Sūrah al-Balad has twenty verses all of which were revealed in Makkah by consensus. The Sūrah focuses on the gifts that Allah has given us and the correct way to use these gifts. These gifts include our wealth, eyesight, mouths and guidance. The primary focus of the Sūrah is on wealth because of its relevance to the Quraysh.
The Quraysh were blessed with a lot of wealth and status. Throughout Arabia, they were looked up to due to their wealth and lineage. Over time, they grew arrogant about their status. In their arrogance, they rejected the message of Islam. They saw Islam as a threat to their wealth and status. In their blindness, they turned their backs on righteousness.
Sūrah al-Balad was revealed to remind them of Allah’s favors upon them, to show them the correct usage of these blessings and to warn them about the punishment of continuing down the wrong path in life. The reminders in this Sūrah are timeless, and apply to all of us as well.
Blessed Land and Lineage
The Sūrah begins with an oath on “this land” and “the father and the offspring”. This land refers to Makkah. There are several opinions regarding the father and the offspring. The most popular is that it refers to Adam and humanity. Another possible interpretation is Ibrahim (AS) and his descendants. Either way, Allah is drawing the attention of the Quraysh to two favors of His upon them; Makkah and noble lineage.
The people of Makkah were blessed with a noble lineage that contains many prophets. Yet instead of following the message of these prophets, they turned to paganism. Likewise, they were blessed to be citizens of Makkah, a land founded by prophets as a place to worship Allah. Yet they turned that land into a land of idolatry.
Allah reminds them through these oaths of these blessings, and the prophetic roots of their land and lineage. Choosing to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him) would simply mean returning to the original teachings of their land and forefathers.
Life is meant to be hard
The oath is followed by a profound statement. In fact, our entire Tafsir could just focus on this one statement and we would still not do it justice. Allah says, “Definitely, we created mankind to work hard.” (90:4) Kabad is a very difficult word to translate, I chose ‘work hard’ because it covers many of the meanings of this word.
This verse means that humans were created to live a difficult life. Life is difficult in every phase. We are born through the painful process of labor. Growing up isn’t easy as we learn about the world and make many mistakes along the way. By the time we are mature, our tests and challenges have evolved, along with our responsibilities.
Then when we finally figure it all out, old age hits and with it comes new challenges. Finally, we leave this world to face the questioning of the grave, potential punishment, and then resurrection and judgment. Only then, if we pass, do we finally rest and enjoy eternal bliss. After a lifetime, or even more, of hard work, challenges and hardships, then only comes eternal ease and relaxation.
This verse puts life into context for us. Modern culture pushes us to pursuit happiness in this world. In our attempt to have a perfect happy stress-free life, we grow frustrated as the challenges of life. This frustration drives us to wonder why we exist and if we will ever be happy. Happiness, however, doesn’t lie in the pursuit of worldly pleasure. Happiness lies in making peace with the nature of this world and our role in it.
Allah created us to work hard and earn our Paradise. When we realize this, then it becomes easier to live in this world accept our role in it. Our role is to work hard. Our role is to face and overcome our challenges. Our role is to use the blessings of Allah to earn Paradise. When we understand this, it is easier to cope with the daily stressors and challenges of life. We were created to work hard, so we will do so until we leave this earth.
The Great Blessings
In the next few verses, Allah reminds us of His blessings upon us. People feel that their wealth is their own and they are not accountable for how they use it. They fail to see that Allah is watching them and will call them to account for how they spent their wealth.
Allah has blessed us with many other things besides wealth that we take for granted. In these verses, He reminds us that He has also given us two eyes and a mouth. Our eyes and mouth are among the greatest blessings that Allah has gifted us with. Yet it is these very limbs that we use to commit the majority of our sins. Gratitude lies in using these limbs in a way that is pleasing to Allah.
Allah then reminds us of His greatest blessing; guidance. Guidance from Allah is the greatest blessing He can give a human. It is through Allah’s Guidance that we are saved in both worlds from all kinds of difficulties and punishment. Just as we take time to thank Allah for our wealth and health, we must thank Allah every day for guiding us to the straight path.
Using Wealth Properly
After highlighting His favors upon us, Allah teaches us the correct way to spend our wealth. Allah reminds the Quraysh, and us, that the correct way to use this blessings is to uplift others. Allah blesses some people with wealth to test them in how they will spend it. He allows poverty for others as a test to both groups too.
In these verses, Allah reminds us that the poor, orphans and slaves all have rights to our wealth. A true believer spends his wealth in freeing slaves, empowering the poor, and rescuing orphans. His concern is for his fellow humans, and he does not view this as a waste of money. Some of the Quraysh viewed these acts of kindness as a waste of money. This is considered as a reason for revelation of this Sūrah by some commentators.
The Sūrah ends with a reminder that those who reject this message will face eternal damnation. In our times, it has become politically incorrect to talk about eternal damnation as a punishment for disbelief. But the Quran is very clear on this topic; anybody who receives the true message of Islam, then rejects it, will face eternal damnation in the Afterlife.
Allah created us and set the criterion for entering his Paradise. That criterion is the belief in the message of his prophets and following the revealed law. When people consciously choose to reject this message, they are choosing the Hellfire for themselves. This is a reality that every human needs to reflect on. Our final destination depends on it.
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