ever have power over him? 5 He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance." 6 Deemest he that none beholdeth him? 7 Have We not given him two eyes, 8 One tongue, and two lips, 9 and shown him the two paths? 10 But he did not venture to scale the difficult steep. 11 What will explain to you what the ascent is? 12 To free a neck (from the burden of debt or slavery), 13 or, in a day of famine, the feeding of 14 An orphan, of kin, 15 or to a destitute lying in dust; 16 so that he becomes one of those who believe, charge each other to be patient, and charge each other to be merciful. 17 These are the fellows of the righthand. 18 and [as for] those who are bent on denying the truth of Our revelations, they are the people of the left hand, 19 who will be engulfed in the fire. 20