AL MUTAFFIFIN (The Dealers in Fraud)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 Woe to those that deal in fraud,
2 Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure,
3 But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due.
4 Do they not think that they will be called to account?
5 On a mighty day,
6 A day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the universe?
7 No! Surely the record of the wicked is in Sijjin.
8 And what will explain to you what Sijjin is?
9 A written record.
10 Woe, that day, to those that deny,
11 Those that deny the day of judgment.
12 And none can deny it but the transgressor beyond bounds, the sinner!
13 When our signs are rehearsed to him, he says, tales of the ancients!
14 By no means! But on their hearts is the stain of what they do!
15 Truly, to their Lord, on that day, they will be veiled.
16 Further, they will enter the fire of hell.
17 Further, it will be said to them: This is what you rejected as false!
18 No, truly the record of the righteous is in Illiyin.
19 And what will explain to you what Illiyin is?
20 A written record,
21 To which bear witness those brought near.
22 Truly the righteous will be in bliss:
23 On thrones will they command a sight:
24 you will recognize in their faces the beaming brightness of bliss.
25 Their thirst will be slaked with pure wine sealed:
26 The seal of it will be musk: and for this let those aspire, who have aspirations:
27 With it will be a mixture of tasnim:
28 A spring, the waters of which drink those nearest to God.
29 Those in sin used to laugh at those who believed,
30 And whenever they passed by them, used to wink at each other;
31 And when they returned to their own people, they would return jesting;
32 And whenever they saw them, they would say, Behold! These are the people truly astray!
33 But they had not been sent as keepers over them!
34 But on this day the believers will laugh at the unbelievers:
35 On thrones they will command.
36 Will not the unbelievers have been paid back for what they did?
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎