Surah “The City, This Countryside”

as rendered by Talal Itani & AI (2025) — 20 verses

I swear by this city.
And you are free of restriction in this city.
And by the father and what he fathered.
We created the human being in hardship.
Does he think no one has power over him?
He says, "I have spent heaps of wealth."
Does he think no one saw him?
Did We not give him two eyes?
A tongue and two lips?
And guided him to the two paths?
Yet he has not attempted the steep climb.
What will make you realize what the steep climb is?
It is freeing a slave.
Or feeding on a day of hunger.
An orphan who is a relative.
Or a destitute person in the dust.
Then being among those who believe and urge one another to patience and urge one another to compassion.
These are the people of the right.
But those who reject Our signs are the people of the left.
Over them is a Fire sealed shut.