The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ I do not (need to) swear by this town (Mecca) 1 And thou shalt be allowed in yonder city 2 And [by] the father and that which was born [of him], 3 We have indeed created man surrounded by hardships. 4 Does he think that no one has power over him? 5 He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance." 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 guided him on the two paths (of good and evil)? 10 Yet he has not assaulted the steep; 11 Would that you knew what Aqaba is! 12 It is the freeing of a slave; 13 Or the giving of food in a day of privation 14 An orphan of near relationship 15 Or a poor man cleaving to the dust. 16 and being, withal, of those who have attained to faith, and who enjoin upon one another patience in adversity, and enjoin upon one another compassion. 17 Those are the Companions of the Right Hand. 18 But those who disbelieved in Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they are those on the Left Hand (the dwellers of Hell). 19 who will be engulfed in the fire. 20