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VerseSurah

Surah 90 · Meccan · 20 Verses

البلد

SURAH AL-BALAD

The City

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

1

لَآ أُقْسِمُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ

I swear by this city [i.e., Makkah] –

2

وَأَنتَ حِلٌّۢ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ

And you, [O Muḥammad], are free of restriction in this city –

3

وَوَالِدٍۢ وَمَا وَلَدَ

And [by] the father1924 and that which was born [of him],

  1. [1924] Said to be Adam (upon him be peace) . ↩

4

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ فِى كَبَدٍ

We have certainly created man into hardship.

5

أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّن يَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌۭ

Does he think that never will anyone overcome him?

6

يَقُولُ أَهْلَكْتُ مَالًۭا لُّبَدًا

He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance."

7

أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّمْ يَرَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ

Does he think that no one has seen him?

8

أَلَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عَيْنَيْنِ

Have We not made for him two eyes?

9

وَلِسَانًۭا وَشَفَتَيْنِ

And a tongue and two lips?

10

وَهَدَيْنَٰهُ ٱلنَّجْدَيْنِ

And have shown him the two ways?1925

  1. [1925] Of good and evil. ↩

11

فَلَا ٱقْتَحَمَ ٱلْعَقَبَةَ

But he has not broken through the difficult pass.1926

  1. [1926] i.e., the steep incline or obstacle. In other words, he has not spent in the cause of Allāh but only boasts of spending in front of others. ↩

12

وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْعَقَبَةُ

And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass?

13

فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ

It is the freeing of a slave

14

أَوْ إِطْعَٰمٌۭ فِى يَوْمٍۢ ذِى مَسْغَبَةٍۢ

Or feeding on a day of severe hunger

15

يَتِيمًۭا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ

An orphan of near relationship

16

أَوْ مِسْكِينًۭا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍۢ

Or a needy person in misery

17

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.

18

أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْمَيْمَنَةِ

Those are the companions of the right.1927

  1. [1927] Or "the companions of good fortune," i.e., those who receive their records in their right hands and proceed to Paradise. ↩

19

وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْمَشْـَٔمَةِ

But they who disbelieved in Our signs - those are the companions of the left.1928

  1. [1928] Or "the companions of ill fortune," i.e., those who receive their records in their left hands and proceed to Hell. ↩

20

عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌۭ مُّؤْصَدَةٌۢ

Over them will be fire closed in.1929

  1. [1929] The cover over Hell will be sealed and locked, containing its fire and its inhabitants. ↩

About This Surah

Surah Al-Balad places human life within struggle and challenges confidence built on spending and power. It points to eyes, tongue and lips as gifts and presents the steep path: freeing a person from bondage, feeding during hunger, caring for an orphan relative or a destitute person, and joining faith with mutual counsel to patience and mercy.

The surah swears by the city and invokes parent and child before declaring that human beings are created into struggle. Difficulty is not romanticized, nor is it proof of failure. The arrogant speaker who claims to have consumed great wealth is asked whether no one sees.

Gifts of perception and speech are recalled: two eyes, a tongue and two lips, along with two paths. Yet recognizing options does not mean the steep ascent has been attempted.

The surah explains that ascent in social and moral terms. It includes freeing a person from bondage and feeding on a day of hunger—especially an orphan near of kin or a destitute person in misery. These actions are joined to faith and to mutual counsel in patience and mercy.

The ending contrasts companions of the right with those who reject the signs. The chapter’s measure of achievement is not public expenditure alone, but costly liberation, nourishment, faithful community and mercy.

For a first reading, follow the movement from “City, struggle and arrogant spending” to “Two outcomes.” On a second pass, pause at 90:8–10 and ask how the theme “Human life includes real struggle” informs “Power and spending do not escape divine sight.” This method keeps the chapter’s sequence visible, connects belief with conduct and prevents a memorable image from being detached from its surrounding argument. It also separates the verses’ direct claims from later explanations that need their own evidence.

Core Themes

  • Human life includes real struggle
  • Power and spending do not escape divine sight
  • Speech and perception create responsibility
  • Freedom and food are central moral tests
  • Patience and mercy are communal practices

Structure

Verses 1-7: city, struggle and arrogant spending — 1-7

Verses 1-7 focus on city, struggle and arrogant spending.

Verses 8-10: gifts and two paths — 8-10

Verses 8-10 focus on gifts and two paths.

Verses 11-18: the steep ascent of liberation and care — 11-18

Verses 11-18 focus on the steep ascent of liberation and care.

Verses 19-20: two outcomes — 19-20

Verses 19-20 focus on two outcomes.

Key Passages

Struggle and boastful wealth — 4-7

Verses 4-7 address struggle and boastful wealth.

Eyes, tongue, lips and paths — 8-10

Verses 8-10 address eyes, tongue, lips and paths.

The steep path — 11-16

Verses 11-16 address the steep path.

Faith, patience and mercy — 17-20

Verses 17-20 address faith, patience and mercy.

Interpretation Limits

  • Do not glorify suffering or deny the need to relieve it.
  • Do not reduce freeing a person to metaphor when the verse names a concrete act.
  • Do not present charity as a guaranteed route to wealth.

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