The Town (Al-Balad)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ No, I swear by this country (Mecca), 1 this land in which thou art free to dwell 2 And [by] the father and that which was born [of him], 3 Verily, We have created man into [a life of] pain, toil and trial. 4 Does he think that no one can overpower him? 5 He boasts, "I have spent wealth abundant!" 6 Does man think that no one saw him? 7 Have We not given him two eyes, 8 and a tongue, and two lips, 9 and guided him on the two highways? 10 Yet he has not scaled the height. 11 What will explain to you what the ascent is? 12 It is freeing the neck, 13 Or the giving of food in a day of privation 14 of an orphan near of kin, 15 Or of a homeless needy person! 16 And to be of those who believe, and urge upon one another to persevere, and urge upon each other to be kind. 17 Those who do so are the people of the right hand, 18 But those who deny Our revelations are the people of the left hand: 19 Upon them shall be a Fire that will hem them in. 20