Tafsir of Al-Balad 90:1-7

The Almighty swears by the Sacred City and what follows it, that man was created immersed in the endurance of hardships and tribulations. He interjected between the oath and the subject of the oath with His words: "And you are a dweller in this city," meaning: It is part of the hardship that one like you, despite your immense sanctity, is treated as lawful in this Sacred City, just as game is treated as lawful outside the sanctuary.

Ash-Sharhabil said: They forbid the killing of game or the cutting of trees within it, yet they deem it lawful to expel and kill you. In this is a strengthening for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), an incitement to endure what he was suffering from the people of Mecca, and an expression of wonder at their state in their enmity toward him.

Alternatively, He comforted the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) by swearing by his city, affirming that man is never free from enduring hardships. He interjected with the promise of the conquest of Mecca to complete the consolation and relief, saying: "And you are a dweller in this city," meaning: You will be a dweller in it in the future, doing within it whatever you wish of killing and capturing. This is because Allah granted him the conquest of Mecca and made it lawful for him—something not granted to anyone before him—so he made lawful what he wished and forbade what he wished. He killed Ibn Khatal while he was clinging to the curtains of the Kaaba, and Muqis ibn Subaba and others, while he forbade the house of Abu Sufyan.

Then he said: "Allah sanctified Mecca the day He created the heavens and the earth; it is sacred until the Hour rises. It was not made lawful for anyone before me, nor will it be for anyone after me. It was only made lawful for me for an hour of a day. Its trees shall not be cut, its grass shall not be mown, its game shall not be startled, and its lost property shall not be picked up except by one who announces it." Al-Abbas said: "O Messenger of Allah, except for the idhkhir (rush), for it is for our smiths and our graves and our houses." He (ﷺ) replied: "Except for the idhkhir."

If you ask: Where is the parallel to His saying "And you are a dweller" in the sense of the future? I say: His saying, "Indeed, you are to die, and they are to die" (Az-Zumar: 30). Such usage is common in human speech; you say to someone you promise honor and gifts: "You are honored and gifted." In the speech of Allah, it is even more expansive, for future states are to Him like the present and witnessed. A decisive proof that it refers to the future—and that interpreting it as the present is impossible—is that the Surah is, by consensus, Meccan. Where was the Hijra at the time of its revelation, let alone the Conquest?

If you ask: What is meant by "the parent" (walid) and "the child" (walad)? I say: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his offspring. He swears by his city, which is his birthplace, the sanctuary of his father Abraham, and the place where his father Ishmael grew up, and by him who begot him and him who was begotten. If you ask: Why is it indefinite? I say: For the sake of ambiguity, which is sufficient for praise and wonder. If you ask: Why was it not said "and who was born" (wa man wulida)? I say: It contains what is in His saying: "And Allah is most knowing of what she brought forth" (Al-Imran: 36), meaning: "with what she brought forth," implying something of wondrous status. It is also said: They are Adam and his children. Others say: Every parent and child.

"Hardship" (Kabad): Its origin is from saying "his liver (kabid) ached," meaning he became afflicted with pain and swelling. It was then expanded to be used for every toil and hardship. From this, mukabada (endurance) is derived.

The pronoun in "Does he think" (ayahsabu) refers to one of the chieftains of Quraysh from whom the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was enduring what he endured. The meaning: Does this chieftain, powerful among his people and oppressive to the believers, think that no resurrection will occur, and that no one will be able to take vengeance upon him or requite him for his actions? Then He mentions what he says on that day: "I have spent wealth in abundance," meaning the vast amount he spent on what the people of the Jahiliyya called "noble deeds" and "glories." "Does he think that no one has seen him?" when he was spending as he spent to show off to people and boast among them. Meaning: Allah was seeing him and was a Watcher over him.

It is also possible that the pronoun refers to "man" in general, meaning: I swear by this noble city—and part of its nobility is that you are a dweller in it, while its people commit sins, yet you are pure and innocent—that it is worthy of being sworn by: "We have certainly created man in hardship," meaning: in sickness, specifically the sickness of the heart and the corruption of the inner self. He means those whom Allah knew, when He created them, that they would not believe or do righteous deeds.

It is also said that the one who thinks "no one will be able to take power over him" is Abu al-Ashadd. He was strong; he would have a leather mat from Ukaz spread out, stand upon it, and say: "Whoever can remove me from it shall have such-and-such," and it would not be pulled away except in shreds, leaving the place of his feet. Others say it is Al-Walid ibn al-Mughira.

"In abundance" (lubadan): Read with damma or kasra, it is the plural of libdah (a clump), meaning a great quantity. It is also read as lubadan (with two dammas), the plural of lubud. And lubban (with shadda) is the plural of lubd.