سُورَةُ البَلَدِ
Surah 90 - Al-Balad
The City
- 20 verses
- Juz 30
- Page 594 of the Mushaf
Al-Balad begins with an oath on a city the text does not name, and adds at once that the one it speaks to lives there. A second oath bears on a father and on what he begets. The text then states that man was created into hardship. Two questions are put to him, framing a sentence he utters about the wealth he has spent. The text recalls what was given him - two eyes, a tongue, two lips, and two ways shown - then observes that he does not take the steep road. It asks what that road is and answers with definite acts. Three verses finally set two groups apart.
The main parts
The text of the surah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ لَآ أُقْسِمُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ
I swear by this city, Makkah -
وَأَنتَ حِلٌّۢ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ
And you, [O Muhammad], are free of restriction in this city -
وَوَالِدٍۢ وَمَا وَلَدَ
And [by] the father and that which was born [of him],
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ فِى كَبَدٍ
We have certainly created man into hardship.
أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّن يَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌۭ
Does he think that never will anyone overcome him?
يَقُولُ أَهْلَكْتُ مَالًۭا لُّبَدًا
He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance."
أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّمْ يَرَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ
Does he think that no one has seen him?
أَلَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عَيْنَيْنِ
Have We not made for him two eyes?
وَلِسَانًۭا وَشَفَتَيْنِ
And a tongue and two lips?
وَهَدَيْنَٰهُ ٱلنَّجْدَيْنِ
And have shown him the two ways?
فَلَا ٱقْتَحَمَ ٱلْعَقَبَةَ
But he has not broken through the difficult pass.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْعَقَبَةُ
And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass?
فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ
It is the freeing of a slave
أَوْ إِطْعَٰمٌۭ فِى يَوْمٍۢ ذِى مَسْغَبَةٍۢ
Or feeding on a day of severe hunger
يَتِيمًۭا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ
An orphan of near relationship
أَوْ مِسْكِينًۭا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍۢ
Or a needy person in misery
ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْمَرْحَمَةِ
And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion.
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْمَيْمَنَةِ
Those are the companions of the right.
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْمَشْـَٔمَةِ
But they who disbelieved in Our signs - those are the companions of the left.
عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌۭ مُّؤْصَدَةٌۢ
Over them will be fire closed in.
Key verses of the surah
The surah's only general statement on the human condition, set right after the oaths.
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ فِى كَبَدٍ
We have certainly created man into hardship.
The question the text puts to itself before answering: what the climb actually consists of.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْعَقَبَةُ
And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass?
It extends the list of acts with belief and two mutual counsels, endurance and mercy.
ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْمَرْحَمَةِ
And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion.
What is surah Al-Balad about?
About an effort the text calls a climb. It describes a man sure of himself, reminds him of what he has been given, then measures the gap between what he claims to have spent and what the climb would really ask.
What is the steep road in surah Al-Balad?
The text defines it by acts, in verses 13 to 17: loosing a yoke, feeding on a day of famine an orphan of kin or a person in want, and being among those who believe and counsel one another to endurance and to mercy.
How does surah Al-Balad end?
With three verses that sort: on one side those just described, on the other those who deny the signs. The last verse says what closes over the second group. The surah therefore ends on a separation.
How is surah Al-Balad built?
In four moves: two oaths followed by a statement about man, two questions about what he believes, an inventory of what he received, then the climb and its content. The close sets two groups apart in three verses.
Why is surah Al-Balad called that?
“Al-Balad” means “the City”. The name comes from the first two verses, where an oath bears on a city the text points to without naming it, and where the one addressed is told that he lives there. No other passage of the surah returns to it.
How many verses does surah Al-Balad have?
Surah Al-Balad has 20 verses. It stands at number 90 in the order of the Mushaf, which holds 114.
The Arabic text is that of the Mushaf. The summary, the outline and the answers on this page describe the text and how it is built: they are not religious commentary.