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Surah At-Tatfif - The Deceivers In Measuring

(Revealed at Mecca)

36 Verses in 1 Section

Sections of Surah At-Tatfif

  1. Everyone’s Record is preserved.

At-Tatfif – Everyone’s Record Is Preserved

The record of the deeds of the wicked as well as the righteous, is preserved

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful”

وَيْلٌ لِلْمُطَفِّفِينَ

“Woe unto the defrauders in measuring!” (83:1)

الَّذِينَ إِذَا اكْتَالُوا عَلَى النَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ

“Who, when take they by measure from the people, demand1it full2“ (83:2)

وَإِذَا كَالُوهُمْ أَوْ وَزَنُوهُمْ يُخْسِرُونَ

“But when they measure unto them, or (when) they weigh unto them, minish3they (i.e. deceive)” (83:3)

أَلَا يَظُنُّ أُولَٰئِكَ أَنَّهُمْ مَبْعُوثُونَ

“What! Think they not that they shall4be raised” (83:4)

لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

“For a Mighty Day5“ (83:5)

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ النَّاسُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“On the day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of the worlds?” (83:6)

كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْفُجَّارِ لَفِي سِجِّينٍ

“Nay! the record of the wicked6hast been preserved in the ‘Sajjin’” (83:7)

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سِجِّينٌ

“And what will make thee know what ‘Sajjin’ is?” (83:8)

كِتَابٌ مَرْقُومٌ

“It is a Book Written” (83:9)

وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ

“Woe on that day unto the beliers” (83:10)

الَّذِينَ يُكَذِّبُونَ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ

“Those who belie the Day of Judgment” (83:11)

وَمَا يُكَذِّبُ بِهِ إِلَّا كُلُّ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ

“And belieth it not (any one) save every transgressor, a sinner” (83:12)

إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

“When, are recited unto him Our signs7, sayeth he: (These are only) the stories of yore!” (83:13)

كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

“Nay! rather, has rusted their hearts, what they used to do” (83:14)

كَلَّا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ

“Nay! verily that day they shall be shut8out away from the mercy of their Lord” (83:15)

ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ لَصَالُو الْجَحِيمِ

“Verily, they shall be committed to the flaming fire” (83:16)

ثُمَّ يُقَالُ هَٰذَا الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ

“Then shall it be said (unto them): ‘‘This is that which ye belied9!”” (83:17)

كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْأَبْرَارِ لَفِي عِلِّيِّينَ

“Nay! The record of the righteous shall be in the ‘Illiyun10’” (83:18)

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ

“And what will make thee know what the ‘Illiyun’ is11? (83:19)

كِتَابٌ مَرْقُومٌ

“(It is) a book written” (83:20)

يَشْهَدُهُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ

“See it those who are the near ones unto God” (83:21)

إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ

“Verily the righteous ones shall be in bounteous bliss” (83:22)

عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ يَنْظُرُونَ

“On exalted couches will they view12(the delightful sights)” (83:23)

تَعْرِفُ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ نَضْرَةَ النَّعِيمِ

“Thou (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!’) wilt recognise in their faces, the (delightful) radiance of the bliss13!” (83:24)

يُسْقَوْنَ مِنْ رَحِيقٍ مَخْتُومٍ

“They shall be provided to quaff of pure drink (which shall be) sealed14(to others)” (83:25)

خِتَامُهُ مِسْكٌ ۚ وَفِي ذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَافِسُونَ

“The seal (being) of musk; For that may aspire (all) those who (wish to) aspire (for bliss)” (83:26)

وَمِزَاجُهُ مِنْ تَسْنِيمٍ

“Mixed therewith shall be the water of ‘Tasnim’” (83:27)

عَيْنًا يَشْرَبُ بِهَا الْمُقَرَّبُونَ

“(Which is) a spring from which drink the Near Ones15“ (83:28)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا كَانُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ

“And verily they who are the guilty ones, used to laugh16at those who believe” (83:29)

وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ

“And when they pass by them, wink17they at one another” (83:30)

وَإِذَا انْقَلَبُوا إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِمُ انْقَلَبُوا فَكِهِينَ

“And when return they unto their people, return they jesting” (83:31)

وَإِذَا رَأَوْهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّ هَٰؤُلَاءِ لَضَالُّونَ

“And when they see them, say18they: ‘‘Verily these are the straying ones”” (83:32)

وَمَا أُرْسِلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ حَافِظِينَ

“While they are sent not over them to be the watchers” (83:33)

فَالْيَوْمَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ يَضْحَكُونَ

“So, today, those who believe shall be at the disbelievers laugh” (83:34)

عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ يَنْظُرُونَ

“On couches (exalted they shall be) seeing (the delightful sights)” (83:35)

هَلْ ثُوِّبَ الْكُفَّارُ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ

“Shall not the disbelievers be (also) recompensed for what they used to do?” (83:36)

Commentary

Verse 1

Note the perfect justice & fair play Islam stresses in matters of dealing with men. What is meant here by ‘Mutaffifeen’ are those who exact their dues in full but when they pay their dues to the others, they commit fraud and disburse less. One must give in full what is due from him even if the other side returns the same in full or not.

Commentators have given the root of the word and its meaning in details, but Qur’an itself

defines what it means by this term. (A.P.)

Verse 2

Considering what has been given to them is less, i.e., holding others’ measure as less. (A.P.)

Verse 3

When this Surah was revealed, the Holy Prophet went to the open market and amidst the merchants there, read it out and said that the following five evils in the conduct of men, invite the calamities mentioned against each of them:

  1. Breaking a promise or any solemn undertaking - Invites the triumph of the enemy.

  2. Enjoining on people that which God has not enjoined - Brings poverty and need.

  3. Immorality - Brings abundant death.

  4. Fraud in measure and weight - Famine, drought and restraint on the produce of foodgrains.

  5. Failure to pay the poor-rate and uncharitability - Brings deprivation of the grace and the mercy of God.

The First Holy Imam Ali-Ibn Abu Talib, after his official work as the Kalif or the Ruler of the Muslim empire, used to go to the market place and preach to the merchants ‘‘O’ people, Fear God, and in the measure and the weight of the goods, practice equity. Deprive not men of their dues, commit no mischief in the earth” Once he found a merchant weighing saffron in a defective balance. He went to him, threw down the saffron from the pan, and ordered the merchants to correct the balance first and then weigh the commodity. (MS.)

Verse 4

Men are admonished to know and remember that there is the All-Knowing One above all, who knows everything even though people may know it or not - and there is a Day of Judgment when each one has to account for one’s own thoughts, words and deeds. Those who think or speak or act wrongly will be disgraced openly on that day and suffer the grievous punishment even for the least evil done by him.

Verse 6

It is said that men will be made to stand in the sun brought over their heads perspiring profusely according to the degree of their individual position in their sins. The heat will be so scorching and strong that it will be melting the elements in the body of the wicked.

Verse 7

‘Kalla’, i.e., No! Never. Will they, the people be able to deny any of the evils they had committed? Hence, they should not commit any fraud in the measure or in the weight.

Verse 8

‘Sijjin’ is from Sijn, i.e., a prison. It is a place in heaven where the reports or the records of the deeds of men are stored.

Verse 9

It is a written record. It should not be imagined to be a record written by any pen and ink on any paper of the kind we have in our use. It means it is perfect in every detail with regard to the motive, words, needs, attitudes and everything connected with the good and evil of each and every individual sinner and his sins without any exception whatsoever. For example, the tap al-recording of speeches may be taken. Everything spoken is recorded in all its details with regard to words as well as the sound, but nothing is written in the tape. If we mortals could affect such a wonderful implement, what is the thing that the Almighty and All-Wise Lord could not do?

Verse 12

Those who were lost in sinning would only deny such an inevitable event.

Verse 13

They ridicule the Word of God, the Holy Qur’an - and attribute it to the narration of tales of the ancients borrowed from the folklore19.

Verse 14

The Holy Prophet said that when a man commits any sin a black dot is created on the heart of the individual and if the man does not repent and continues to sin, the dot covers the whole heart and the whole heart is blackened. The Fifth Holy Imam Muhammad Ibn-Ali Al-Baqir said: ‘‘On the heart of every believer there is a white dot and when he commits any sin, a black dot is created and when the individual repents the black dot disappears and if the individual does not repent and continues to sin, the black dot spreads and gradually covers the whole heart and the white dot disappears and then the individual is totally lost to the evils and gets un-amenable to any amount of admonition”.

The Sixth Holy Imam said that ‘‘By being unmindful of God and by sinning, the heart rusts. Hence always remember God and be prayerful to Him so that the divine light might reflect on the heart, and it gets enlightened more and ever more”

This clearly gives out that the evils of man themselves become the rust, thus their own doings are responsible for their sufferings and privation on the Day of Judgment. (A.P.)

Verse 15

It never means that God will hide Himself behind any veil, for such a conception would mean God being confined to a place. He is the Omnipresent. He is the Universally Manifest One. None can hide Him or His glory save the stain of one’s own disbelief and evil deeds which sully the heart and destroys its reflectivity so that the heart fails to receive the light and it is the stain on the heart of the individual that disables it to realise the existence of God and enjoy the view of His glory.

Verse 18

i.e., The highest places and most exalted in grades, the nearest approach to divinity. It is in contrast to ‘Sijjiyeen’ in verse 7 above. It is the place where the records of the righteous ones are preserved.

The high stage or state or the right side of the Universe towards the Absolute as appeared to the left side tending towards the material realm and whatever is recorded there is witnessed by conscious entities termed as ‘Moqarraboon’, here the Near Ones and as ‘Aaleen’ in 38:75 and as Qur’an expressively asserts the prophets and their Vicegerents - who attain the same purification are also included in the witnesses of ‘Illiyeen’ and this witnessing is not confined to the beings of the angelical order as some commentators think. (A.P.)

Verse 19

i.e., None can even imagine correctly what those high places of greatest exaltation could be. They are inconceivable for the intellect of any mortal.

Verse 20

As in the case of the recording of the evils of the disbelievers and the sinners, mentioned in verse 9 above. The record of the deeds of the ones righteous are perfect in every detail of every motive, words and the deeds of every individual one of the doers of good20.

Verse 21

The Nearest Ones to God witness these records of the righteous ones. Witnessing the records can be interpreted into being present at the recording itself.

The nearest to God is said to be the angels highest in purity and excellence but it does preclude to mean the highest spiritual dignitaries who can encourage and help goodness intended to be done by the righteous ones. Who could be nearer to God than the Holy Prophet, the most loved one of God in His whole creation, the Holy Imams whom the Holy Prophet had said to be of the Divine Light of which he himself is. This verse testifies to the truth in the statement that on the Day of Judgment a witness will be called for each people and the Holy Prophet will be called as witness above all these witnesses21.

This recording of the deeds good and bad, could not have started after the advent of Islam. It must have naturally and necessarily begun with the beginning of the universe. Thus, the nearest ones to God must also have existed in some spiritual state, since the creation of the world. The Holy Prophet says: ‘‘I was the Apostle of God when Adam was yet between the water and the clay”. (Hadith Qudsi).

Meaning man, the first man was created only to serve as a medium for the manifestation of the excellence of the nearest one to God, i.e., the Holy Prophet22.

Verse 25

Could be interpreted as of the maximum purity, and the most delicious in taste.

Verse 26

Refers to the extraordinary and special aspect of the value and the flavour.

Verse 27

‘Tasneem’ - The name of a spring in heaven whose drink is of super excellence in purity, flavour and taste, purer than the purest of the drinks in this world.

Verse 28

This verse speaks of the water of the spring being used for the drink of the Nearest Ones to God. It indicates that among the nearest ones are also the human souls like those of the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imams, otherwise, the conception of the need for food and drink for the angels nearest to God does not agree with the nature of the angels who are spirits and energies who need no food or water, and nowhere in the Holy Qur’an is there any statement about the angels eating and drinking. It must be remembered that when the angels appeared to Abraham on the way to Sodom to punish the people of Lot, and when Abraham taking them to be mortals and as his guests prepared a feast for them, they disclosed their identity and said that they, the angels, neither eat nor drink.

Verse 29-32

According to the well-known commentator Kashshaf, once the First Holy Imam Ali-Ibn Abu Talib along with a group of some poor men of the believers, while going to the Holy Prophet passed a party of the hypocrites who seeing Ali and those with him winked to each other mocking at them. Those hypocrites said: ‘‘We saw today the bald-headed one (Ali was bald in the front portion of his head)’’’ and mocked at him. Ali had not even reached the Holy Prophet; the Messenger Angel Gabriel revealed these verses condemning the conduct of the hypocrites and praising Ali. (M.S.)

According to Ibn-Abbas - by ‘Those who are sinful’, the reference is to the hypocrites and by ‘those who believe’ is meant Ali23 - a sinner commenting on the Holy Qur’an. And Maqatil, a great Sunni scholar relates the same story. And according to another great Sunni Scholar Sayeed Ibn Sa’d al-Balkhi, a Sunni traditionist of repute, by ‘those who are sinful’ are meant Bani-Ummayya and by ‘those who believe’ is meant Ali. (MS.)

Verse 33

The reference is to those who mocked at Ali and also those who mocked at the other believers - that they had no business to behave as they did for, they were not posted by God to watch the movements of those righteous ones.

Verse 34

Those who mocked at the righteous ones among the believers - will be made to be mocked at on the Day of Judgment by the believers.

Verse 35

The righteous ones or believers will be seen on exalted position enjoying the bliss in heaven seated on the exalted thrones of dignity and excellence.

Verse 36

The evil return for the conduct of the disbelievers is sure and certain. The arrogant braggarts will certainly he brought low - a recompense for their own disbelief and wickedness.

This is an expression in terms of the feelings of an opponent for the adversity of the other just for the sake of warning the disbelievers, that on the Day of Judgment their position will be such that if the believers would be in a retaliative state they would be justified to laugh at them, but in fact it is far above the believers to enjoy the sufferings of the others. (A.P.)

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