The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ I CALL THIS earth to witness -- 1 And thou art a freeman of this City;- 2 And (the mystic ties of) parent and child;- 3 Assuredly We have created man in trouble. 4 Does man think that no one will ever have power over him? 5 He says: "I have wasted a great deal of wealth." 6 Does he believe that none has seen him? 7 Did We not give him two eyes, 8 and a tongue, and two lips, 9 and guided him on the two highways? 10 But he hath made no haste on the path that is steep. 11 And what will make you know the path that is steep? 12 The freeing of a slave! 13 Or, feeding, in a day of privation, 14 An orphan, of kin, 15 Or a needy person in misery 16 And moreover to be of those who accepted faith, and who urged patience to one another and who urged graciousness to one another. 17 They are those on the Right Hand (the dwellers of Paradise), 18 As for those who rejected Our Signs, they are the People of the Left Hand. 19 who will be engulfed in the fire. 20