Al-Balad

سُورَةُ البَلَدِ

Surah 90 20 آية Meccan

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

عن سورة Al-Balad

Meccan · 20 آية

المحاور الرئيسية

The sacred city of Mecca, human struggle and divine testing, the two paths, social justice and freeing slaves

الأهمية والفضل

Al-Balad (The City) opens with an oath by the city of Mecca — described as the place where the Prophet ﷺ was made lawful — to affirm that human life is characterised by difficulty and struggle (kabid). The surah then identifies the two paths of human choice: the steep and difficult path of virtue (freeing slaves, feeding the orphan and the poor) versus the easy path of heedlessness. The surah is one of the Quran's most direct texts on social responsibility and ethical economics.

شرح آية محورية

Ayah 12–16 describe "the steep path" (al-aqaba): "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." Classical scholars note that the image of a "steep path" deliberately emphasises that virtue is effortful — it requires sacrifice of ease, comfort, and wealth. This prevents a passive or merely psychological interpretation of Islam as a religion of inner states without social action.

الأعمال المرتبطة

The surah's emphasis on freeing slaves (90:13) was one of the earliest and most repeated Quranic instruments for the gradual abolition of slavery in Islamic societies. The feeding of the orphan and the poor is connected to zakat, sadaqah, and Islamic social welfare institutions (awqaf). Al-Balad is commonly cited in Islamic social justice literature and in programs addressing poverty alleviation as a religious duty.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ 1

90:1

I swear by this city, Makkah -

وَأَنْتَ حِلٌّ بِهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ 2

90:2

And you, [O Muhammad], are free of restriction in this city -

وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ 3

90:3

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

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ 4

90:4

We have certainly created man into hardship.

أَيَحْسَبُ أَنْ لَنْ يَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ 5

90:5

Does he think that never will anyone overcome him?

يَقُولُ أَهْلَكْتُ مَالًا لُبَدًا 6

90:6

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

أَيَحْسَبُ أَنْ لَمْ يَرَهُ أَحَدٌ 7

90:7

Does he think that no one has seen him?

أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ 8

90:8

Have We not made for him two eyes?

وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ 9

90:9

And a tongue and two lips?

وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ 10