Al-Mutaffifin

Al-Mutaffifin, "Those Who Give Less," is the eighty-third surah — 36 verses.¹ It is classed as Meccan in the standard Mushaf, but Ibn 'Abbas reported that when the Prophet ﷺ came to Medina its people "were the worst people in weights and measures," and that after its opening was revealed "they were fair in weights and measures after that."⁶

What it is about

The surah begins with an everyday injustice: "Woe to those who give less [than due], who, when they take a measure from people, take in full. But if they give by measure or by weight to them, they cause loss." The cheat's error is forgetting accountability: "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?"²

It then contrasts two records. "The record of the wicked is in sijjeen," a "register inscribed." Those who call the revelation "legends of the former peoples" are diagnosed: "No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning," and "from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned."³ By contrast, "the record of the righteous is in 'illiyyun," witnessed by "those brought near [to Allah]." They sit "on adorned couches, observing," with "the radiance of pleasure" on their faces, drinking a sealed drink whose last taste is musk: "So for this let the competitors compete."⁴

The surah closes by reversing the scenes of Mecca. Those who "used to laugh at those who believed," exchanging "derisive glances," will see the tables turned: "So Today those who believed are laughing at the disbelievers, on adorned couches, observing."⁵

Why it matters

Al-Mutaffifin ties the grandest themes — resurrection, judgment, the eternal record — to the honesty of a shopkeeper's scale. Its point is that small, routine dishonesty flows from forgetting that one will stand before God, and that sin left unchecked "stains" the heart. Its call to "compete" for what lasts redirects the drive for gain toward the Hereafter. To read Al-Mutaffifin in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.