سُورَةُ المُطَفِّفِينَ
Surah 83 - Al-Mutaffifin
Defrauding
- 36 verses
- Juz 30
- Pages 587 to 589 of the Mushaf
Al-Mutaffifin begins with a threat aimed at those who falsify the measure: they claim their count in full when they receive, and cause loss when they give. The text at once asks whether they do not reckon on being raised for a day when all present themselves before the Lord. Two registers then answer each other, written in almost the same terms and set ten verses apart: that of the dissolute, that of the good, each introduced by a question the text leaves undefined. Between them, the denial is described and its words reported. The surah ends on a reversal: those who mocked the believers are in turn looked upon, from the couches.
The main parts
The text of the surah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَيْلٌۭ لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ
Woe to those who give less [than due],
ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ٱكْتَالُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ
Who, when they take a measure from people, take in full.
وَإِذَا كَالُوهُمْ أَو وَّزَنُوهُمْ يُخْسِرُونَ
But if they give by measure or by weight to them, they cause loss.
أَلَا يَظُنُّ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَنَّهُم مَّبْعُوثُونَ
Do they not think that they will be resurrected
لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍۢ
For a tremendous Day -
يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلنَّاسُ لِرَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds?
كَلَّآ إِنَّ كِتَٰبَ ٱلْفُجَّارِ لَفِى سِجِّينٍۢ
No! Indeed, the record of the wicked is in sijjeen.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سِجِّينٌۭ
And what can make you know what is sijjeen?
كِتَٰبٌۭ مَّرْقُومٌۭ
It is [their destination recorded in] a register inscribed.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers,
ٱلَّذِينَ يُكَذِّبُونَ بِيَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
Who deny the Day of Recompense.
وَمَا يُكَذِّبُ بِهِۦٓ إِلَّا كُلُّ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ
And none deny it except every sinful transgressor.
إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَٰتُنَا قَالَ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples."
كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ
No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.
كَلَّآ إِنَّهُمْ عَن رَّبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لَّمَحْجُوبُونَ
No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned.
ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ لَصَالُوا۟ ٱلْجَحِيمِ
Then indeed, they will [enter and] burn in Hellfire.
ثُمَّ يُقَالُ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِى كُنتُم بِهِۦ تُكَذِّبُونَ
Then it will be said [to them], "This is what you used to deny."
كَلَّآ إِنَّ كِتَٰبَ ٱلْأَبْرَارِ لَفِى عِلِّيِّينَ
No! Indeed, the record of the righteous is in 'illiyyun.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ
And what can make you know what is 'illiyyun?
كِتَٰبٌۭ مَّرْقُومٌۭ
It is [their destination recorded in] a register inscribed
يَشْهَدُهُ ٱلْمُقَرَّبُونَ
Which is witnessed by those brought near [to Allah].
إِنَّ ٱلْأَبْرَارَ لَفِى نَعِيمٍ
Indeed, the righteous will be in pleasure
عَلَى ٱلْأَرَآئِكِ يَنظُرُونَ
On adorned couches, observing.
تَعْرِفُ فِى وُجُوهِهِمْ نَضْرَةَ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
You will recognize in their faces the radiance of pleasure.
يُسْقَوْنَ مِن رَّحِيقٍۢ مَّخْتُومٍ
They will be given to drink [pure] wine [which was] sealed.
خِتَٰمُهُۥ مِسْكٌۭ ۚ وَفِى ذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ ٱلْمُتَنَٰفِسُونَ
The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors compete.
وَمِزَاجُهُۥ مِن تَسْنِيمٍ
And its mixture is of Tasneem,
عَيْنًۭا يَشْرَبُ بِهَا ٱلْمُقَرَّبُونَ
A spring from which those near [to Allah] drink.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا۟ كَانُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ يَضْحَكُونَ
Indeed, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed.
وَإِذَا مَرُّوا۟ بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ
And when they passed by them, they would exchange derisive glances.
وَإِذَا ٱنقَلَبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهِمُ ٱنقَلَبُوا۟ فَكِهِينَ
And when they returned to their people, they would return jesting.
وَإِذَا رَأَوْهُمْ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ لَضَآلُّونَ
And when they saw them, they would say, "Indeed, those are truly lost."
وَمَآ أُرْسِلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ حَٰفِظِينَ
But they had not been sent as guardians over them.
فَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْكُفَّارِ يَضْحَكُونَ
So Today those who believed are laughing at the disbelievers,
عَلَى ٱلْأَرَآئِكِ يَنظُرُونَ
On adorned couches, observing.
هَلْ ثُوِّبَ ٱلْكُفَّارُ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْعَلُونَ
Have the disbelievers [not] been rewarded [this Day] for what they used to do?
Key verses of the surah
The first verse: a threat thrown out before any explanation, against those who skimp the measure.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَيْلٌۭ لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ
Woe to those who give less [than due],
The image of what deeds lay over hearts; it answers those who call the verses old tales.
كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ
No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.
The register of the good, called Illiyyun: it takes up the turn of verse 7, term for term.
كَلَّآ إِنَّ كِتَٰبَ ٱلْأَبْرَارِ لَفِى عِلِّيِّينَ
No! Indeed, the record of the righteous is in 'illiyyun.
The sealed drink whose aftertaste is musk, and the call to vie for it.
خِتَٰمُهُۥ مِسْكٌۭ ۚ وَفِى ذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ ٱلْمُتَنَٰفِسُونَ
The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors compete.
What is surah Al-Mutaffifin about?
Of the gap between what one demands and what one grants. The text starts from a market gesture, draws from it a question about the account to be given, then sets two books and two ways of looking at others against each other. Trade and judgement are said there in one vocabulary.
What does surah Al-Mutaffifin say about fraud in the measure?
Three verses, 1 to 3. The text describes a gesture, not a trade: the same man takes in full and gives back short. No fixed penalty is set; what follows moves the subject to the account to be given, and never returns to it.
What are Sijjin and Illiyyun in surah Al-Mutaffifin?
Two names for places of writing, at verses 7 and 18. Each is followed by the same question, and each of those questions gets the same short answer: an inscribed book. The text describes them no further; their symmetry carries the sense.
How does surah Al-Mutaffifin end?
With a scene in two moves. First four verses of mockery: the winks, the going home, the word thrown at others. Then the same situation turned around, in the same posture and with the same verb. A last verse asks about what has been paid back.
Why is surah Al-Mutaffifin called that?
“Al-Mutaffifin” means those who skimp on the measure. The name comes from the first verse, which opens the surah on a threat aimed at them, and the two following verses say what their practice consists of: full count for themselves, short count for others.
How many verses does surah Al-Mutaffifin have?
Surah Al-Mutaffifin has 36 verses. It stands at number 83 in the order of the Mushaf, which holds 114.
The Arabic text is that of the Mushaf. The summary, the outline and the answers on this page describe the text and how it is built: they are not religious commentary.