The surah that opens with the emphatic oath of the Divine One swearing by The City, that mankind us under the absolute power and watchfulness of God. It takes its name after the “city” or “town” (balad) mentioned in verse 1. The essential point of this surah is that man is created to work and be judged. He should therefore seek to do good deeds rather than indulge in arrogance and wastefulness.The surah is also known as: (This) Countryside, The Earth, The Land, The Town.
1
لا أُقسِمُ بِهٰذَا البَلَدِ
lā ʾuqsimu bi-hādhā l-baladi
I swear by this town,
2
وَأَنتَ حِلٌّ بِهٰذَا البَلَدِ
wa-ʾanta ḥillun bi-hādhā l-baladi
as you reside in this town;
3
وَوالِدٍ وَما وَلَدَ
wa-wālidin wa-mā walada
by the father and him whom he begot:
4
لَقَد خَلَقنَا الإِنسانَ في كَبَدٍ
la-qad khalaqnā l-ʾinsāna fī kabadin
certainly We created man in travail.
5
أَيَحسَبُ أَن لَن يَقدِرَ عَلَيهِ أَحَدٌ
ʾa-yaḥsabu ʾan lan yaqdira ʿalayhi ʾaḥadun
Does he supposethat no one will ever have power over him?
6
يَقولُ أَهلَكتُ مالًا لُبَدًا
yaqūlu ʾahlaktu mālan lubadan
He says, ‘I have squandered immense wealth.’
7
أَيَحسَبُ أَن لَم يَرَهُ أَحَدٌ
ʾa-yaḥsabu ʾan lam yarahū ʾaḥadun
Does he suppose that no one sees him?
8
أَلَم نَجعَل لَهُ عَينَينِ
ʾa-lam najʿal lahū ʿaynayni
Have We not made for him two eyes,
9
وَلِسانًا وَشَفَتَينِ
wa-lisānan wa-shafatayni
a tongue, and two lips,
10
وَهَدَيناهُ النَّجدَينِ
wa-hadaynāhu n-najdayni
and shown him the two paths [of good and evil]?
11
فَلَا اقتَحَمَ العَقَبَةَ
fa-lā qtaḥama l-ʿaqabata
Yet he has not embarked upon the uphill task.
12
وَما أَدراكَ مَا العَقَبَةُ
wa-mā ʾadrāka mā l-ʿaqabatu
And what will show you what is the uphill task?
13
فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ
fakku raqabatin
[It is] the freeing of a slave,
14
أَو إِطعامٌ في يَومٍ ذي مَسغَبَةٍ
ʾaw ʾiṭʿāmun fī yawmin dhī masghabatin
or feeding [the needy] on a day of starvation,
15
يَتيمًا ذا مَقرَبَةٍ
yatīman dhā maqrabatin
or an orphan among relatives,
16
أَو مِسكينًا ذا مَترَبَةٍ
ʾaw miskīnan dhā matrabatin
or a needy man in desolation,
17
ثُمَّ كانَ مِنَ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَتَواصَوا بِالصَّبرِ وَتَواصَوا بِالمَرحَمَةِ
thumma kāna mina lladhīna ʾāmanū wa-tawāṣaw bi-ṣ-ṣabri wa-tawāṣaw bi-l-marḥamati
while being one of those who have faithand who enjoin one another to patience,and enjoin one another to compassion.
18
أُولٰئِكَ أَصحابُ المَيمَنَةِ
ʾulāʾika ʾaṣḥābu l-maymanati
They are the People of the Right Hand.
19
وَالَّذينَ كَفَروا بِآياتِنا هُم أَصحابُ المَشأَمَةِ
wa-lladhīna kafarū bi-ʾāyātinā hum ʾaṣḥābu l-mashʾamati
But those who defy Our signs,they are the People of the Left Hand.
20
عَلَيهِم نارٌ مُؤصَدَةٌ
ʿalayhim nārun muʾṣadatun
[Imposed] upon them will be a closed Fire.