The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nay! I swear by this city. 1 and thou art a lodger in this land; 2 And [by] the father and that which was born [of him], 3 Verily, We have created man in toil. 4 Does he think that never will anyone overcome him? 5 saying, 'I have consumed wealth abundant'? 6 Does he think that none has observed him? 7 Have We not made for him a pair of eyes? 8 and a tongue, and a pair of lips, 9 And shown him the two highways? 10 But he has made no effort to pass on the path that is 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 giving food in a day of hunger (famine), 14 of an orphaned relative 15 or to a needy person in distress; 16 And to be of those who believe and exhort one another to perseverance and exhort one another to pity. 17 These are the people of the right hand. 18 As for those who rejected Our Signs, they are the People of the Left Hand. 19 with the Fire closed above them. 20