The Town (Al-Balad)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nay! I swear by this city. 1 And you are free to live upon it, -- 2 And the begetter and that which he begat, 3 We have indeed created man surrounded by hardships. 4 Does he think that none has power over him! 5 He may say (boastfully); Wealth have I squandered in abundance! 6 Thinketh he that none beholdeth him? 7 Have We not made for him two eyes? 8 a tongue, and two lips, 9 And shown him the two ways (good and evil)? 10 But he has not attempted the ascent. 11 And what will make you know the path that is steep? 12 It is the freeing of a slave 13 or the feeding in times of famine 14 of an orphaned relative 15 Or the poor in distress; 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 are the companions of the right. 18 whereas those who are bent on denying the truth of Our messages - they are such as have lost themselves in evil, 19 who will be engulfed in the fire. 20