Surah 90
Surah Al-Balad (The City)
البلد
Also written: Balad
Surah Al-Balad (البلد) is surah 90 of the 114 surahs of the Quran. It has 20 ayahs, was revealed in Mecca (Meccan), and its name means “The City”.
- Number
- 90
- Ayahs
- 20
- Revelation
- Meccan
- Meaning
- The City
Names, meaning and Meccan/Medinan classification as listed in the quran-json dataset.
About Surah Al-Balad
Al-Balad, “The City”, swears by Mecca, the city in which the Prophet lived, and declares that human beings are created into struggle. It challenges the person who boasts of the wealth he has spent and thinks no one sees him, reminds him of the eyes, tongue and lips he was given, and invites him to take on the “steep path” (al-’aqabah) — practical acts of compassion.
Verse by verse
- The oath (90:1–3): by this city, while the Prophet is in it, and by a parent and offspring.
- Human struggle and arrogance (90:4–7): people are made to toil, yet some imagine no one has power over them, and brag of squandering wealth.
- Gifts and choices (90:8–10): two eyes, a tongue and two lips, and guidance to the two highways of good and evil.
- The steep path (90:11–17): freeing a slave, feeding on a day of hunger an orphaned relative or a destitute person lying in the dust, then being among the believers who urge one another to patience and to mercy.
- Right and left (90:18–20): those who take this path are the people of the right; those who deny God’s signs face a fire closed over them.
Points of interpretation
Commentators read the second verse in more than one way: that the Prophet is a resident of the city, or that it would be made lawful for him to enter it at a future time, which some link to the conquest of Mecca. The “parent and offspring” of the third verse are explained as Adam and his descendants, or Abraham and his son Ishmael, among other views.
The surah’s idea of an uphill climb has inspired many Muslims: real virtue is costly, and it shows itself in feeding the hungry and freeing the oppressed.
Frequently asked questions
- Which city is meant in Surah Al-Balad?
- Mecca, according to the commentators.
- What is the steep path (al-'aqabah)?
- The surah explains it as freeing a slave and feeding the hungry, orphans and the destitute, combined with faith and mutual encouragement to patience and mercy.
- How many verses are in Surah Al-Balad?
- 20.
- How many ayahs are in Surah Al-Balad?
- Surah Al-Balad has 20 ayahs. It is surah number 90 in the Quran and is Meccan.
- Can I read Surah Al-Balad in English or save it as a PDF?
- Yes. This page shows the Arabic text of every ayah with the Saheeh International English meaning under it. Use “Print / Save as PDF” for a clean printable copy that you can save as a PDF file from your browser.
- Is Surah Al-Balad the same as Surah Balad?
- Yes. Balad and Al-Balad are different English spellings of the same surah name, البلد.
Summaries describe the surah’s content and commonly cited reports for general readers; they are not a tafsir or a religious ruling.
Making a video of Surah Al-Balad
Surah Al-Balad has 20 ayahs, so most videos use a passage from it rather than the whole surah. Choose the ayahs you want on the new-project page; one to five ayahs suit a Reel or Short, while longer passages work better in 16:9 for YouTube.
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Surah Al-Balad in Arabic with English meaning
Arabic: Uthmani script from The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia (quranenc.com), Uthmani script, via quran-json (CC-BY-SA 4.0), shown as in the verified dataset; open-tanween marks use the equivalent codepoints this font draws, as in the editor. English meaning: Saheeh International (tanzil.net). A translation conveys the meaning; it is not the Quran itself.
لَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ ١
90:1I swear by this city, Makkah
وَأَنتَ حِلُّۢ بِهَٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ ٢
90:2And you, [O Muhammad], are free of restriction in this city
وَوَالِدࣲ وَمَا وَلَدَ ٣
90:3And [by] the father and that which was born [of him]
لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ فِي كَبَدٍ ٤
90:4We have certainly created man into hardship
أَيَحۡسَبُ أَن لَّن يَقۡدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ أَحَدࣱ ٥
90:5Does he think that never will anyone overcome him
يَقُولُ أَهۡلَكۡتُ مَالࣰا لُّبَدًا ٦
90:6He says, "I have spent wealth in abundance
أَيَحۡسَبُ أَن لَّمۡ يَرَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ ٧
90:7Does he think that no one has seen him
أَلَمۡ نَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ عَيۡنَيۡنِ ٨
90:8Have We not made for him two eyes
وَلِسَانࣰا وَشَفَتَيۡنِ ٩
90:9And a tongue and two lips
وَهَدَيۡنَٰهُ ٱلنَّجۡدَيۡنِ ١٠
90:10And have shown him the two ways
فَلَا ٱقۡتَحَمَ ٱلۡعَقَبَةَ ١١
90:11But he has not broken through the difficult pass
وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلۡعَقَبَةُ ١٢
90:12And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass
فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ ١٣
90:13It is the freeing of a slave
أَوۡ إِطۡعَٰمࣱ فِي يَوۡمࣲ ذِي مَسۡغَبَةࣲ ١٤
90:14Or feeding on a day of severe hunger
يَتِيمࣰا ذَا مَقۡرَبَةٍ ١٥
90:15An orphan of near relationship
أَوۡ مِسۡكِينࣰا ذَا مَتۡرَبَةࣲ ١٦
90:16Or a needy person in misery
ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡمَرۡحَمَةِ ١٧
90:17And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion
أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَيۡمَنَةِ ١٨
90:18Those are the companions of the right
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا هُمۡ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡمَشۡـَٔمَةِ ١٩
90:19But they who disbelieved in Our signs - those are the companions of the left
عَلَيۡهِمۡ نَارࣱ مُّؤۡصَدَةُۢ ٢٠
90:20Over them will be fire closed in