The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ No, I swear by this country (Mecca), 1 this land in which thou art free to dwell 2 And by the giver of birth, and whom he fathered, 3 that We have created man into a life of toil and trial. 4 Does he think that never will anyone overcome him? 5 saying, 'I have consumed wealth abundant'? 6 Does man think that no one saw him? 7 Have We not given him two eyes, 8 a tongue, and two lips, 9 And shown unto him the two highways? 10 But he did not venture to scale the difficult steep. 11 And what have you understood, what the valley is! 12 (It is:) freeing the bondman; 13 Or, feeding, in a day of privation, 14 To an orphan, having relationship, 15 or to a destitute lying in 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 These are the people of the right hand. 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