Surah Al-Balad (The City)

20 Verses, Meccan

[1-4]

I swear by this city (Mecca), And you are a resident in this city, And by the begetter and what he begot, Indeed, We have created man in hardship (or struggle).

Tafsir Notes (Based on Al-Razi's approach):

1. The Oaths (Verses 1-3): The verse begins with oaths sworn by significant entities:
   • "This City" (بهذا البلد): This refers to Mecca, the sacred city. The oath emphasizes its sanctity and importance.
   • "And you are a resident in this city" (وأنت حل بهاذا البلد): This addresses the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The term حل (resident/lawful) here signifies that the Prophet, despite having left Mecca previously, was now lawfully permitted to reside there (after the conquest of Mecca, or perhaps referring to his status as a resident even during the period of truce/return).
   • "And by the begetter and what he begot" (ووالد وما ولد): This oath encompasses all progenitors and their descendants, signifying the entirety of humanity and the continuity of creation.

2. The Subject of the Oath (Verse 4): The object sworn upon is the statement: "Indeed, We have created man in hardship" (لقد خلقنا الإنسان فى كبد).
   • Meaning of كبد (Hardship/Struggle): This is a crucial point of discussion. It means that man is created in a state of continuous toil, difficulty, and effort from the moment of birth until death.
     • From the perspective of worldly life: Man struggles to acquire sustenance, overcome enemies, endure sickness, and face the difficulties of existence.
     • From the perspective of spiritual life: Man struggles against his own lower self (nafs), desires, and the temptations of Satan to achieve obedience to God.

• The Wisdom Behind the Oath: By swearing by the sanctity of Mecca, the Prophet's presence there, and the entirety of human lineage, God emphasizes the profound truth that human existence is inherently characterized by struggle. This sets the stage for the subsequent verses which question whether man realizes the extent of this struggle and the accountability that follows it.

Chapter: Al-Balad (The City) (1) I swear by this city...

The exegetes are unanimous that this city (al-balad) refers to Mecca.

Know that the virtue of Mecca is well-known. Allah (Exalted is He) made it a safe sanctuary (haram), saying concerning the Mosque within it:

{And whoever enters it shall be safe.}

He made this Mosque the Qibla for the people of the East and the West, saying:

{And wherever you may be, turn your face toward it...} (Al-Baqarah: 150)

He honored the Station of Abraham by saying:

{And take, from the standing place of Abraham, a place of prayer.} (Al-Baqarah: 125)

He commanded people to perform the Hajj to that House, saying:

{And [due] to Allah is the pilgrimage to the House for the sake of the One Who made the way accessible to Him...} (Aal 'Imran: 97)

He said concerning the House:

{And [mention] when We made the House a place of return for the people and a sanctuary...} (Al-Baqarah: 125)

And:

{And [mention] when We showed Abraham the site of the House, [saying], "Do not associate anything with Me..."} (Al-Hajj: 26)

And:

{And upon every lean camel, they will come from every deep pass.}

He prohibited hunting within it, made the Inhabited House (al-Bayt al-Ma'mur) opposite to it, and the earth was spread out from beneath it. Since these virtues, and more, are gathered in Mecca, it is no wonder that Allah swore by it.

As for His saying: {And you are free/permissible in this city} (wa anta ḥillun bi-hādhā al-balad), it implies several things:

1. You are residing in this city, dwelling in it. It is as if Allah magnified Mecca by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) resides there.
2. Ḥill means lawful (ḥalāl). This means that the disbelievers respect this city and do not violate its sacred prohibitions. Yet, despite this, and despite Allah's honoring you with Prophethood, they permit themselves to harm you, and if they had the power, they would kill you. Thus, in their belief, you are permissible (ḥill) for them; they do not grant you the sanctity they grant others. According to Shuraḥbīl: They refrain from killing game or breaking off a tree branch there, yet they permit expelling you and killing you. This serves to comfort the Messenger of Allah (ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and encourage him to bear the hardships inflicted by the people of Mecca, and it expresses astonishment at their aggression toward him.
3. Qatadah said: {The city, and you are permissible} means you are not sinful, and it is lawful for you to kill whomever you wish in Mecca. This is because Allah conquered Mecca for him and made it lawful for him—a status no one before him achieved. He made lawful what He willed and prohibited what He willed, and acted as He pleased. Thus, he killed 'Abdullāh ibn Khaṭal while he was clinging to the curtains of the Ka'bah, Maqīs ibn Ṣabāba, and others, and he prohibited the house of Abū Sufyān. Then he said:

   "Allah made Mecca sacred the day He created the heavens and the earth. It remains sacred until the Hour is established. It was not made lawful for anyone before me, nor will it be made lawful for anyone after me, except for a single hour of a day. Its trees are not to be cut down, its dry vegetation is not to be plucked, its game is not to be chased away, and its lost property is not lawful except for one who announces it." Al-'Abbās asked, "Except for the idhkir (a type of grass), O Messenger of Allah, for our houses and our graves?" He replied, "Except for the idhkir."

If it is argued: This Sura is Meccan, and the statement {And you are free} is a report about a current state, but the event you mentioned only occurred at the end of his migration to Medina. How can these two things be reconciled?

We reply: The wording may refer to the present state while the meaning pertains to the future, like His saying: {Indeed, you are to die} (Az-Zumar: 30). It is also like when you tell someone you promise honor and gifts: "You are honored and beloved." This is excellent from Allah because the future is like the present to Him, as nothing prevents Him from fulfilling His promise.

4. You are permissible in this city means you do not commit in this city what is forbidden for you to commit, out of reverence for this House, unlike the polytheists who commit disbelief in Allah, deny the Messengers, within it.
5. Since Allah swore by this city, it indicates the utmost virtue of this city. Then He said: {And you are permissible in this city}, meaning you are one of the inhabitants (ḥall) of this honored and revered city. The people of this city know your origin, lineage, purity, and your lifelong innocence from ugly deeds. This is what is meant by His saying: {It is He who sent among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves...} (Al-Jumu'ah: 2), and His saying: {There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves...} (At-Tawbah: 128), and His saying: {Indeed, I have remained among you a lifetime before it...} (Yunus: 16). Thus, the purpose is to explain the high status of the Messenger of Allah (ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) by virtue of him being from this city.

As for His saying: {And [by] the father and what he has begotten} (wa wālid wa mā walad), know that this is connected to His saying: {I swear by this city}, and {And you are free in this city} is an interjection between the connected and the connector. The exegetes have several views on this:

1. The father is Adam, and what he has begotten is his progeny. He swore by them because they are among the most wondrous creations of Allah on Earth, due to their eloquence, speech, management, extraction of knowledge, and because among them are the Prophets and callers to Allah and supporters of His religion. Everything on Earth was created for them, and the angels were commanded to prostrate to Adam, and he was taught all the names. Allah says: {And We have certainly honored the children of Adam...} (Al-Isrā': 70). Thus, the oath is by all of humanity, the righteous and the wicked, due to the wonders manifested in this structure and composition. It is also said that it is an oath by Adam and the righteous among his offspring, based on the idea that the wicked are as if they are not his offspring, but rather like beasts, as stated: {They are nothing but like cattle; rather, they are more astray from the way} and {Deaf, dumb, blind, so they will not return}.
2. The father is Abraham, and what he has begotten is what Muhammad (ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) has begotten. This is because he swore by Mecca, Abraham the builder of it, Ishmael, and Muhammad (‘alayhim as-salām) the inhabitants of it. The indefiniteness (tanqīr) serves to imply praise and wonder. He said {and what he has begotten} (mā walad) and not {and who he has begotten} (man walad) due to the significance found in His saying: {And Allah knows best what she has delivered} (Aal 'Imran: 36), meaning, what she delivered—a matter of wondrous significance.
3. The father is Abraham, and what he has begotten is all of Abraham's progeny, encompassing Arabs and non-Arabs. The entirety of Abraham's progeny inhabits the virtuous lands of Sham and Egypt, Jerusalem, the land of the Arabs, and among them are the Romans (descendants of Esau, son of Isaac). Some restrict this only to the progeny of Abraham from the Arabs, and some restrict it to the Muslim Arabs. We hold that this oath is by the believing progeny of Abraham because it is legislated in the Tashahhud to say: "(as You sent blessings upon Abraham and the family of Abraham)," and they are the believers.
4. It is narrated from Ibn 'Abbās that he said: Wālid is the one who begets, and mā walad is the one who does not beget. Here, mā is for negation. According to this, a relative pronoun must be implied: "and the father who did not beget," which is not permissible according to the Basrans.
5. It means every father and every child born. This is appropriate because the sanctity of all creation is included in this statement.

As for His saying: {Indeed, We have created man in hardship} (laqad khalaqnā al-insāna fī kabad), there are several issues concerning kabad:

There are several interpretations:

1. The author of Al-Kashshāf said: The root of kabad comes from saying kabida rajulun kabadan (a man's liver became painful/swollen). It was then extended to mean every toil and hardship, from which mukābadah (endurance) is derived. Another view is that kabad means the severity of a matter; hence, takabbada al-laban (the milk thickened and became severe). Kabad (liver) is so named because it is blood that thickens and hardens. The difference between these two views is that the first view establishes kabad as the name for the organ, from which severity is derived. The second view establishes the word as the name for severity/thickness, from which the name of the organ is derived.
2. The second view: Kabad means straightness and uprightness.
3. The third view: Kabad means the severity of creation and strength.

If we adopt the first view, it can mean:

• The hardships of this world only. His saying {Indeed, We have created man in hardship} means He created him through stages, all of which involve severity and difficulty: first, in the mother's womb, then the period of nursing, then when he reaches maturity, the struggle to earn a livelihood, and finally, death.
• The hardships of religious obligations only. Al-Ḥasan said: Man endures gratitude in ease and patience in adversity, and he endures trials in performing acts of worship.
• The hardships of the Hereafter only: Death, questioning by the Angel, the darkness of the grave, then the Resurrection and presentation before Allah until his final resting place is determined, either in Paradise or Hellfire.
• All of the above. This is the correct view. I have an additional perspective: There is absolutely no pleasure in this world; what is perceived as pleasure is merely relief from pain. The perceived pleasure of eating is relief from the pain of hunger; the perceived pleasure of clothing is relief from the pain of heat or cold. Man only experiences pain or relief from pain followed by another transition. This is the meaning of {Indeed, We have created man in hardship}. This implies that the Resurrection must occur, because the Wise One who designed human creation, if His goal was for man to suffer pain, this is not fitting for Mercy. If His goal was for man neither to suffer nor enjoy pleasure, then leaving him in non-existence would suffice for this goal. If His goal was for him to enjoy pleasure, we have shown that there is no pleasure in this life, and that man was created in this world in toil, hardship, and trial. Therefore, there must be another abode after this one, so that the other abode may be the abode of happiness, pleasures, and honors.

As for the second view, interpreting kabad as straightness: Ibn 'Abbās said: In kabad, meaning standing upright and erect, while other animals walk bent over. This is a favor bestowed upon him through this creation.

As for the third view, interpreting kabad as severity of creation: Al-Kalbī said this verse was revealed concerning a man from Banū Jumah, nicknamed Abū al-Ashadd (Father of the Strongest), who used to place the 'Ukāẓ leather beneath his feet, and they would pull it out from under his feet, tearing the leather, but his feet remained intact. Know that the first view is the most appropriate for the verse.

The particle fī (in) and the particle lām (for) are close in meaning. You can say: "Man is only for toil and hardship" (li-l-‘anā’), and "Man is in toil and hardship" (fī al-‘anā’). Another view is that {in hardship} (fī kabad) indicates that hardship has encompassed him like a container encompasses its contents, pointing to what we mentioned: that in this world there is nothing but toil and trial.

Some say the intended meaning of al-Insān is a specific individual—the one described with strength (referring to Abū al-Ashadd). The majority hold that it is general, encompassing everyone, although we do not preclude that it was revealed concerning an action performed by that specific man.