Surah 83. Al-Mutaffifin- Asad Translation
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IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF
GRACE: |
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Defrauders will be called to account and punished while the righteous will be rewarded with soft couches, choicest wine and special spring water
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1 | WOE UNTO THOSE who give short measure: | ||
| 2 | those who, when they are to receive their due from [other] people, demand that it be given in full - | |||
| 3 | but when they have to measure or weigh whatever they owe to others, give less than what is due!1 | |||
| 4 | Do they not know that they are bound to be raised from the dead | |||
| 5 | [and called to account] on an awesome Day - | |||
| 6 | the Day when all men shall stand before the Sustainer of all the worlds? | |||
| 7 | NAY, VERILY, the record of the wicked is indeed [set down] in a mode inescapable!2 | |||
| 8 | And what could make thee conceive what that mode inescapable will be? | |||
| 9 | A record [indelibly] inscribed! | |||
| 10 | Woe on that Day unto those who give the lie to the truth - | |||
| 11 | those who give the lie to the [coming of] Judgment Day: | |||
| 12 | for, none gives the lie to it but such as are wont to transgress against all that is right [and are] immersed in sin:3 | |||
| 13 | [and so,] whenever Our messages are conveyed to them, they but say, "Fables of ancient times!" | |||
| 14 | Nay, but their hearts are corroded by all [the evil] that they were wont to do!4 | |||
| 15 | Nay, verily, from [the grace of] their Sustainer shall they on that Day be debarred; | |||
| 16 | and then, behold, they shall enter the blazing fire | |||
| 17 | and be told: "This is the [very thing] to which you were wont to give the lie!" | |||
| 18 | NAY, VERILY, the record of the truly virtuous is [set down] in a mode most lofty!5 | |||
| 19 | And what could make thee conceive what that mode most lofty will be? | |||
| 20 | A record [indelibly] inscribed, | |||
| 21 | witnessed by all who have [ever] been drawn close unto God.6 | |||
| 22 | Behold, [in the life to come] the truly virtuous will indeed be in bliss: | |||
| 23 | [resting] on couches, they will look up [to God]:7 | |||
| 24 | upon their faces thou wilt see the brightness of bliss. | |||
| 25 | They will be given a drink of pure wine whereon the seal [of God] will have been set, | |||
| 26 | pouring forth with a fragrance of musk.8 To that [wine of paradise], then, let all such aspire as [are willing to] aspire to things of high account: | |||
| 27 | for it is composed of all that is most exalting9 | |||
| 28 | a source [of bliss] whereof those who are drawn close unto God shall drink.10 | |||
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Today disbelievers laugh at the believers , a day will come when they will be laughed at
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29 | BEHOLD, those who have abandoned themselves to sin are wont to laugh at such as have attained to faith;11 | ||
| 30 | and whenever they pass by them, they wink at one another [derisively]; | |||
| 31 | and whenever they return to people of their own kind,12 they return full of jests; | |||
| 32 | and whenever they see those [who believe,] they say, "Behold, these [people] have indeed gone astray!" | |||
| 33 | And, withal, they have no call to watch over [the beliefs of] others....13 | |||
| 34 | But on the Day [of Judgment], they who had attained to faith will [be able to] laugh at the [erstwhile] deniers of the truth:14 | |||
| 35 | [for, resting in paradise] on couches, they will look on [and say to themselves]: | |||
| 36 | "Are these deniers of the truth being [thus] requited for [aught but] what they were wont to do?" |
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Ayah_translation Comments
Note - 1This passage (verses 1-3) does not, of course, refer only
to commercial dealings but touches upon every aspect of
social relations, both practical and moral, applying to
every individual's rights and obligations no less than to
his physical possessions.
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Note - 2According to some of the greatest philologists (e.g., Abu
'Ubaydah, as quoted in the Lisan al-'Arab), the term
sijjin is derived from - or even synonymous with - the
noun sijn, which signifies "a prison". Proceeding from
this derivation, some authorities attribute to sijjin the
tropical meaning of da'im, i.e., "continuing" or
"basting" (ibid.). Thus, in its metaphorical application
to a sinner's "record", it is evidently meant to stress
the latter's inescapable quality, as if its contents were
lastingly "imprisoned", i.e., set down indelibly, with no
possibility of escaping from what they imply: hence my
rendering of the phrase fi sijjin as "[set down] in a
mode inescapable". This interpretation is, to my mind,
fully confirmed by verse {9} below.
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Note - 3Implying that a denial of ultimate responsibility before
God - and, hence, of His judgment - is invariably
conducive to sinning and to transgression against all
moral imperatives. (Although this and the next verse are
formulated in the singular, I am rendering them in the
plural inasmuch as this plurality is idiomatically
indicated by the word kull before the descriptive
participles mu'tad and athim, as well as by the use of a
straight plural in verses {14} ff.)
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Note - 4Lit., "that which they were earning has covered their
hearts with rust": implying that their persistence in
wrongdoing has gradually deprived them of all
consciousness of moral responsibility and, hence, of the
ability to visualize the fact of God's ultimate judgment.
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Note - 5I.e., in contrast to the record of the wicked (see verse
{7} above). As regards the term 'illiyyun, it is said to
be the plural of 'illi or 'illiyyah ("loftiness") or,
alternatively, a plural which has no singular (Qamus, Taj
al-'Arus); in either case it is derived from the verb
'ala, which signifies "[something] was [or "became"]
high" or "lofty" or - tropically - "exalted": thus in the
well-known idiomatic phrase, huwa min 'illiyyat qawmihi,
"he is among the [most] exalted of his people". In view
of this derivation, the plural 'illiyyun has evidently
the intensive connotation of "loftiness upon loftiness"
(Taj al-'Arus) or "a mode most lofty".
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Note - 6I.e., by the prophets and saints of all times as well as
by the angels.
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Note - 7Cf.75:23. As elsewhere in the Qur'an, the "couches" of
the virtuous in paradise symbolize complete restfulness
and inner fulfilment.
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Note - 8Lit., "the end whereof (khitamuhu) will be musk". My
rendering of the above phrase reflects the interpretation
given to it by several authorities of the second
generation of Islam, and by Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Muthanna
(all of them quoted by Razi). The "pure wine" (rahiq) of
the hereafter - which, contrary to the wine of this
world, will carry "the seal" (i.e., the sanction) of God
because "no headiness will be in it, and they will not
get drunk thereon" (37:47) - is another symbol of
paradise, alluding, by means of comparisons with
sensations that can be experienced by man, to the
otherworldly sensations of joy which, in a form
intensified beyond all human imagination, are in store
for the righteous. Some of the great Muslim mystics
(e.g., Jalal ad-Din Runi) see in that "pure wine" an
allusion to a spiritual vision of God: an interpretation
which, I believe, is fully justified by the sequence.
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Note - 9Whereas most of the classical commentators regard the
infinitive noun tasnim as the proper name of one of the
allegorical "fountains of paradise", or, alternatively,
refrain from any definition of it, it seems to me that
the derivation of tasnim from the verb sannama - "he
raised [something]" or "made [it] lofty" - points,
rather, to the effect which the "wine" of divine
knowledge will have on those who "drink" of it in
paradise. Hence, the tabi'i 'Ikrimah (as quoted by Razi)
equates tasnim with tashrif, "that which is ennobling" or
"exalting".
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Note - 10Cf. {76:5-6} and the corresponding notes.
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Note - 11In the original, verses {29-33} are in the past tense, as
if viewed from the time-level of Judgment Day. However,
since the preceding and the following passages (i.e.,
verses {18-28} and {34-36}) are formulated in the future
tense, verses {29-33} (which relate to life in this
world) may be adequately rendered in the present tense.
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Note - 12Lit., "to their [own] people".
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Note - 13Lit., "they have not been sent as watchers over them" -
implying that none who is devoid of faith has the right
to criticize the faith of any of his fellow-men.
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Note - 14Speaking of the righteous, the Qur'an repeatedly stresses
that on the Day of Judgment God "shall have removed
whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings (ghill) may have
been [lingering] in their bosoms" (7:43 and 15:47).
Since an expression of vengeful joy on the part of the
blest at the calamity which in the hereafter will befall
the erstwhile sinners would certainly fall within the
category of "unworthy feelings", their "laughing" can
only have a metaphorical meaning, denoting no more than a
realization of their own good fortune.
|
| 1 | This passage (verses 1-3) does not, of course, refer only
to commercial dealings but touches upon every aspect of
social relations, both practical and moral, applying to
every individual's rights and obligations no less than to
his physical possessions. |
| 2 | According to some of the greatest philologists (e.g., Abu
'Ubaydah, as quoted in the Lisan al-'Arab), the term
sijjin is derived from - or even synonymous with - the
noun sijn, which signifies "a prison". Proceeding from
this derivation, some authorities attribute to sijjin the
tropical meaning of da'im, i.e., "continuing" or
"basting" (ibid.). Thus, in its metaphorical application
to a sinner's "record", it is evidently meant to stress
the latter's inescapable quality, as if its contents were
lastingly "imprisoned", i.e., set down indelibly, with no
possibility of escaping from what they imply: hence my
rendering of the phrase fi sijjin as "[set down] in a
mode inescapable". This interpretation is, to my mind,
fully confirmed by verse {9} below. |
| 3 | Implying that a denial of ultimate responsibility before
God - and, hence, of His judgment - is invariably
conducive to sinning and to transgression against all
moral imperatives. (Although this and the next verse are
formulated in the singular, I am rendering them in the
plural inasmuch as this plurality is idiomatically
indicated by the word kull before the descriptive
participles mu'tad and athim, as well as by the use of a
straight plural in verses {14} ff.) |
| 4 | Lit., "that which they were earning has covered their
hearts with rust": implying that their persistence in
wrongdoing has gradually deprived them of all
consciousness of moral responsibility and, hence, of the
ability to visualize the fact of God's ultimate judgment. |
| 5 | I.e., in contrast to the record of the wicked (see verse
{7} above). As regards the term 'illiyyun, it is said to
be the plural of 'illi or 'illiyyah ("loftiness") or,
alternatively, a plural which has no singular (Qamus, Taj
al-'Arus); in either case it is derived from the verb
'ala, which signifies "[something] was [or "became"]
high" or "lofty" or - tropically - "exalted": thus in the
well-known idiomatic phrase, huwa min 'illiyyat qawmihi,
"he is among the [most] exalted of his people". In view
of this derivation, the plural 'illiyyun has evidently
the intensive connotation of "loftiness upon loftiness"
(Taj al-'Arus) or "a mode most lofty". |
| 7 | Cf.75:23. As elsewhere in the Qur'an, the "couches" of
the virtuous in paradise symbolize complete restfulness
and inner fulfilment. |
| 8 | Lit., "the end whereof (khitamuhu) will be musk". My
rendering of the above phrase reflects the interpretation
given to it by several authorities of the second
generation of Islam, and by Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Muthanna
(all of them quoted by Razi). The "pure wine" (rahiq) of
the hereafter - which, contrary to the wine of this
world, will carry "the seal" (i.e., the sanction) of God
because "no headiness will be in it, and they will not
get drunk thereon" (37:47) - is another symbol of
paradise, alluding, by means of comparisons with
sensations that can be experienced by man, to the
otherworldly sensations of joy which, in a form
intensified beyond all human imagination, are in store
for the righteous. Some of the great Muslim mystics
(e.g., Jalal ad-Din Runi) see in that "pure wine" an
allusion to a spiritual vision of God: an interpretation
which, I believe, is fully justified by the sequence. |
| 9 | Whereas most of the classical commentators regard the
infinitive noun tasnim as the proper name of one of the
allegorical "fountains of paradise", or, alternatively,
refrain from any definition of it, it seems to me that
the derivation of tasnim from the verb sannama - "he
raised [something]" or "made [it] lofty" - points,
rather, to the effect which the "wine" of divine
knowledge will have on those who "drink" of it in
paradise. Hence, the tabi'i 'Ikrimah (as quoted by Razi)
equates tasnim with tashrif, "that which is ennobling" or
"exalting". |
| 11 | In the original, verses {29-33} are in the past tense, as
if viewed from the time-level of Judgment Day. However,
since the preceding and the following passages (i.e.,
verses {18-28} and {34-36}) are formulated in the future
tense, verses {29-33} (which relate to life in this
world) may be adequately rendered in the present tense. |
| 13 | Lit., "they have not been sent as watchers over them" -
implying that none who is devoid of faith has the right
to criticize the faith of any of his fellow-men. |
| 14 | Speaking of the righteous, the Qur'an repeatedly stresses
that on the Day of Judgment God "shall have removed
whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings (ghill) may have
been [lingering] in their bosoms" (7:43 and 15:47).
Since an expression of vengeful joy on the part of the
blest at the calamity which in the hereafter will befall
the erstwhile sinners would certainly fall within the
category of "unworthy feelings", their "laughing" can
only have a metaphorical meaning, denoting no more than a
realization of their own good fortune. |
