Sura al-Mutaffifin
This article is an introduction to the Sura al-Mutaffifin; to read its text see text:Sura al-Mutaffifin.| al-Infitar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sura Number | 83 |
| Juz' | 30 |
| Revelation | |
| Revelation Number | 86 |
| Makki/Madani | Makki |
| Information | |
| Verse Count | 36 |
| Word Count | 169 |
| Letter Count | 751\ |
Sūra al-Muṭaffifīn (Arabic: سورة المُطَفِّفین) is the eighty third sura of the Qur'an and the last Makki sura, in the thirtieth juz' of the Qur'an. "Mutaffifin" means fraudulent dealers, especially in measures and weights. In this sura, God reproaches such people, saying that it is as though they think that there is no Afterlife. The sura is concerned with events of the Resurrection and characteristics of good people (benefactors) and bad people (sinners). According to exegetical books, the thirtieth verse of this sura is about Amir al-Mu'minin (a).
With respect to the virtues of reciting this sura, there are hadiths according to which if someone recites this sura, God will saturate him with a pure, clean drink never seen by anyone. According to another hadith, if someone recites it in his prayers, he will be immune from the fire of the hell.
Introduction
- Naming
"Mutaffifin" is derived from "tatfif" (Arabic: تطفیف) and means fraudulent dealers.[1] The word, "Mutaffifin" occurs at the beginning of this sura.[2] It is also called "Sura al-Tatfif". "Tatfif" is the infinitive form of "Mutaffifin".[3]
- Place and Order of Revelation
Sura al-Mutaffifin is the last Makki sura and the eighty sixth Qur'anic sura which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (s). It was revealed after Qur'an 29 and before Qur'an 2. In the traditional order of compilation, it is the eighty third sura of the Qur'an,[4] located in the thirtieth juz'.
- Number of Verses and Words
Sura al-Mutaffifin has thirty six verses, 169 words, and 751 letters. It is one of Mufassalat suras (having short and numerous verses).[5]
Content
The first three verses of this sura are concerned with a jurisprudential ruling: selling underweight, that is, not giving people the fair amount of what they have purchased, is forbidden and counts as a major sin. The sura characterizes the resurrection and the Afterlife, introduces good and bad people, points to the sarcastic laughter of unbelievers at believers in this world, and says that on Dooms Day, it will be believers who laugh at unbelievers.[6]
Occasion of Revelation
Fraudulent Dealers in Medina
According to Tafsir-i nimuna, the occasion of the revelation of Sura al-Mutaffifin is as follows: 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas says that when the Prophet (s) went to Medina, there were many fraudulent dealers. These verses were revealed, they obeyed the verses, and avoided fraudulences.[8] According to Majma' al-bayan, a man called "Abu Juhayna" lived in Medina who had two measures: a small and a big one. He used the big one when he bought things, and used the small one when he sold them.[9]
A Verse Concerning Imam 'Ali (a)
Allama Tabataba'i quotes Majma' al-bayan as saying that the verse thirty, "when they passed by them, they winked at one another", is revealed about Imam Ali (a). It is said that he and some other Muslims were going to visit the Prophet (s). Some hypocrites mocked him, winked at each other, and laughed. When they went to their friends, they said: "today we saw that bold man (referring to Imam Ali (a)) and laughed at him". The verse was revealed then.
According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, this story is also cited by the Sunni exegete of the Qur'an, al-Zamakhshari.[10]
Denial of Resurrection: A Consequence of Sins
According to the verse twelve of Sura al-Mutaffifin, nobody denies the resurrection except transgressors and sinners. In his al-Mizan, 'Allama Tabataba'i writes:
- "It turns out that the only thing that makes one avoid sins is the belief in the resurrection. A person who is indulged in lusts and sins cannot accept any barriers to his acts. Thus, his sins lead him to the denial of the resurrection."[11]
According to Imam al-Baqir (a), nothing distorts one's heart except sins. When the heart is accustomed to sins, it will increasingly desire them until they dominate it. Then the heart becomes upside-down.[12]
Merits and Benefits
Al-Tabrisi has cited a hadith from the Prophet (s) according to which, if someone recites Sura al-Mutaffifin, God will saturate him with a pure, clean drink never seen by anyone.[13] According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), if someone recites Sura al-Mutaffifin in his obligatory prayers, God will protect him against the punishments of the hell after the resurrection; neither will the hellfire meet him, nor will he meet the hellfire. According to another hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a) cited in Tafsir al-burhan, if Sura al-Mutaffifin is recited for anything, that thing will be immune from all evils and insects on Earth.[14]
External Links
Notes
- ↑ Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Mufradāt alfāẓ al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 521.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1262.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1262; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 658.
- ↑ Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 167.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1262.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1262.
- ↑ Khamagar, Muhammad, Sakhtar-i suraha-yi Qur'an-i karim, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangi-yi Qur'an wa 'Itrat-i Nur al-Thaqalayn, Qom: Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 26, p. 244.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 687.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 240.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 233.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 236-237.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 685.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, vol. 5, p. 603.
References
- Baḥrānī, Sayyid Hāshim b. Sulaymān. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1416 AH.
- Khurramshāhī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn. Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī. Tehran: Dūstān-Nāhīd, 1377 Sh.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1374 Sh.
- Maʿrifat, Muḥammad Hādī. Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān. [n.p]: Markaz Chāp wa Nashr-i Sāzmān-i Tablīghāt, 1371 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāyī, Mūhammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Second edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1974.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Hāshim Rasūlī & Yazdī Ṭabāṭabāyī. Third edition. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusru, 1372 Sh.