The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ I swear by this city -- 1 and thou art a lodger in this land; 2 and [I call to witness] parent and offspring: 3 Verily, We have created man in toil. 4 Thinketh he, that none hath power over him? 5 He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance." 6 Does he, then, think that no one sees him? 7 Have We not given him two eyes, 8 And a tongue and a pair of lips? 9 and guided him on the two highways? 10 Yet he has not assaulted the steep; 11 And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass? 12 [It is] the freeing of one's neck [from the burden of sin,] 13 or the feeding in times of famine 14 An orphan near of kin, 15 Or to the indigent (down) in the dust. 16 And to be of those who believe, and urge upon one another to persevere, and urge upon each other to be kind. 17 Such are the Companions of the Right Hand. 18 whereas those who are bent on denying the truth of Our messages - they are such as have lost themselves in evil, 19 with the Fire closed above them. 20