Sūrah Al-Balad The City
البلد
20 verses, Makkī. By this city and you are free of restriction in this city and by the father and what he fathered We created the human in hardship. Does he think no one has power over him? Two pathways shown and he has not attempted the mountain pass. What is the steep path? It is freeing a slave, or feeding in a day of hunger.
Surah Overview
Key Themes from Ibn Kathīr
The steep pass the definition of virtue (90:11–16): "But he has not attempted the steep pass and what will make you know what the steep pass is? It is the freeing of a slave or feeding on a day of severe hunger an orphan of near relationship or a poor person lying in the dust." Ibn Kathīr: the Qurʾān defines the "steep path" the harder righteous acts as social justice. Not long prayers in seclusion, but freeing the enslaved and feeding the starving. True spirituality is expressed in practical social commitment.
Human creation in hardship (90:4): "We have certainly created the human in hardship." Ibn Kathīr: kabab (hardship) the human's entire existence is one of effort and struggle. There is no path of no resistance. From birth (the difficulty of labor) to death (the agony of the soul departing), the human life is defined by effort. The question is only whether that effort is directed toward the right end.
- The sacred city oath: Allah swears by Makkah to emphasize its sanctity and the Prophet's ﷺ presence within it.
- Hardship as human nature: Man is created in kabad constant toil and striving not ease; arrogance over wealth contradicts this reality.
- Two paths (al-najdayn): Allah showed humanity both the steep path of good and the lower path of evil; choosing the steep path requires effort.
- The steep path defined: Freeing slaves, feeding the orphan and the destitute, then believing and enjoining patience and mercy.
- Two groups: The companions of the right hand who took the steep path versus the companions of the left hand sealed in fire; deeds determine which group one belongs to.