Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:47

His saying, Exalted is He, "And We place the scales of justice," is an explanation of what will occur when that which they were warned of arrives. Al-Tayyibi considered the sentence to be a state (hal) from the pronoun in la-yaqulunna (they will surely say), with the estimation of "while We are placing." It is a case of being devoid of a returning pronoun (a’id), such as "I came to you while the sun was rising." It is also permissible to say that the general noun nafs (soul) coming later stands in the place of the returning pronoun; and this is as you see.

It means: We shall bring the just scales by which the scrolls of deeds are weighed—as is established by the hadith of the Sijillat (scrolls) and the Bitāqah (card) mentioned by Muslim and others—or the deeds themselves, as has been said, appearing in luminous substantial forms if they are good deeds, and dark forms if they are evil deeds.

The pluralization of "scales" (mawazin) suggests, apparently, a plurality of scales in reality. It has been argued that every nation has a scale, that every accountable person has a scale, or that the believer has scales according to the number of their virtuous acts and types of good deeds. However, the most correct and famous view is that it is a single scale for all nations and all deeds, with two pans like the expanse of the heavens and the earth, due to the authenticity of the reports to that effect; the plurality is merely conceptual. Sometimes the singular is expressed in terms that imply the plural for the sake of glorification, like His saying, "My Lord, return me, that I might do righteousness," or the saying, "Have mercy upon me, O God of Muhammad."

The setting of this scale will be facing the Throne, between Paradise and Hell. Gabriel, peace be upon him, will take hold of its beam, looking at its tongue, and Michael, peace be upon him, will be entrusted with it, as stated in Nawadir al-Usul. Is it created today or will it be created tomorrow? Al-Laqani said: "I have not found a text regarding that, just as I have not found a text regarding what substance it is made of." As for the report that David, peace be upon him, asked his Lord, the Exalted, to show him the scale, and when he saw it he fainted, then recovered and said, "My God, who is able to fill its pan with good deeds?" and He, the Exalted, replied, "O David, when I am pleased with My servant, I fill it with a single date"—this is a text that it is created today, but I do not know the status of the hadith, so it should be investigated.

The Mu'tazila denied the scale in its literal sense and said: "It is necessary to interpret what has been mentioned in the Qur’an regarding this as the administration of justice and fairness." For them, placing the scales is a representation of the anticipation of a straight reckoning and recompense according to deeds. This was also narrated from al-Dahhak, Qatada, Mujahid, and al-A’mash. But there is no necessity to turn away from the literal meaning. The singularization of al-qist (justice), despite being an adjective for a plural, is because it is an infinitive used as an adjective for intensification. It is also permissible that it is due to the omission of a genitive, meaning "possessors of justice." Abu Hayyan suggested that it could be an object for which an action is done (maf'ul li-ajlihi), like the saying: "I do not sit out of cowardice." In that case, there is no need to justify its singular form.

It is read as al-qast (with Sad and Lam). In His saying, Exalted is He, "for the Day of Resurrection" (li-yawm al-qiyamah), the lam means "in," as Ibn Malik stated, citing for its usage in this way the verse of Miskin al-Darimi: "Those are my people who have passed on to their way, as had passed before them ‘Ad and Tubba’." This is the view of the Kufans, and Ibn Qutayba agreed with them; meaning, We shall place the scales on the Day of Resurrection, which they were hastening. Many have said it is for causation—that is, for the sake of the reckoning of the Day of Resurrection or for its people. Some made it for specification, as is one of two possibilities in saying, "I came for five nights passed of the month," though the famous view—the second possibility—is that the lam means "in."

"So no soul will be wronged"—of all souls—"in anything"—in the sense of injustice. So its promised reward will not be diminished, nor will its known punishment be increased. "Anything" (shay'an) is accusative as an infinitive, and injustice is in its famous meaning.

It is permissible that shay'an is a direct object due to the omission of the preposition, meaning: It will not be wronged in anything, by being denied a reward or having a punishment increased. Some interpreted injustice as "diminution" and allowed shay'an to be either an infinitive or an object without considering the omission, meaning: "Nothing shall be diminished from the reward, nor anything from the punishment." The absence of an increase in punishment is understood from the indication of the text and conventional implication. The preference is given to that which does not require such indication or implication. The fa (so) is for the sequence of the negation of injustice upon the placing of the scales.

It is perhaps understood from this that everyone’s deeds will be weighed. Al-Qurtubi said: The scale is a truth, but it will not occur for everyone, based on the authentic hadith: "It will be said, 'O Muhammad, enter into Paradise from your nation those who have no account, from the right-hand door'..." and so on. Even more so the Prophets, peace be upon them. And His saying, "The criminals will be known by their marks; then they will be seized by the forelocks and the feet," and His saying, "And We will not assign to them on the Day of Resurrection any weight," and His saying, "And We will come to what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed." The weighing remains only for whom God, the Exalted, wills among both parties. Judge Mundhir bin Sa'id al-Baluti mentioned that the people of patience will not have their deeds weighed; rather, their reward will be poured upon them in abundance. The manifest meaning of most verses and hadiths dictates the weighing of the deeds of the disbelievers, and the verses that appear to suggest otherwise are interpreted in light of them, and they are few in comparison. In my view, there is no definitive proof for the universality of the weighing, and I lean toward non-universality.

Furthermore, just as there is a difference of opinion regarding its universality concerning individuals of mankind, there is a difference regarding its universality concerning both species—mankind and the jinn. The truth is that the believers among the jinn are like the believers among mankind, and their disbelievers are like their disbelievers, as Al-Qurtubi researched and deduced from several verses. Al-Laqani elaborated on this in his large commentary on al-Jawhara.

"And if there is"—the deed indicated by the placing of the scales; it is also said the pronoun refers to "anything," based on the meaning that no reward for any deed will be wronged—"the weight of a mustard seed"—that is, the amount of a seed that is of mustard. The prepositional phrase is connected to an omitted element that serves as an adjective for "seed." It is permitted that it be an adjective for "weight," but the first is closer. The intent is: even if it is at the extreme of scarcity and insignificance, for the mustard seed is a proverb for smallness.

Zayd bin Ali, may Allah be pleased with them both, Abu Ja'far, Shaybah, and Nafi’ read mithqalu in the nominative, on the basis that kana is complete. "We will bring it"—that is, you brought it to Us; this is also how Ubayy read it. The meaning is: We have brought it, so the ba is for transitivity and the pronoun is for the "weight," and it is feminine because it acquired femininity from the genitive noun it is added to, and the sentence is the answer to the conditional in. It is also possible that in is concessive and the sentence is initial, but this contradicts the apparent meaning. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ibn Jubayr, Ibn Abi Ishaq, al-'Ala' bin Sayaba, Ja'far bin Muhammad, and Ibn Shurayh al-Asbahani read atayna with a long vowel, as a mufa’ala form from al-ityan (to come/bring) meaning "to recompense and reward," because they brought deeds to Him, and He brought the recompense to them. It is said it is from al-ityan, and its origin was a'tayna (two hamzas), but the fixed hamza was changed into an alif, and the meaning is likewise "We have recompensed," which is why it is made transitive with the ba. If the meaning were "We gave," as some say, it would have been transitive by itself, as Ibn Jinni and others have said. Humayd read athabna (We rewarded) from al-thawab. "And sufficient are We as reckoners."

It is said: Meaning counting and enumerating their deeds, on the basis that "reckoning" (hisab) is intended by its linguistic meaning, which is counting. This was narrated from al-Suddi. It is also permissible that it is a metonymy for recompense. Al-Laqani mentioned that "reckoning" in the custom of the Shari'ah is God’s pausing His servants—except for those whom He excepted among them—before departing the place of gathering, to go over their deeds in detail, whether they were good or evil, not by weighing. And it is, as al-Wahidi and others mentioned, and the author of Kanz al-Asrar asserted, before the weighing. It is not hidden that the verse has an indication that the reckoning mentioned in it is after the placing of the scales, so reflect on this. The accusative of the noun hasibin is either as a specification (tamyiz) or a state (hal); the first is preferred in al-Bahr.

From the Chapter of Allusions in the Verses:

"The time of their reckoning has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness turning away," etc. In this is an allusion to the poor state of those veiled by love of the world from preparing for the hereafter, so they have become heedless of reforming their affairs and turned away from the obedience of their Lord. Their hearts have become distracted from the Reminder and forgetful of reflecting upon His majesty and beauty, Exalted is He.

And in His saying, "And they have concealed their private conversation—those who did wrong, 'Is this except a human being like you?'" is an allusion to the poor state of some of those who reject the friends of God, for their foul, satanic souls refuse to follow them due to what they see of participation in human occurrences.

"And how many a city which was unjust have We destroyed before them?" In this is an allusion that injustice ruins civilization; so whenever a person is unjust, their heart is ruined, and that leads to the ruin of their body and its decay through punishment.

And His saying, "Rather, We dash the truth upon falsehood, and it destroys it, and thereupon it departs," is an allusion that the constancy of remembrance is a cause for the clearing of darkness from the heart and its purification from the filth of other-than-God, such that no trace remains in it save for Him, Exalted is He.

"And those who are near Him," it is said they are the perfect ones who are in the Divine Presence, for they do not move nor stay still except with presence, and worship is not difficult for them, nor does trade distract them from Him, Exalted is He. Their inner selves are with the Truth, and their outer selves are with the creation; their breaths are glorification and sanctification, and He, Exalted is He, is the best companion for them.

And in His saying, "Rather, they are honored servants. They do not precede Him in word, and they act by His command," is an allusion that the perfect one chooses nothing; rather, his state is total surrender and flow beneath the currents of divine decrees with a pleasant soul. From here it was said that the Rabbani Pole, Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani—may his secret be sanctified and may He overwhelm us with his kindness—did not pass away until he ascended from the station of "bringing evidence" to "pure surrender." Sheikh Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani established this in his book al-Jawahir wa al-Yawaqit.

"And We made from water every living thing," the allusion in this has already been mentioned.

"Every soul will taste death." Al-Junayd—may his secret be sanctified—said: "Whoever’s life is through his soul, his death is through its departure; and whoever’s life is through his Lord, the Exalted, he is transferred from the life of nature to the life of the Origin, which is life in truth."

"And We test you with evil and good as trial." It is said: with constraint and expansion, separation and union, withdrawal and approach, ignorance and knowledge, and other than that. It is not hidden that the traveler is often tested by contraction and expansion, so he should remain steadfast in both against everything that lowers him from his rank. Perhaps the trial of expansion is more severe than the trial of contraction, so one must be most careful there.

"And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection." Some Sufis said: The scales are multiple; for the lovers there is a scale, for the bewildered there is a scale, for the workers there is a scale, and so on. Among them is a scale for the Gnostics by which their breaths are weighed, and the heavens and earth do not weigh a single breath of them. They mentioned that there are scales in this world as well, and the greatest of its scales is the Shari'ah; its two pans are the Book and the Sunnah. By my life, this scale has been abandoned by the Sufis of this time—may God, the Exalted, protect us and the Muslims from what they are upon of misguidance. He, the Almighty, is the One Who is generous with all kinds of bounties.