لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ
NAY! I call to witness this land – (1)
وَأَنْتَ حِلٌّ بِهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ
this land in which thou art free to dwell – (2)
وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ
and [I call to witness] parent and offspring: (3)
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ
Verily, We have created man into [a life of] pain, toil, and trial. (4)
أَيَحْسَبُ أَنْ لَنْ يَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ
Does he, then, think that no one has power over him? (5)
يَقُولُ أَهْلَكْتُ مَالًا لُبَدًا
He boasts, "I have spent wealth abundant!" (6)
أَيَحْسَبُ أَنْ لَمْ يَرَهُ أَحَدٌ
Does he, then, think that no one sees him? (7)
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ
Have We not given him two eyes, (8)
وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ
and a tongue, and a pair of lips, (9)
وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ
and shown him the two highways [of good and evil]? (10)
فَلَا اقْتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ
But he would not try to ascend the steep uphill road.... (11)
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْعَقَبَةُ
And what could make thee conceive what it is, that steep uphill road? (12)
فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ
[It is] the freeing of one's neck [from the burden of sin], (13)
أَوْ إِطْعَامٌ فِي يَوْمٍ ذِي مَسْغَبَةٍ
or the feeding, upon a day of [one's own] hunger, (14)
يَتِيمًا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ
of an orphan near of kin, (15)
أَوْ مِسْكِينًا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍ
or of a needy [stranger] lying in the dust – (16)
ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْمَرْحَمَةِ
and being, withal, of those who have attained to faith, and who enjoin upon one another patience in adversity, and enjoin upon one another compassion. (17)
أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ
Such are they that have attained to righteousness; (18)
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ
whereas those who are bent on denying the truth of Our messages – they are such as have lost themselves in evil, (19)
عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌ مُؤْصَدَةٌ
[with] fire closing in upon them. (20)
- I do call to witness6130 this City;-
- 6130 The appeal to the mystic ties between the Prophet and his parent city of Makkah has been explained in the Introduction to this Surah. It is a symbol of man's own history. Man is born for toil and struggle, and this is the substantive proposition in verse 4 below, which this appeal leads up to.
-
I do call to witness this City;-
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Nay, I swear by this city -
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
Nay! I swear by this city.
— M. Habib Shakir -
I swear by this city (Makkah);
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
I swear by yonder city
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
No, I swear by this country (Mecca),
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
No! I swear by this city __
— Ayub Khan -
Nay, I cite as witness this City -
— Sher Ali -
NAY! I call to witness this land –
— Muhammad Asad -
No! I swear by this land,
— Arthur Arberry -
Nay!{{1}} I swear by this city{{2}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi