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

The tafsīr in brief

Woe to al-muṭaffifīn — those who, when they take a measure from people, demand full measure, but when they give by measure or weight to others, they give less. Do they not think that they will be resurrected for a tremendous Day, the Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds?

• Do not excuse deliberate shortchanging because the amount seems small. Give the full amount owed rather than deciding how much loss another person should accept.
• Use the same standard of fairness when giving as when receiving. Protect other people’s rights as carefully as you claim your own.
• Let the certainty of standing before Allah influence practical decisions. Remembering the Hereafter should change how you handle even routine transactions.
• Respond to a warning by changing the practice it condemns. The reported improvement in Madinah’s measuring shows that hearing revelation should lead to fairer dealings.

The tafsīr in brief

No! Indeed the record of the wicked is in Sijjīn — a written, inscribed register. Woe that Day to the deniers who deny the Day of Judgement, denied by none except every sinful transgressor who, when Our verses are recited to him, says 'legends of the former peoples.' No! Rather, their hearts have been covered by that which they used to earn (rān). No! Indeed they will be veiled from their Lord that Day, then will surely enter to burn in Hellfire, then it will be said: 'This is what you used to deny.'

• Take accountability seriously even when wrongdoing seems unnoticed. The inscribed record leaves no room to treat deeds as though they simply disappear.
• Do not dismiss a warning merely because it challenges how you live. These verses connect sinful transgression with rejection of judgement and revelation.
• Respond to recurring sin with repentance rather than excuses. Its danger includes what persistence does to the heart, not only the outward act.
• Let the warning change your response now. Denying the Hereafter does not prevent its consequences, which include being veiled from the Lord and entering Hellfire.

The tafsīr in brief

No! Indeed the record of the righteous is in ʿIlliyyīn — a written, inscribed register, witnessed by those brought near [to Allah]. Indeed the righteous will be in pleasure, on adorned couches, observing; you will recognize in their faces the radiance of pleasure. They will be given to drink a pure sealed wine, whose seal is musk — and for that let the competitors compete — mixed with Tasnīm, a spring from which those brought near drink.

• Measure success by the honor Allah gives the righteous, rather than by public recognition. Their elevated, witnessed record gives a lasting perspective on what matters.
• Let the promise of lasting delight strengthen your willingness to do good. The reward described here includes both beautiful surroundings and joy visible on people's faces.
• Turn admiration for Paradise's pleasures into action: redirect the effort spent competing for temporary advantages toward righteous deeds.
• Aspire to nearness to Allah, not merely to outdoing other people. The different ways Tasnīm is served show that rank in Paradise matters.

The tafsīr in brief

Indeed, the criminals used to laugh at those who believed, and when they passed by them, they would exchange winks, and when they returned to their people, they would return jesting, and when they saw the believers, they said, 'Indeed, these are truly lost' — though they were not sent as guardians over them. So today those who believed will laugh at the disbelievers, on adorned couches, observing. Are the disbelievers [not] rewarded for what they used to do?

• Do not make another person's faith a source of group entertainment. Mocking looks and shared jokes can express the same contempt as spoken insults.
• Do not mistake confident accusations for religious authority. The mockers' claim that believers were lost did not make them guardians over those believers.
• When faith brings ridicule, remember that present humiliation is not the final outcome. This passage places the mocked believers in honor on the Day of Judgment.
• Take responsibility for how you treat others: the closing question presents past conduct as something answered with fitting repayment.