لَآ أُقْسِمُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ
I swear by this city, Makkah -
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20 ayahs. Madinah Mushaf (KFGQPC) and Sahih International translation.
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.
Surah Al-Balad is a Meccan chapter of 20 ayahs. It swears by this city, Makkah, and humanity created in struggle, then describes the steep path: freeing a slave, feeding on a day of hunger an orphan or the destitute, and joining those who believe and counsel patience and mercy.
Recordings of Surah Al-Balad on JUZZ run from about 1 minutes with Saood Ash-Shuraym to about 4.8 minutes with Mustafa Ismail, based on 48 timed recordings in the catalogue. With 20 ayahs, murattal styles sit at the shorter end and mujawwad or teaching recitations run slower; the player speed setting changes the time too.
Surah Al-Balad has 20 ayahs.
Surah Al-Balad is a Meccan surah.
Surah Al-Balad lies entirely within Juz 30.
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Arabic text: KFGQPC QCF V2 via Quran.com and Uthmani script via AlQuran.Cloud. Translation: Sahih International. Audio: MP3Quran full-surah recordings and EveryAyah. Timing: MP3Quran's official timing API, with Tarteel Whisper for the rest. Hadith references above cite their collection and grading. See Sources & accuracy.
Last updated: 1 September 2026