Surah 83. Al-Mutaffifin

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Verses [Section]: 1-36[1]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-3683. Al-Mutaffifinبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِوَیْلٌWoeلِّلْمُطَفِّفِیْنَۙto those who give less الَّذِیْنَThose whoاِذَاwhenاكْتَالُوْاthey take a measureعَلَیfromالنَّاسِthe peopleیَسْتَوْفُوْنَؗۖthey take in full وَ اِذَاBut whenكَالُوْهُمْthey give by measure (to) themاَوْorوَّ زَنُوْهُمْthey weigh (for) themیُخْسِرُوْنَؕthey give less اَلَاDo notیَظُنُّthinkاُولٰٓىِٕكَthoseاَنَّهُمْthat theyمَّبْعُوْثُوْنَۙ(will be) resurrected لِیَوْمٍFor a DayعَظِیْمٍۙGreat یَّوْمَ(The) Dayیَقُوْمُwill standالنَّاسُmankindلِرَبِّbefore (the) Lordالْعٰلَمِیْنَؕ(of) the worlds 83. Al-Mutaffifin Page 588كَلَّاۤNay!اِنَّIndeedكِتٰبَ(the) recordالْفُجَّارِ(of) the wickedلَفِیْ(is) surely inسِجِّیْنٍؕSijjin وَ مَاۤAnd whatاَدْرٰىكَcan make you knowمَاwhatسِجِّیْنٌؕ(is) Sijjin كِتٰبٌA bookمَّرْقُوْمٌؕwritten وَیْلٌWoeیَّوْمَىِٕذٍthat Dayلِّلْمُكَذِّبِیْنَۙto the deniers الَّذِیْنَThose whoیُكَذِّبُوْنَdenyبِیَوْمِ(the) Dayالدِّیْنِؕ(of) the Judgment وَ مَاAnd notیُكَذِّبُcan denyبِهٖۤ[of] itاِلَّاexceptكُلُّeveryمُعْتَدٍtransgressorاَثِیْمٍۙsinful اِذَاWhenتُتْلٰیare recitedعَلَیْهِto himاٰیٰتُنَاOur Versesقَالَhe saysاَسَاطِیْرُStoriesالْاَوَّلِیْنَؕ(of) the former (people) كَلَّاNay!بَلْ ٚButرَانَ(the) stain has coveredعَلٰی[over]قُلُوْبِهِمْtheir heartsمَّا(for) whatكَانُوْاthey wereیَكْسِبُوْنَ earning كَلَّاۤNay!اِنَّهُمْIndeed theyعَنْfromرَّبِّهِمْtheir Lordیَوْمَىِٕذٍthat Dayلَّمَحْجُوْبُوْنَؕsurely will be partitioned ثُمَّThenاِنَّهُمْindeed theyلَصَالُوا(surely) will burnالْجَحِیْمِؕ(in) the Hellfire ثُمَّThenیُقَالُit will be saidهٰذَاThisالَّذِیْ(is) whatكُنْتُمْyou used (to)بِهٖ[of it]تُكَذِّبُوْنَؕdeny كَلَّاۤNay!اِنَّIndeedكِتٰبَ(the) recordالْاَبْرَارِ(of) the righteousلَفِیْ(will be) surely inعِلِّیِّیْنَؕIlliyin وَ مَاۤAnd whatاَدْرٰىكَcan make you knowمَاwhatعِلِّیُّوْنَؕ(is) Illiyun كِتٰبٌA bookمَّرْقُوْمٌۙwritten یَّشْهَدُهُWitness itالْمُقَرَّبُوْنَۙthose brought near اِنَّIndeedالْاَبْرَارَthe righteousلَفِیْ(will be) surely inنَعِیْمٍۙbliss عَلَیOnالْاَرَآىِٕكِthronesیَنْظُرُوْنَۙobserving تَعْرِفُYou will recognizeفِیْinوُجُوْهِهِمْtheir facesنَضْرَةَ(the) radianceالنَّعِیْمِۚ(of) bliss یُسْقَوْنَThey will be given to drinkمِنْofرَّحِیْقٍa pure wineمَّخْتُوْمٍۙsealed خِتٰمُهٗIts sealمِسْكٌ ؕ(will be of) muskوَ فِیْAnd forذٰلِكَthatفَلْیَتَنَافَسِlet aspireالْمُتَنَافِسُوْنَؕthe aspirers وَ مِزَاجُهٗAnd its mixtureمِنْ(is) ofتَسْنِیْمٍۙTasnim عَیْنًاA springیَّشْرَبُwill drinkبِهَاfrom itالْمُقَرَّبُوْنَؕthose brought near اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoاَجْرَمُوْاcommitted crimesكَانُوْاused (to)مِنَatالَّذِیْنَthose whoاٰمَنُوْاbelievedیَضْحَكُوْنَؗۖlaugh وَ اِذَاAnd whenمَرُّوْاthey passedبِهِمْby themیَتَغَامَزُوْنَؗۖthey winked at one another وَ اِذَاAnd whenانْقَلَبُوْۤاthey returnedاِلٰۤیtoاَهْلِهِمُtheir peopleانْقَلَبُوْاthey would returnفَكِهِیْنَؗۖjesting وَ اِذَاAnd whenرَاَوْهُمْthey saw themقَالُوْۤاthey saidاِنَّIndeedهٰۤؤُلَآءِtheseلَضَآلُّوْنَۙsurely have gone astray وَ مَاۤBut notاُرْسِلُوْاthey had been sentعَلَیْهِمْover themحٰفِظِیْنَؕ(as) guardians فَالْیَوْمَSo todayالَّذِیْنَthose whoاٰمَنُوْاbelievedمِنَatالْكُفَّارِthe disbelieversیَضْحَكُوْنَۙthey will laugh 83. Al-Mutaffifin Page 589عَلَیOnالْاَرَآىِٕكِ ۙthe thronesیَنْظُرُوْنَؕobserving هَلْHave (not)ثُوِّبَbeen paidالْكُفَّارُthe disbelieversمَا(for) whatكَانُوْاthey used (to)یَفْعَلُوْنَ۠do

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Translation of Verse 1-36In the name of Allah, Most Gracious Most Merciful

1. Woe to those that indulge in defrauding,

2. Those who, when they have to receive by measure from people, exact full measure,

3. And when they have to give by measure or weight to people, give less than due.

4. Do they not think that they will be raised up, ¹

5. On a mighty day, ²

6. A Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds. ³

7. Nay ! ⁴ (their conjecture is not correct). Surely, the record of the wicked is (preserved) in Sijjin.

8. And what do you know what Sijjin is !

9. It is a record office. ⁵

10. Woe on that day to those who deny,

11. Those that deny the Day of Judgment,

12. And non can deny it but the transgressor beyond bounds, ⁶ the sinners. ⁷

13. When our verses are recited to such a man, he says they are fables of the ancients. ⁸

14. By no means ! ⁹ But on their hearts is the rust of(the ill) which they do! ¹⁰

15. Nay, ¹¹ surely they will be kept away from their Lord. ¹²

16. Then, surely they will enter the fire of the Hell.

17. Then it will be said to them: “This is the thing which you were denying.”

18. Nay! (their claim is not correct). Surely, the record of the righteous will be in Illiyeen. ¹³

19. And what do you know what Illiyeen is!

20. It is a Record Office. ¹⁴

21. Attested by those nearest (to Allah) ¹⁵

22. Verily, the righteous will be enjoying in bliss. ¹⁶

23. On thrones, looking on (the scene before them);

24. You will recognise in their faces radiance of delight. ¹⁷

25. They will be given to drink a wine ¹⁸ that will be pure and sealed.

26. Its seal will be of musk. For this let them aspire who have aspirations. ¹⁹

27. And it will be mixed with Tasnim; ²⁰

28. A spring, from which those nearest to Allah will drink. ²¹

29. Certainly, the guilty used to laugh at those who believed, ²²

30 And whenever they passed by them, used to wink at each other(in mockery), ²³

31. And when they returned to their household, they returned jesting; ²⁴

32. And whenever they saw them they would say: “Look, these people have gone astray.” ²⁵

33. Though they were not sent as watchers over them. ²⁶

34. But on this Day the believers will laugh at the infidels. ²⁷

35. On thrones, looking on (the scene before them). ²⁸

36. Have not the infidels been paid for what they had been doing!

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Commentary

1. In the first few verses persons indulging in giving less than the full measure are severely criticised. Although this condemnation is against the persons who give less that the full weight or measure, in its general application it covers all those who indulge in defrauding in their dealings of all kinds with their fellow beings. It applies to every act of dishonesty and defrauding, for example it can be applied to those indulging in adulteration of food or other articles, for the original and the pure thing which is being sold is being given less than the full measure or weight on account of the adulteration. Thus adulteration of milk results in giving less quantity of pure milk. And since this adulteration is indulged into secretly and without the knowledge of the buyer, it amounts to deceiving the buyer and committing dishonesty.

The real reason for indulging in these dishonest acts is stated by Quran to be that these people do not believe in appearing before God for accounting for their wrong acts, although their conscience tells them that they are accountable before God, for when they buy things from others they insist on taking full measure and nobody likes to be deceived by another person, and that he should receive less than the full measure. In other words human nature likes justice and desires that everybody should be treated with justice. This is the proof that the Creator of man also wants that justice should be done with everyone. Therefore, those who indulge in unjust acts while dealing with others, actually indulge in acting against the desire of their Lord and disobey those of His commands, which are inherent and inborn in man’s nature. Then why would not their Lord consider them guilty? Can the defrauders and the honest persons be equal? Will the fate of both the types of persons be the same? Man’s nature and his intellect do not treat the two types of men as equal. Here the truth of Quran’s statement be comes vividly clear that one day all men will be revived and will have to account before their Lord for the good or bad deeds performed by them in this world, and to receive the reward or punishment, as the case may be, according to their deserts. It is, therefore, clear that when man does not believe in accounting for his actions before God, his standard for receiving goods and delivering goods is different. He not only wants to have his full rights but also wants to usurp the rights of others. The correct way of changing this mentality and the effective way of reforming it is to imbibe in man the belief of appearing before God for answering for one’s good or bad deeds. Therefore, whether it is a problem of removing economic ills or social blemishes, real improvement or reform cannot be achieved without creating in the minds and hearts of men a consciousness of being accountable to Allah for one’s good or bad deeds on the Day of Judgment.

2. Means the Doomsday, which would be very awful and mighty.

3. Appearing in the court of Allah is not an ordinary thing that a man may brush it aside in a cavalier fashion. It is a very hard and difficult happening through which every person will have to pass one day. If a man wants that he should pass this difficult stage safely, then he should sincerely believe in his being accountable to Allah and fix this belief in his mind and heart permanently and lead his life keeping this belief always before his eyes.

Let us imagine that the Court of Allah is in session. All men and women have been raised from their graves and are collected in the Maidan (ground) of Hashr. The Great Ruler of the universe is presiding over the proceedings. Every man and woman will be presented before Him, and they will have to give an account of what they did in this world. The angels will be waiting for His Judgment so that they may act upon it. Man will be totally helpless. If man thinks of that helplessness he will shake and shudder from the fear of Allah, and a sense of responsibility will be created in him. In a Tradition (Hadith) of the Prophet the picture of a situation on the Day of Judgment is drawn in these words:

“The Day when people will be standing before Allah, they will be completely drenched in sweat and some people will have their body dipping in sweat up to half portion of their ears “. (Muslim Kitab-ul- Jannah)

Great God! What a trying and difficult stage through which man will have to pass and about which Allah’s prophet has informed us in advance! How rewarding will it be for the people if they revise their way of living by believing in the Day of Judgment and the life in the Hereafter.

4. That is: Their conjecture that man will not be revived after death and will not have to account for his action is not correct.

5. “Sijjin” is derived from the word “Sijn” which means prison. Here this word is used in the Quran as a technical term and it has itself explained it as ‘Kitab-um-Marqum,’i.e. Record Office”. This is a great reality of the world of “Barzakh.”the time after death till the Doomsdayabout which man has been informed. The record of every man’s practical life is being kept by the angels and this will continue till man’s death. After the death man’s record is transferred to the world of Barzakh. If he was a wicked man, his record will be kept in the Record Office, named “Sijjin,” and if he was a righteous man, then his record, as is mentioned further on, will be kept in ‘Illiyeen.’ The point is to make it clear that Allah has made arrangements to preserve the record of every man’s words, thoughts and acts after death and that record will be produced on the Day of Judgment and on the basis of this record man’s fate will be decided.

6. By transgressors beyond bound are meant those persons who cross the limits of their slavery to Allah, i.e. those who do not consider themselves as the slaves of Allah but think that they are independent and indulge, in doing whatever they like.

7. Sinners are those who commit sins. When a man refuses to live as a slave to God, then his whole life becomes a life of sin, wickedness, and crime. How would such a man believe in the Day of Judgment?

8. Instead of taking a lesson from the historical events of the Divine punishment suffered by the infidel nations, narrated in the Quran, these people consider them as mere tales and stories. The present day non-believers too offer the same criticism. For them all this is ancient lore.

9. This is a refutation of the criticism of the non-believers which has been mentioned above.

10. They dare make such a bold statement about the Quran because their wicked acts have made them thick-skinned; otherwise a right thinking man would not utter such unwise words.

Rusting of the heart has been explained by the Prophet as under:

“When a slave commits a sin, a black spot smears his heart. If he gives up that sin, asks for Allah’s pardon and repents, then his heart becomes clean. But if he again commits a sin, this spot becomes bigger, till it covers the whole heart. This is the same rust about which Allah has made a mention in the verses

“Kalla bal Rana Ala Qulubehim’’ (under reference) (Tirmidhi)

11. Their desire that they will get an audience with Allah on the Day of Judgment, if at all it occurs, in the same way in which they have achieved a ‘respectable position’ in this world is wrong.

12. How can they hope to get an audience with Allah on the Day of Judgment? On that day they will be kept away from Him. They will be deprived of His blessings and bounties on the Day. They will also not be able to see the bright reflections of His Grandeur.

13. That is: Their statement that there is no distinction between good and bad virtue and evil before Allah is wrong. On the contrary, Allah has arranged for the preservation of the records of the doings of the wicked people separately in a special record office.

14. The literal meaning of the word ‘Illiyeen’ is high (Honored) places. Here this word is used in the Quran in a special meaning and as a term, and it has itself explained it as Kitabum Marqoon, or a record office. Here the records of the righteous people are kept after their death, and this is the record office of the world of Barzakh. the duration between death and the Day of Resurrection.

15. Means the presence of angels nearest to Allah in the Record Office. In other words this is a compliment to the righteous by the angels who will be above suspicion and most respected. It is also a great honour for the righteous people that they get in the world of Barzakh.

16. That is: they will be sitting like kings on the thrones in the paradise and will be looking at the grandeur of their Lord’s bounties and bliss.

17. The life that the righteous people will be leading in the Paradise will be such that their faces will be beaming and radiating with delight.

18. There is a slight hint of taunt at the wine made in this world, which is very dirty and as soon as the lid of its container is removed its stinking smell nauseates, as opposed to this, the speciality at the wine of the Paradise will be that it will be free from all kinds of dirtiness and that it will be kept in containers which will be sealed with musk. Drinking such a wine will be most enjoyable.

19. To aspire for these things means to aspire for the things that are available in the Paradise, which have been mentioned ,above. In other words, man must aspire and strive for higher things as compared to the lower things and for things which will be permanent as against those that will last only for a short while.

If a man contemplates seriously, he is sure to realize that the amusements and the pleasures of this world are absolutely insignificant and worthless when compared with the lasting pleasures of the Paradise in the Hereafter. Wisdom demands that man should aspire and strive for the everlasting, pleasures of the Hereafter instead of drowning himself in the mean and temporary amusements of this world.

Here Quran’s call for men to aspire for the pleasures of the Paradise refutes the theory of Virtue for the sake of Virtue—which is based on the theory of Art for Art’s sake. — According to the supporters of this theory it is a very low thing to strive for virtue with the hope of getting a reward in the form of entry into Paradise. Apparently it appears to be a very high-level thinking, but actually it is only the flight of the imagination. It has no relation with man’s psychology, nor is it a practicable matter. Besides, it is against the clear and unambiguous teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. Islam does not believe in philosophising nor in losing itself If in the flights of imagination, Its teachings are realistic and in accordance with the psychology of man. In addition, these teachings are such as can be easily put into practice. It has not come to poetize. It has come to make man, made out of clay, to be a citizen of the Paradise.

20. Tasnim means to elevate, and it is the name of a spring in the Paradise. Probably it has taken its name from this specialty that those who drink from its spring are elevated in their position.

21. Tasnim will be the highest kind of drink for the persons living in the Paradise. The wine that the righteous people will be given will have the drink of Tasnim as its mixture, so that their pleasure may increase. But those who will be the nearest to Allah will have the privillege of drinking directly from this spring, as if their enjoyment and pleasure Will be as much more as were their righteous acts and their sacrifices in the cause of Allah compared to those of the others.

22. That is: they used to make fun of the men of faith and used to jeer at them. The practice of making fun of men of faith and laughing at them still continues even at the present time, but with the difference that now they are accused of ‘Orthodoxy’ and ‘Conservatism’.

23. They had done everything in their power to insult and dishonour the believers. If they were to pass by the believers, they used to wink at each other in a spirit of mockery.

24. In these verses the picture of that attitude of the opponents is drawn which they were adopting against the men of faith; when after their outbursts they used to return home, then instead of feeling ashamed of their actions, they used to feel happy and talked jestingly.

It gives us an idea of the psychology of those persons who decline to accept the Truth about the men of Truth.

25. In the modern times those, who consider Islam as a religion like other religious, think it to be opiate, and try to paint the missionaries of Islam as if they are out of their senses.

26. Allah had made them responsible for their own acts and not of others. But forgetting their own responsibility, they went after the men of faith and tried to convert them forcibly to their way of thinking and torturing them. They were acting as if God had not sent them to prove their righteousness but to act as the guardians of others’ acts.

27. In the world infidels had been laughing at the men of faith, but in the Hereafter men of Dawatul Quran 953 S. 83 faith will laugh at the Infidels. Thus they will be paid in the same coins in the Hereafter. Since the infidels were convincingly given the message of Allah and inspite of this they didn’t accept the Truth, and turned rebellious against God and acted as enemies of the men of faith. They are, therefore, undeserving of any sympathy in the Hereafter. Had they deserved any sympathy, Allah would have definitely shown mercy to them. For these reasons, the men of faith are fully justified in laughing at the infidels.

28. That is: The trials and tribulations through which the non-believers will be passing in the Hell will be surveyed by the men of faith from the Paradise, where they will be sitting on throne in right royal comfort and splendor. It is not difficult to understand this statement of the Quran today, as today we can see on television scenes and actions hundreds of miles away from us.