The Town (Al-Balad)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nay! I swear by this city 1 And you are free to live upon it, -- 2 And by the begetter and that which he begat, 3 that We have created man into a life of toil and trial. 4 Does he, then, think that no one has power over him? 5 (He boasts and shows off) saying, "I have spent a great deal of money (for the cause of God)". 6 Thinketh he that none beholdeth him? 7 Have We not appointed to him two eyes, 8 a tongue, and two lips, 9 and guided him on the two paths (of good and evil)? 10 But he did not venture to scale the difficult steep. 11 And what have you understood, what the valley is! 12 It is the freeing of a slave 13 or the feeding in times of famine 14 An orphan of near relationship 15 Or some poor wretch in misery, 16 the believers who cooperate with others in patience (steadfastness) and kindness. 17 These are the people of the right hand. 18 And those who disbelieve in Our signs, they are the Companions of the Left Hand; 19 Upon them is a fire, in which they are imprisoned, closed and shut above them. 20