Surah Al-Balad

(90)

IntroductionThis surah was revealed in Makkah. Main Ideas:

Explains the true position of human beings in the world

Allah showed us the path to good and the path to evil

Allah provided for us all the means to make our own judgment and chose the path we want

IntroductionThis world is not a place of rest.

There are witnesses to this truth:The city of Makkah The hardships faced by the ProphetThe state of human beings in this world

IntroductionThis world is not a place of rest for us

and it is not an easy place We were not created to just enjoy life There are a lot of struggles and

hardships that we have to faceWe don’t realize that there is a

Superior Being Who is watching us and that we are going to have to pay for our actions

IntroductionWe don’t understand the true

meaning of success and greatnessHuman beings think of the wrong

things as showing what is great and what is not

People tend to respect the rich and wealthy and high class and wants to be like them but Allah knows best about those people

IntroductionAllah gave as means of getting

knowledge and the faculty of thinking and understanding

Allah opened up both paths for us and allowed us to choose which path we want

Doing good sometimes is harder, its like going up a steep like going up the mountain or stairs

IntroductionMost people prefer to do bad

because its easier and they go downhill

For those who do good, they will have Allah’s mercy

For those who do evil, they will be sent to Hell and they will not be able to escape from it

Questions (Introduction)1. Where was this surah revealed? 2. What are the main ideas of this surah?3. What are the 3 witnesses that this world

is not a place of rest?4. What is it that humans don’t realize? 5. What did Allah gift us with?6. What kind of deeds are easier to do?7. What kind of deeds are harder to do?8. Who will have Allah’s mercy?9. Who won’t be able to escape from Hell?

البلد بهذا أقسم ﴾﴿الAyah One: Nay! I swear by this city

Allah starts with “Nay” because he is saying that some of the thoughts and sayings of the people of that time were wrong and he is refuting that

The disbelievers of Makkah were saying that there is nothing wrong with the way that they wre living and Allah says they are wrong

Allah swears by Makkah b/c it was a completely deserted place and after Ibrahim(a), Allah blessed the place

البلد بهذا حل ﴾﴿وأنتAyah Two: - this city wherin you have

been rendered violableEven though everyone else in this city is in

peace, there is no warfare allowed here or anything, the Prophet is going through hardships

ولد وما ﴾﴿ووالدAyah Three: and I swear by the parent

and his offspring: Allah is referring to Adam (a) and his

children, as in all of humanity He is swearing on all of humanity of all

time

كبد في اإلنسان خلقنا ﴾﴿لقدAyah Four: Verily We have created man

into toil and hardship .Allah did not create this world for us to just

enjoyThis world is a test for every single human

being, no matter who they are or what status they have

In this world, every person has problems, every person has to struggle

There is a greater purpose for their struggle

عليه يقدر لن أن أيحسب Ayah Five: Does he think that no one can﴾﴿أحد

overpower him?Do human beings really think that they

can do whatever they want? Humans don’t realize that Allah is

watching them and will hold them accountable for their deeds

There is a purpose the world was created the way it was

لبدا ماال أهلكت ﴾﴿يقولAyah Six: He says: “I have squandered

enormous wealth.”People try to get the best of this world and

try to be successful in this worldThey don’t realize or work towards the

greater purpose which is to serve AllahThey think they are successful because

they got wealth but that is not true success

أحد يره لم أن ﴾﴿أيحسبAyah Seven: Does he believe that none

has seen him?These people who do everything to gain

wealth and the best of this world don’t think that Allah is watching them

However, Allah is watching all that they do

عينين له نجعل ﴾﴿ ألمAyah Eight: Did We not grant him two

eyes?

Allah is saying that he gave us every means of gaining knowledge and wisdom and learning about our purpose in life

However, many people don’t use these gifts of Allah in the proper way and don’t realize what our true purpose really is

وشفتين ﴾﴿ ولساناAyah Nine: and a tongue and two lips?

جدين الن ﴾﴿وهديناهAyah Ten: And did We not show him the

two highroads (of good and evil)?Allah even gave us guidance and

explained to us the difference between what is the right path and what is the wrong path

He gave a conscience, means to gain knowledge, the messengers, and the revelations

Questions (Ayahs 1-10)1. Why does Allah start with “Nay”?2. What city does Allah swear by?3. Why does He swear by this city?4. Which parent and offspring does Allah swear

by?5. What does it mean that Allah created man in

toil and hardship?6. What are the two high roads?7. What do people think makes them successful?8. What gifts did Allah grant us to help us in this

world?

العقبة اقتحم ﴾﴿فالAyah Eleven: But he did not venture to

scale the difficult steepThe difficult steep is the path to Jannah,

the good pathMost people don’t bother to do whats right

or good because its easier to do the wrong thing and te bad things

العقبة ما أدراك ﴾﴿وماAyah Twelve: And what do you know what

that difficult steep is?Allah asks what encompasses the difficult

steep?What does it take to overcome this difficult

path He answers the question in the next few

ayahs with some examples

رقبة ﴾﴿ فكAyah Thirteen: It is freeing somone’s neck

from slavery;One example of a hard good deed is

freeing someone from slavery

ذي يوم في إطعام أو Ayah Fourteen: or giving food on a day of﴾﴿مسغبة

hungerAnother good deed is feeding others even

if it is hard for you Its about giving charity and helping those

more unfortunate

مقربة ذا ﴾﴿يتيماAyah Fifteen: to an orphan near of kin;

Another good deed is helping orphans, especially those close to you in relation

متربة ذا مسكينا ﴾﴿أوAyah Sixteen: or to a destitute lying in

dust;Or just helping someone who is helpless

and would benefit from you helping them

آمنوا ذين ال من كان ثموتواصوا بالصبر وتواصوا

Ayah Seventeen: and, then besides this, he be one of those﴾﴿بالمرحمةwho believed, and enjoined upon one another

steadfastness and enjoined upon one another compassion

And other than all the examples of the good deeds mentioned, the person’s key feature is that they believe in Allah and they advise others to be patient and to do good

They are loving people

الميمنة أصحاب ﴾﴿أولئكAyah Eighteen: These are the People of

the Right Hand.These people who do good and have all

the qualities Allah mentioned are among the People of the Right

These people will go to Jannah inshaAllah

أصحاب هم بآياتنا كفروا ذين وال Ayah Nineteen: As for those who rejected Our﴾﴿المشأمة

Signs, they are the People of the Left Hand.Those people who do not have these

qualities are the People of the LeftThese people will go to the Hellfire

مؤصدة نار ﴾﴿ عليهمAyah Twenty: Upon them shall be a fire

that will hem them inThe fire will enclose them and they will be

punished severely by it

Questions (Ayahs 11-20)1. What is the difficult steep?2. What examples does Allah

provide?3. What is the key quality of those

who follow the right path? 4. Who are the People of the Right? 5. Who are the People of the Left? 6. What is the fate of the People of

the Left?

DisclaimerThese slides are an abridged,

simplified version of tafseer. For detailed explanations, please view

other sources.