The Town (Al-Balad)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ I swear by this city (Makkah); 1 and thou art a lodger in this land; 2 And (the mystic ties of) parent and child;- 3 We have indeed created man surrounded by hardships. 4 Thinketh he, that none hath power over him? 5 He says, "I have spent enormous wealth." 6 Thinketh he that none beholdeth him? 7 Did We not give him two eyes, 8 And a tongue and two lips, 9 and shown him the two highways [of good and evil]? 10 Yet he attempteth not the steep, 11 And what could make thee conceive what it is, that steep uphill road? 12 It is the setting free of a slave 13 or, in a day of famine, the feeding of 14 an orphaned relative 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 Such are the Companions of the Right Hand. 18 But those who reject Our Signs, they are the (unhappy) Companions of the Left Hand. 19 and the Fire will close in on them. 20