لَآ أُقْسِمُ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ
I swear by this city [i.e., Makkah]
Read with respect and attention. The Arabic is the Qur'an; translations convey meaning only.
Surah 90 · Meccan · 20 ayat
The City
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
لَآ أُقْسِمُ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ
I swear by this city [i.e., Makkah]
وَأَنتَ حِلٌّۢ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْبَلَدِ
And you, [O Muḥammad], are free of restriction in this city
وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ
And [by] the father and that which was born [of him],
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ فِى كَبَدٍ
We have certainly created man into hardship.
أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّن يَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ
Does he think that never will anyone overcome him?
يَقُولُ أَهْلَكْتُ مَالًا 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?
وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ
And a tongue and two lips?
وَهَدَيْنَـٰهُ 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 إِطْعَـٰمٌ فِى يَوْمٍ ذِى مَسْغَبَةٍ
Or feeding on a day of severe hunger
يَتِيمًا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ
An orphan of near relationship
أَوْ مِسْكِينًا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍ
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.
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْمَيْمَنَةِ
Those are the companions of the right.
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْمَشْـَٔمَةِ
But they who disbelieved in Our signs - those are the companions of the left.
عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌ مُّؤْصَدَةٌۢ
Over them will be fire closed in.
Sources. Arabic text: Tanzil.net Uthmani text via the Quran.com API (KFGQPC Uthmani Hafs). Tajweed markup: Quran.com. Translations: Saheeh International (© Dar Abul Qasim Publishing House, 1997), displayed via the Quran.com API; Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an (1934) and M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), both public domain. Recitation: everyayah.com, by the reciters credited in the player.
Translations convey the meaning of the Qur'an and cannot replace the Arabic original. Tigrinya and Amharic translations are reserved for reviewed text and are not machine-generated.
Our translation and content approach · All surahs · Birhan in the Qur'an
Preferences are saved on this device only.
Search Arabic without diacritics, English translations, or jump to a reference.
Notes are stored only in this browser. They are never uploaded.
Try “tajweed”, “Ramadan”, “new Muslim”, or a verse reference like 2:255.