The Town (Al-Balad)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ I swear by this city -- 1 And you, [O Muhammad], are free of restriction in this city - 2 And the begetter and whom he begot. 3 Verily We have created man into toil and struggle. 4 Thinketh he, that none hath power over him? 5 He says, "I have spent enormous wealth." 6 Does man think that no one saw him? 7 Have We not made for him two eyes? 8 and a tongue, and a pair of lips, 9 And did We not show him the two highroads (of good and evil)? 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 It is the freeing of a slave 13 Or giving food in a day of hunger (famine), 14 to an orphaned relative 15 or some needy person in distress, 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 These are the fellows of the righthand. 18 And those who disbelieve in Our signs, they are the Companions of the Left Hand; 19 Fire will be an awning over them. 20