Verse:84 Commentary Commentary

An account of Sayyidna Shu'aib and his people appears in the verses cited above. Besides being kafirs and mushriks, his people used to give less in weights and measures. Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) carried his call to them, told them not to give less in weights and measures, and warned them of Divine punishment if they persisted with this way of life. But, they did persist with their denial and contumacy and, as a consequence, all those people were destroyed through a severe punishment, details of which appear as follows.

In the first verse (84), it was said: وَإِلَىٰ مَدْيَنَ أَخَاهُمْ شُعَيْبًا (And to Madyan [ We sent ] their brother, Shu'aib Madyan was actually the name of a town settled by Madyan ibn Ibrahim. Its present location has been given as ` Ma` an' in Jordan. The people of this town are also called Madyan. Therefore, by calling Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) ` brother of Madyan,' it was hinted that Allah Ta` ala sent His messenger to those people from among them so that they feel familiar and find it easier to accept his teachings.

Then, it was said:

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّـهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيْرُ‌هُ ۖ وَلَا تَنقُصُوا الْمِكْيَالَ وَالْمِيزَانَ

0 my people, worship Allah. You have no god other than Him.

And do not lessen the measure and the weight.

Here, Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) has invited his people to believe in the Oneness of Allah (Tauhid) because they were Mushriks, those who associated partners in the divinity of Allah. They worshipped trees. That has been pointed to through the use of the word: الایکہ (al-'aikah: trees) in the Holy Qur'an and it is in this respect that the people of Madyan have also been given the sobriquet of اَصحَاب الاَیکہ (ashabu al--aikah: the people of aikah - 15:78, 26:176, 38:13, 50:14). Along with this kufr and shirk, they were also involved in the grave sin of cheating in commercial transactions when they would weigh short and give less in measure and thus deprive people of what was to come to them as their right. Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) told them not to do that.

Special Note

Here, it is useful to keep in mind that kufr and shirk are the roots of all sins. People soaked in these are usually the first to be invited to believe. Faith comes before consideration could be given to matters like social transactions and individual deeds. Whether they have deliverance in the present world or would deserve punishment are things that too are decided on the basis of this faith or denial. All events related to past prophets and their peoples mentioned in the Qur'an bear witness to this mode of action - with the exception of two communities. Punishment came upon them because of their disbelief as well as due to their evil deeds. The people of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) were one of them upon whom, as mentioned earlier, their entire habitation was overturned. It has been stated that their evil practice was the reason for it. The people of Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) were the other one. They were punished because of their kufr and shirk as well as because of their habit of weighing less and measuring short.

This tells us that both these things are most hated and grave, more than any other sin. Obviously, the reason is that they bring serious loss upon the entire human race leaving the world populated by it in a disorder of ominous proportions.

Turning to the verses cited above, we see that Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) has used his prophetic compassion to make his people stop their evil practice of giving short measure and less weight. The words he has used to say that are eloquent: إِنِّي أَرَ‌اكُم بِخَيْرٍ‌ وَإِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ مُّحِيطٍ (I see you quite well off, and I fear for you the punishment of an encircling day - 84). It means that Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) found them living comfortably. There were not poor, hungry and financially straitened which could be one of the reasons why they had to take recourse to such a cursed practice. Now that they were already blessed by Allah Ta` ala, it required that they should not subject His creation to injustice. Not leaving it at that, they were also told that, in the event they did not listen to their prophet and did not stop this evil practice, he apprehended that Divine punishment might encircle them. This punishment could mean the punishment of the Hereafter, and the punishment of the present world too. Then, the punishments due to come in this world may be of different kinds. The lowest punishment could be that they might lose the prosperity they had, or they may fall victims to famines and price hikes, as said by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم `

When a people start lessening weights and measures, Allah Ta` ala makes them suffer from the punishment of famine and price hikes.' Verse:85 Commentary Obviously, the very prohibition of weighing and measuring short makes weighing and measuring in full necessary. But, to emphasize it further, Sayyidna Shu'aib علیہ السلام said:

وَيَا قَوْمِ أَوْفُوا الْمِكْيَالَ وَالْمِيزَانَ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ مُفْسِدِينَ

And 0 my people, perfect the measure and the balance with justice and do not make the people short of their things, and do not go about the earth spreading disorder - 85. Verse:86 Commentary Then, affectionately, he explained to them:

بَقِيَّتُ اللَّـهِ خَيْرٌ‌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ۚ وَمَا أَنَا عَلَيْكُم بِحَفِيظٍ

Whatever is left { with you ] by Allah is better for you, if you are believers. And I am not a watchman over you - 86. Verse:87 Commentary It means if they were not to listen to him, let them remember that he was not responsible for the eventuality that they may be seized by some punishment.

The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said about Sayyidna Shu'aib that he was an orator among prophets. His eloquence was exceptional. He went to its farthest limits in order to make his people understand his message and take to the right path. But, even after having listened to him, the response of his people was different from that given by ignorant diehards to their reformers. They threw taunts at him, made fun of him, and said:

أَصَلَاتُكَ تَأْمُرُ‌كَ أَن نَّتْرُ‌كَ مَا يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا أَوْ أَن نَّفْعَلَ فِي أَمْوَالِنَا مَا نَشَاءُ ۖ إِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ الْحَلِيمُ الرَّ‌شِيدُ

0 Shu'aib, does your salah (prayer) command you that we should give up what our fathers used to worship or that we give up doing with our wealth whatever we wish? You are provenly the man of wisdom and guidance - 87.

The salah (prayer) of Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) was well known among his people as he was constantly devoted to it. Therefore, they referred to it tauntingly in the sense that (God forbid) his salah taught him to say all those 'wild' things. From what they said we learn that they too thought that religion is restricted to acts of worship, and that it had nothing to do with material dealings. Let everyone earn and spend one's wealth at will. Placing any restriction on that is no job of religion - as many people, even in this time of ours, generally believe, in total ignorance of the real fact. Verse:88 Commentary What Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) had said to his people was good counsel based on earnest fellow feeling. But, his people responded to him with a sarcasm that was biting. However, they had done that to a blessed prophet of Sayyidna Shu'aib's class. He heard their caustic comments, yet turned to them with the same empathy and once again tried to make them see the truth. He said: يَا قَوْمِ أَرَ‌أَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّ‌بِّي وَرَ‌زَقَنِي مِنْهُ رِ‌زْقًا حَسَنًا (0 my people, tell me, if I am on a clear path from my Lord and He has provided me from Himself with a good provision, [ should I still leave you unguided?] ) Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) was telling his people that he had been blessed by his Lord in that He gave him good provision for his material life and in that He also gave him the light of revelation and spiritual insight. Now, with these wonderful assets in his hands, how could he ever think of becoming like them, willingly embracing error and injustice, and thus failing to bring the truth home to them?

After that, he said: وَمَا أُرِ‌يدُ أَنْ أُخَالِفَكُمْ إِلَىٰ مَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ (and I do not want to do in your absence what I prohibit for you). This tells us that the way a preacher of religion conducts his life has a major role in what he preaches. What a preacher does not himself practice produces no effect on others.

Then, he said: إِنْ أُرِ‌يدُ إِلَّا الْإِصْلَاحَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ (I want to do nothing but to set things right as far as I can). And since, this effort too was not by his personal choice and volition, he further said: وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلَّا بِاللَّـهِ ۚ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ (And my ability to do things comes from none but Allah. In Him alone I have placed my trust, and to Him alone I turn in humbleness). Verse:89 Commentary After having given this good counsel to them, he warned them of the punishment of Allah Ta` ala. He said:

وَيَا قَوْمِ لَا يَجْرِ‌مَنَّكُمْ شِقَاقِي أَن يُصِيبَكُم مِّثْلُ مَا أَصَابَ قَوْمَ نُوحٍ أَوْ قَوْمَ هُودٍ أَوْ قَوْمَ صَالِحٍ ۚ وَمَا قَوْمُ لُوطٍ مِّنكُم بِبَعِيدٍ

And 0 my people, let not your hostility towards me cause you to suffer what was suffered by the people of Nuh, or the people of Hud, or the people of Salih. And the people of Lut are not far from you.

The sense of the last sentence is that the overturned habitations of the people of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) were close to Madyan where they were. Then, in terms of time, the punishment that came upon them was very close. From this they could learn their lesson and leave their obstinacy.

Hearing this, his people were enraged. They said that had it not been for the support he had from his clan, they would have stoned him to death. Despite this threat, Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) true to his mettle as a prophet, did not hesitate to tell them that they feared his clan all right, but would have no fear of Allah who holds everything in His power.

Finally, when his people did not listen to anything said to them, Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) told them that they could now wait for the punishment. After that, Allah Ta ala took out Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) and those who had believed in him, as is the Divine practice, from that habitation and the rest of them were destroyed instantly at the harsh Cry of Sayyidna Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) .

Injunctions and Rulings:

Rules about Lessening of Weights and Measures

One of the reasons why punishment fell on the people of Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) was their practice of weighing and measuring less than due - called tatfif. The Holy Qur'an has described the severe punishment for those who do that in Surah al-Mutaffifin which opens with the verse: وَيْلٌ لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ (Woe to those who give less - 83:1). There is a consensus of the entire Muslim Ummah that doing so is strictly Haram (unlawful). Quoting a saying of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ ، Imam Malik has said in Mu'atta' that weighing and measuring less essentially means that someone does not fulfill the right of another person due on him, fully and duly. In fact, makes it less, whether it happens to be something given by weight, or measure, or something of another kind. If an employee falls short in performing his or her assigned duty, or an office worker, or a laborer cuts his working hours short, or fails to fulfill his job assignment as due, then, they all will be counted in this cat-egory. Anyone who does not perform his or her Salah with due consideration of everything obligatory and mash En in it has also committed the crime of this ` tatfif.' May Allah keep all of us protected from it!

Ruling

It appears in Tafsir al-Qurtubi that the people of Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) would save gold and silver by trimming the edges of gold and silver coins, like dinar and dirham, circulating in the country as official currency, and which they would channel back into circulation at par value. Sayyidna Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) prohibited them from doing so.

In Hadith as well, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has declared the chipping of the coins of an Islamic state to be Haram (unlawful). Tafsir authority, Zayd ibn Aslam has said exactly this while explaining the

verse of the Qur'an: تِسْعَةُ رَ‌هْطٍ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَلَا يُصْلِحُونَ ; (nine family heads spreading corruption in the land and not correcting [ their ways ] - 27:48). He says that these people of the city mentioned in the verse used to chip off gold and silver from dinar and dirham coins and ran a profitable business of their own through this source - something the Qur'an calls a great corruption.

During the Khilafah of Sayyidna ` Umar ibn ` Abd al-` Aziz (رح) ، someone was arrested while he was cutting a dirham coin. He was awarded a punishment of lashes and was paraded around head shaved. (Tafsir al Qurtubi) Verse:90 Commentary - - - Verse:91 Commentary - - - Verse:92 Commentary - - - Verse:93 Commentary - - - Verse:94 Commentary - - - Verse:95 Commentary - - -