The Town (Al-Balad)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ I swear by this city (Makkah); 1 And you shall be made free from obligation in this city-- 2 And by the begetter and that which he begat, 3 We have certainly created man into hardship. 4 Thinketh he, that none hath 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 two lips, 9 And shown him the two ways (good and evil)? 10 But he could not scale the steep ascent. 11 And what have you understood, what the valley is! 12 (It is) to free a slave, 13 Or the giving of food in a day of privation 14 Of a related orphan, 15 or to a destitute lying in dust; 16 Then will he be of those who believe, and enjoin patience, (constancy, and self-restraint), and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion. 17 Their place will be on the right hand. 18 But those who disbelieve Our revelations, their place will be on the left hand. 19 and the Fire will close in on them. 20