Surah Al-Balad: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration

Surah Al-Balad, "The City", is twenty verses long. It opens with an oath by Makkah, says that man was created into hardship, and then asks a pointed question. A person boasts that he has spent heaps of money. Allah gave him eyes, a tongue and lips, and showed him the two ways. So why hasn't he taken on the steep pass? The surah then says what the pass is: freeing a slave, and feeding an orphan or a poor person on a day of hunger.

This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then goes through its meaning section by section.

The full surah

لَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ وَأَنتَ حِلُّۢ بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ وَوَالِدٖ وَمَا وَلَدَ لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ فِي كَبَدٍ أَيَحۡسَبُ أَن لَّن يَقۡدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ أَحَدٞ يَقُولُ أَهۡلَكۡتُ مَالٗا لُّبَدًا أَيَحۡسَبُ أَن لَّمۡ يَرَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ أَلَمۡ نَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ عَيۡنَيۡنِ وَلِسَانٗا وَشَفَتَيۡنِ وَهَدَيۡنَٰهُ ٱلنَّجۡدَيۡنِ فَلَا ٱقۡتَحَمَ ٱلۡعَقَبَةَ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلۡعَقَبَةُ فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ أَوۡ إِطۡعَٰمٞ فِي يَوۡمٖ ذِي مَسۡغَبَةٖ يَتِيمٗا ذَا مَقۡرَبَةٍ أَوۡ مِسۡكِينٗا ذَا مَتۡرَبَةٖ ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡمَرۡحَمَةِ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَيۡمَنَةِ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا هُمۡ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَشۡـَٔمَةِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ نَارٞ مُّؤۡصَدَةُۢ

Transliteration

1. Lā uqsimu bi-hādhal-balad
2. Wa anta ḥillum bi-hādhal-balad
3. Wa wālidin wa mā walad
4. Laqad khalaqnal-insāna fī kabad
5. A-yaḥsabu al-lay-yaqdira ʿalayhi aḥad
6. Yaqūlu ahlaktu mālal-lubadā
7. A-yaḥsabu al-lam yarahū aḥad
8. Alam najʿal lahū ʿaynayn
9. Wa lisānan wa shafatayn
10. Wa hadaynāhun-najdayn
11. Fa-laqtaḥamal-ʿaqabah
12. Wa mā adrāka mal-ʿaqabah
13. Fakku raqabah
14. Aw iṭʿāmun fī yawmin dhī masghabah
15. Yatīman dhā maqrabah
16. Aw miskīnan dhā matrabah
17. Thumma kāna minal-ladhīna āmanū wa tawāṣaw biṣ-ṣabri wa tawāṣaw bil-marḥamah
18. Ulāʾika aṣḥābul-maymanah
19. Wal-ladhīna kafarū bi-āyātinā hum aṣḥābul-mashʾamah
20. ʿAlayhim nārum muʾṣadah

English translation (Saheeh International)

I swear by this city [i.e., Makkah], and you, [O Muḥammad], are free of restriction in this city, and [by] the father and that which was born [of him], we have certainly created man into hardship. Does he think that never will anyone overcome him? He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance." Does he think that no one has seen him? Have We not made for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And have shown him the two ways?

But he has not broken through the difficult pass. And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass? It is the freeing of a slave or feeding on a day of severe hunger an orphan of near relationship or a needy person in misery, and then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion. Those are the companions of the right. But they who disbelieved in Our signs, those are the companions of the left. Over them will be fire closed in. (90:1-20)

If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:

لَاۤ اُقۡسِمُ بِهٰذَا الۡبَلَدِۙ وَاَنۡتَ حِلٌّ ۢ بِهٰذَا الۡبَلَدِۙ وَوَالِدٍ وَّمَا وَلَدَ ۙ لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا الۡاِنۡسَانَ فِىۡ كَبَدٍؕ اَيَحۡسَبُ اَنۡ لَّنۡ يَّقۡدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ اَحَدٌ ۘ يَقُوۡلُ اَهۡلَكۡتُ مَالًا لُّبَدًا ؕ اَيَحۡسَبُ اَنۡ لَّمۡ يَرَهٗۤ اَحَدٌ ؕ اَلَمۡ نَجۡعَلۡ لَّهٗ عَيۡنَيۡنِۙ وَلِسَانًا وَّشَفَتَيۡنِۙ وَهَدَيۡنٰهُ النَّجۡدَيۡنِ ۚ فَلَا اقۡتَحَمَ الۡعَقَبَةَ ۖ وَمَاۤ اَدۡرٰٮكَ مَا الۡعَقَبَةُ ؕ فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ ۙ اَوۡ اِطۡعٰمٌ فِىۡ يَوۡمٍ ذِىۡ مَسۡغَبَةٍ ۙ يَّتِيۡمًا ذَا مَقۡرَبَةٍ ۙ اَوۡ مِسۡكِيۡنًا ذَا مَتۡرَبَةٍ ؕ ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالصَّبۡرِ وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالۡمَرۡحَمَةِ ؕ اُولٰٓٮِٕكَ اَصۡحٰبُ الۡمَيۡمَنَةِ ؕ وَالَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا بِاٰيٰتِنَا هُمۡ اَصۡحٰبُ الۡمَشۡـَٔـمَةِ ؕ عَلَيۡهِمۡ نَارٌ مُّؤۡصَدَةٌ

You can read and listen to Surah Al-Balad with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.

About the surah

Al-Balad is the 90th surah of the Quran, with 20 verses, in the 30th juz. It is Meccan, from the years when the Prophet ﷺ and the first Muslims were a small, pressured group in their own city. Its name comes from the first verse, al-balad, the city, and you'll also see it written as Surah Balad.

It sits just before Surah Ash-Shams, and the two read well together. Al-Balad says Allah "showed him the two ways". Ash-Shams says He "inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness". Both make the same point: people know the right path, and the test is whether they take it.

Verses 1–4: The oath and the hardship

لَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ وَأَنتَ حِلُّۢ بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ وَوَالِدٖ وَمَا وَلَدَ لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ فِي كَبَدٍ

I swear by this city [i.e., Makkah], and you, [O Muḥammad], are free of restriction in this city, and [by] the father and that which was born [of him], we have certainly created man into hardship. (90:1-4)

The surah begins lā uqsimu, which looks at first like "I do not swear". In Arabic the lā here strengthens the oath rather than denying it, as in the openings of Al-Qiyamah (75:1) and elsewhere. Some commentators also read it as a rejection of what came before: "No! I swear…"

"This city" is Makkah, the sacred city where even hunting was forbidden.

"And you are ḥill in this city" has three well-known readings:

• You live in it. Ḥill as ḥāll, a resident. Allah swears by the city, and its honour is greater because the Prophet ﷺ lives there. This is how Maulana Junagarhi translates it.
• It will be made lawful for you. Fighting in Makkah is forbidden, but on the day of the conquest it was permitted to the Prophet ﷺ for a short time. He said afterwards that Makkah had been made lawful for him "for an hour of a day" and then returned to its sanctity (Sahih al-Bukhari 1834; Sahih Muslim 1353). Ibn Kathir gives this view from Ibn ʿAbbas and others. Saheeh International's "free of restriction" follows it.
• You are treated as fair game in it. The people of Makkah would not harm a bird in the sanctuary, yet they were ready to harm the Prophet ﷺ there. Read this way, the verse exposes their double standard.

"The father and that which was born" is usually explained as Adam and his descendants, so the oath covers the whole human race. Others say Ibrahim and Ismaʿil, who built the Kaʿbah in this very city, or any parent and child.

"We have created man into hardship"

The answer to the oath is verse 4: laqad khalaqnal-insāna fī kabad. Kabad is toil and struggle. From birth to death, a person is always labouring at something: earning a living, raising children, illness, grief, and finally death and what comes after it.

This isn't meant to depress. It's a plain description of life that frees you from expecting this world to be easy. Since the struggle is unavoidable, the question is what you struggle for, and the rest of the surah answers that.

Verses 5–10: The boastful man and what he was given

أَيَحۡسَبُ أَن لَّن يَقۡدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ أَحَدٞ يَقُولُ أَهۡلَكۡتُ مَالٗا لُّبَدًا أَيَحۡسَبُ أَن لَّمۡ يَرَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ أَلَمۡ نَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ عَيۡنَيۡنِ وَلِسَانٗا وَشَفَتَيۡنِ وَهَدَيۡنَٰهُ ٱلنَّجۡدَيۡنِ

Does he think that never will anyone overcome him? He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance." Does he think that no one has seen him? Have We not made for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And have shown him the two ways? (90:5-10)

Now the surah describes a type of person: confident in his own strength, sure that nobody can hold him to account. He says ahlaktu mālan lubadā, "I have spent wealth in heaps". Ahlaktu literally means "I destroyed" it: he spent it on show, on pride, or against the truth, and boasts about the amount.

Allah's reply is short: "Does he think that no one has seen him?" Allah saw what he spent, where it came from and what it was for. The Prophet ﷺ said a person's feet will not move on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about four things, among them his wealth, "where he earned it and on what he spent it" (Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 2417).

Then come reminders of what he was given: two eyes to see with, a tongue and two lips to speak with, and an-najdayn, "the two ways". A najd is high, raised ground, a road that is clear to see. Ibn Masʿud and Ibn ʿAbbas explained the two ways as the way of good and the way of evil. Allah didn't leave people guessing. He gave them the tools to see and speak, and made both roads plain.

Verses 11–16: The steep pass

فَلَا ٱقۡتَحَمَ ٱلۡعَقَبَةَ وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلۡعَقَبَةُ فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ أَوۡ إِطۡعَٰمٞ فِي يَوۡمٖ ذِي مَسۡغَبَةٖ يَتِيمٗا ذَا مَقۡرَبَةٍ أَوۡ مِسۡكِينٗا ذَا مَتۡرَبَةٖ

But he has not broken through the difficult pass. And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass? It is the freeing of a slave or feeding on a day of severe hunger an orphan of near relationship or a needy person in misery. (90:11-16)

The man who boasted about wasted money did not do the one thing worth doing with it. Al-ʿaqabah is a steep mountain path, hard to climb. Iqtaḥama means to rush into something hard and force your way through it. The road to Paradise is uphill, and the surah names the climb:

• Freeing a slave, fakku raqabah, literally "freeing a neck". The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will free from the Fire a limb of his for every limb of the slave (Sahih al-Bukhari 2517; Sahih Muslim 1509). Slavery in its old form is gone, but scholars apply the spirit of the verse to freeing people from captivity and crushing debt.
• Feeding on a day of hunger, fī yawmin dhī masghabah. Giving food is always good, but the verse praises it when food is scarce and you need it yourself. That's what makes it steep.
• An orphan who is a relative, yatīman dhā maqrabah. The Prophet ﷺ said charity to a poor person is charity, and charity to a relative counts twice, as charity and as keeping family ties (Sunan al-Nasa'i 2582). He also said, "I and the one who looks after an orphan will be in Paradise like this," and held up two fingers together (Sahih al-Bukhari 5304).
• A poor person in the dust, miskīnan dhā matrabah. Matrabah comes from turāb, dust: someone so poor they are, as it were, lying on the ground, with nothing between them and the earth.

Notice who is helped: the people least able to repay you. The pass is steep because the giving costs you something and brings you nothing back in this world.

Verses 17–20: The two companies

ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡمَرۡحَمَةِ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَيۡمَنَةِ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا هُمۡ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَشۡـَٔمَةِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ نَارٞ مُّؤۡصَدَةُۢ

And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion. Those are the companions of the right. But they who disbelieved in Our signs, those are the companions of the left. Over them will be fire closed in. (90:17-20)

Thumma, "then", here marks rank rather than order in time. Good deeds count with faith behind them. Above even the acts of giving is being among those who believe.

The believers here do two things for each other:

• They urge each other to patience, ṣabr, the same words as in Surah Al-Asr. Climbing the pass takes patience, and people manage it better together.
• They urge each other to compassion, marḥamah. The Prophet ﷺ said, "The merciful are shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on earth and the One above the heavens will be merciful to you" (Sunan Abi Dawud 4941; Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi 1924). And: "Whoever is not merciful to people, Allah will not be merciful to him" (Sahih al-Bukhari 7376; Sahih Muslim 2319).

These are aṣḥāb al-maymanah, the companions of the right, who receive their record in their right hand. The ones who rejected Allah's signs are aṣḥāb al-mashʾamah, the companions of the left. Over them is a fire muʾṣadah, closed in, with its doors shut on them. The same word describes the Fire in Surah Al-Humazah, another surah about a man who piles up wealth and thinks it will make him last.

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
لَآ أُقۡسِمُ	lā uqsimu	I swear
بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ	bi-hādhal-balad	by this city
حِلُّۢ	ḥill	free of restriction, a resident
وَوَالِدٖ وَمَا وَلَدَ	wa wālidin wa mā walad	and a father and what he fathered
فِي كَبَدٍ	fī kabad	in hardship
أَهۡلَكۡتُ مَالٗا لُّبَدًا	ahlaktu mālan lubadā	I have spent wealth in heaps
عَيۡنَيۡنِ	ʿaynayn	two eyes
وَلِسَانٗا وَشَفَتَيۡنِ	wa lisānan wa shafatayn	and a tongue and two lips
ٱلنَّجۡدَيۡنِ	an-najdayn	the two ways
ٱقۡتَحَمَ	iqtaḥama	broke through
ٱلۡعَقَبَةَ	al-ʿaqabah	the steep pass
فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ	fakku raqabah	freeing a slave
ذِي مَسۡغَبَةٖ	dhī masghabah	of severe hunger
يَتِيمٗا ذَا مَقۡرَبَةٍ	yatīman dhā maqrabah	an orphan who is a relative
مِسۡكِينٗا ذَا مَتۡرَبَةٖ	miskīnan dhā matrabah	a poor person in the dust
بِٱلۡمَرۡحَمَةِ	bil-marḥamah	to compassion
أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَيۡمَنَةِ	aṣḥābul-maymanah	the companions of the right
أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَشۡـَٔمَةِ	aṣḥābul-mashʾamah	the companions of the left
مُّؤۡصَدَةُۢ	muʾṣadah	closed in

Living by Surah Al-Balad

• Expect life to be hard, and choose what you struggle for. "We created man into hardship" is a fact, not a punishment. The surah points that effort uphill.
• Remember that you are seen. Before boasting about what you spent, or hiding how you spent it, ask: "Does he think that no one has seen him?"
• Use what you were given. Eyes, a tongue, lips and a clear sense of the two ways are blessings to account for.
• Take on the steep pass. Feed someone when food or money is tight for you too. Help an orphan in your family. Give to people who can never repay you.
• Start with relatives. An orphaned niece or a struggling cousin is named first for a reason: that charity counts twice.
• Keep company that urges patience and mercy. The people of the right didn't climb alone. They reminded each other.

Open Surah Al-Balad to read and listen to it with its translation.