Cheatsheet

Sūrah Al-MuṭaffifīnThose Who Give Less · Makkah · 36 āyāt · 4 movements

Opens with a severe warning (waylun) against those who cheat in measure and weight — taking full when they receive, giving short when they give. This everyday commercial sin becomes the doorway to the surah's central contrast: the record of the wicked (fujjār) is in sijjīn, a register sealed with rejection, while the record of the righteous (abrār) is in ʿilliyyīn, witnessed by those brought near to Allah. The surah closes with a vivid scene of the disbelievers who used to mock and wink at the believers in this world, and how on the Day of Judgement the roles reverse: the believers will laugh at the disbelievers from thrones, watching them, and it will be said, 'Are the disbelievers rewarded for what they used to do?'

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At a glance

Āyāt	Movement	In one line
1–6	Woe to those who give less	Cheating in small, seemingly minor transactions is condemned with one of the Qur'an's strongest warnings.
7–17	The record of the wicked is in Sijjīn	Sijjīn is a real, specific register for the deeds of the wicked, located in a confined, lowly place.
18–28	The record of the righteous is in ʿIlliyyīn	ʿIlliyyīn, the register of the righteous, is as elevated and honoured as Sijjīn is confined and lowly.
29–36	Today the believers laugh at the disbelievers	Mocking believers for their faith has ancient precedent and is answered by the Qur'an with a promised reversal.

Occasion & setting

Ibn ʿAbbās and others report that the people of Madinah were among the worst in cheating with measures and scales; when the Prophet ﷺ arrived, this surah was revealed, after which they became known for fair dealing. Whether the precise setting is Makkan or the earliest Madinan revelation, its subject — commercial fraud as a symptom of disbelief in the Hereafter — reflects a widespread pre-Islamic practice the Qur'an targeted directly.

— Ibn Mājah 2223; Ibn Kathīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Muṭaffifīn

Key messages

· Cheating in measure and weight, though seemingly minor, is condemned with one of the Qur'an's strongest warnings.
· The record of the wicked (Sijjīn) is confined and lowly; the record of the righteous (ʿIlliyyīn) is elevated and witnessed by those brought near to Allah.
· Persistent sin accumulates as a covering (rayn) over the heart, eventually blocking perception of truth.
· The veiling of the wicked from seeing their Lord implies, by contrast, that the righteous will see Him.
· Mockery of sincere believers is answered with a promised reversal on the Day of Judgement.
· Human competitive drive is redirected by the Qur'an toward pursuing eternal reward rather than transient worldly gain.

Root vocabulary

ط ف ف

to give short measure, skim off

لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ (those who give less measure) · تَطْفِيف (shortchanging)

و ف ي

to fulfil, give in full

يَسْتَوْفُونَ (they take fully) · وَفَاء (fulfilment)

خ س ر

to lose, cause loss

يُخْسِرُونَ (they cause loss) · خُسْرَان (loss)

س ج ن

to imprison, confine

7, 8

سِجِّينٍ (Sijjīn) · سِجْن (prison)

ر ي ن

to rust over, cover, stain

رَانَ (covered/rusted over) · رَيْن (rust, stain)

ح ج ب

to veil, partition

لَّمَحْجُوبُونَ (surely veiled) · حِجَاب (veil, barrier)

ع ل و

to be high, elevated

18, 19

عِلِّيِّينَ (ʿIlliyyīn) · عُلُوّ (loftiness)

ق ر ب

to be near, close

21, 28

الْمُقَرَّبُونَ (those brought near) · قُرْب (nearness)

خ ت م

to seal, conclude

مَّخْتُومٍ (sealed) · خَاتَم (seal, ring)

ن ف س

to compete eagerly, be precious

فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ (let them compete) · نَفِيس (precious)

ض ح ك

to laugh

29, 34

يَضْحَكُونَ (they laugh) · ضِحْك (laughter)

ث و ب

to reward, requite, return

ثُوِّبَ (was rewarded) · ثَوَاب (reward)

Flip cards

23 cards over the roots, movements, takeaways and seerah events of this surah. Anything you mark “still learning” comes back before the deck ends.

Sūrah Al-Muṭaffifīn deck

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