Surahs Mutaffifin

Surahs Mutaffifin - Inshiqaq

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi

Tr by Shehzad Saleem

Introduction
    Both these surahs form apair with regard to their subject matter.
    The central themes of both surahs is to warn the Quraysh of the consequences of any misconceptionthey may have about the Day of Judgement. Most surely, they are going tobe raised up on that day to appear before their Lord and shall definitelymeet different fates according to their deeds.
    In the first surah,the basis of the argument is the awareness of good and evil in human natureand in the second, the manifest signs in the world around man form thisbasis.
    The surahs are directed at the leadershipof the Quraysh, and it is evident from their contents that likethe previous surahs they were revealed in Makkah in the phase of Indhar-i-`am of the Prophet’s mission.

Surah Mutaffifin     In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful
    Woe shall be on those¹who exact full measure when they take from others, but when they measureor weigh for others give less than what is due.²Do they not believe that they will be raised up one day?³for presence on a great day. The day when men will stand up before theLord of the worlds⁴. (1-6)
    [Look at them: this attitude in weighing and measuringbears witness that they differentiate between good and evil, but stillcontend that each person will meet the same fate]. Certainly not! Indeed,the record of these disobedient shall be in Sijjin⁵.And what do you know what Sijjin is?⁶A written register. Devastation shall be on that Day upon those who deny.These who are denying the Day of reward and punishment. And, no one deniesit except the usurper of rights, the evil-doer⁷.When Our verses are recited to him, he says: Tales of the ancients⁸. Certainly not! In fact, the rust of their deeds has settled on their hearts⁹. [They think that if ever the Day of Judgement will come, they will be blessedwith the same opulence as in this world]. Certainly not! On that Day, theyshall certainly be held away from their Lord¹⁰.Then they shall enter Hell. Then it shall be said to them: This is whatyou used to deny¹¹. (7-17)
    [They shall never meet thesame fate]. By no means! Indeed, the record of the obedient shall be inthe ‘Illiyyin. And what do you know what the ‘Illiyyin is?¹²A written register. In custody of the exalted angels. These obedient¹³shall be in bliss, reclining on thrones gazing around. You will see theglow of this bliss on their faces. Their thirst will be quenched with purewine, sealed; the seal will be of musk. And to this [end] let those whowish to strive, strive with fervour¹⁴– the wine will be tempered with¹⁵Tasnim, a special spring on whose banks these favoured ones of Allah shall sit and drink¹⁶. (18-28)
    [And there were days when] these sinners used to laugh at these believers and used to wink at one another when they passed them by. And when they would return to their people, they would return jesting¹⁷. And when they would see them, they would say: Certainly, they are the strayedones.¹⁸ [They claim to bereformers]. Whereas, they were not sent to be their guardians¹⁹. But look today these believers are laughing at these unbelievers, recliningon thrones witnessing [their fate] -- Why! Have not the unbelievers beenduly rewarded for what they did? (29-36)
   Surah Inshiqaq     In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful
    That day [O People!] when thesky is rent asunder, and obeys its Lord’s command as is befitting for it²⁰. And when the earth is stretched out and casts out all that is within her and becomes empty and obeys its Lord as is it should do. [That will be the day when you shall meet your Lord]. (1-5)
    [For that very day] O man!²¹You also are toiling on towards your Lord and are going to meet Him²².Then he whose record is given to him [there] in his right hand will receivean easy reckoning²³, and he will go back rejoicing to his people²⁴. And he whose record is handed out to him from behind his back [into histied up hands]²⁵ will callfor death²⁶ and shall enterthe blazing fire of Hell. He remained engrossed among his kinfolk. He thought that he would never have to return anywhere. Why not [why should he beleft with his misdeeds and not called to account]? His Lord was ever watching over him. (6-15)
    Therefore, this is not so[O people! that you if you have been given some latitude, you would stayhere for ever]. I present as witness the glow of the sunset, and the gathering night, and the moon when it grows full that you also shall [in a similarway] ascend gradually [to appear before your Lord].²⁷(16-19)
    [If this is a reality andsurely it is] what has come over them that they are not believing, and when the Qur’an is recited before them they do not bow down [acknowledgingits greatness]!²⁸ In fact[strangely enough] these unbelievers, on the contrary, are denying; yet Allah [their Lord] knows full well what they are accumulating [in this world for the world to come].²⁹So [ Prophet!] Give them glad tidings of a painful doom. For those, however,there is eternal reward [there] who accepted faith and did righteous deeds. (20-25)

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^1. This is not merely astatement of fact. Hidden beneath it is a severe curse for the addressees.
^2. The words `who exactfull measure when they take from others’ point to the fact that these verses actually depict an unworthy character; warning people against measuring wrongly is not what is under discussion here. This depiction is meant to substantiate that not only is every person aware of good and evil but that his own behaviour also shows that he likes good and dislikes evil. The distinction between justice and injustice and the liking for justice and the disliking for injustice are found in his very nature. A person mightweigh less for others but he would never like others to weigh less forhim. Similarly, a person might steal from someone’s house but would never like his house to be broken into. This behaviour shows that he positively likes justice and dislikes injustice and wants that the just and the unjust be dealt with differently, and that he is never happy if the two are treated equally.
^3. This is an expression of wonder as well as admonition. What the people are denying is an obvious reality. Their own nature, to which the previous verses refer, calls them towards it. With such a strong evidence within them, how do they contend that the just and the unjust will become dust once they die and that they will not be raised by the Almighty to be rewarded or punished according to their deeds.
^4. The expression `Lord of the Worlds’ brings out the great importance of the Day wherein people will face their Lord. It is in their own well-being to remain prepared for this Day.
^5. The word sijjin here has not been used literally. It is actually a proper noun as thesubsequent words indicate.
^6. This style is meant to bring out the dreadful nature of sijjin.
^7. That is no one candeny the Day of Judgement on the basis of reason and rationality. Only those who are arrogant and unjust and have thereby distorted their nature can dare to deny it. The Arabic word mu`tad means someone who usurps the rights of others while the word athim means someone who doesnot fulfil his obligations to others.
^8. This is a descriptionof their way of denial. Since they do not have any arguments to refutethe Day of Judgement, their arrogance manifests itself in this fashion.
^9. They have become slavesof their base desires. The rust of their evil deeds has sullied their hearts.In other words, it is their behaviour which has alienated them from the truth – the truth which is found all round them. It is the Almighty’s lawto take away a person’s ability to grasp the truth if he does not takeheed from the signs within him and outside him that point to this truth.
^10. That is they shall be withheld from the presence of their Almighty, not being able to behold Him in the refulgent splendour which surrounds Him nor being able to benefit from His favours.
^11. The repetition ofthe particle thumma (then) shows that these words will be said tothem emphatically to humiliate them further.
^12. While this style expresses the dreadful nature of Sijjin in verse seven, as pointed out earlier, it expresses here the exalted nature of `Illiyyin.
^13. The next few verses describe the fate of the obedient (abrar) in contrast with that of the disobedient (fujjar) described earlier on.
^14. This should be thereal driving force behind a believers actions and deeds: All of his striving should be to attain the eternal life of bliss.
^15. The Arabic word mizaj is used for all those things that are used to enhance or moderate the flavour and crispness of wine.
^16. Tasnim is the name of the heavenly fountain on whose banks they will sit to drinkits pure wine. Drinking on the banks of a spring, it must be kept in consideration, has always been a something highly relished by man.
^17. Such was their arrogance that instead of feeling ashamed of making fun of people, they would recount their achievements to their families with pride and vanity.
^18. That is they triedto mislead people by calling the Muslims a lot gone astray.
^19. That is these believers have not been sent as guardians over the disbelievers. The words of the disbelievers are stated here in reported speech.
^20. These words, which are again repeated for the `attitude’ of the earth, are meant to admonishman for his own arrogant attitude. He also, like these two great creations of Allah, should adopt a submissive attitude to the Almighty.
^21. The address is directedat the proud people of Quraysh.
^22. That is a personchained in the fetters of time from his birth to death and passing throughvarious phases is ever moving closer to meet his Lord.
^23. That is all their trivial mistakes shall be forgiven and giving an account will be an easygoing for them.
^24. The family for whomhe always remained worried about in the previous world and which themselves, as the words hint, have been salvaged here.
^25. It is obvious from this that the hands of the criminals will be tied behind their backs. Other verses (for example 69:25) add that they will be given their account inthe left hand.
^26. Death will be the only way out for him to escape from the terrible punishment of Hell. He will want to die but this time there will be no death. Though these words should have apparently come after the next verse since they will be utteredafter the sinner enters Hell, yet literary eloquence demands that thesewords should be placed earlier to bring them exactly parallel to the details of the fate of the righteous.
^27. Just as the glowof sunset gradually fades and disappears in the night which slowly spreads to engulf everything and just as the moon after gradually passing through various phases each month culminates into its full splendour, this world shall also gradually culminate into the next world. In other words, thelaw of gradual progression evident in the world around man reminds himthat like these phenomena, the Day of Judgement also has an appointed time. He should not deny a reality merely because it has been with held from him till a particular time.
^28. One must bear inmind the ancient Arab and Egyptian tradition of bowing down before things that overawed them.
^29. That is their wealth, their deeds and the results of these deeds.

(Adapted from Ghamidi's "Al-Bayaan")