Al-Mutaffifin: (4) Do those people not think...

Know that the Exalted [Allah] rebuked those who give short measure, saying: {Do those people not think} those who give short measure {that they will be resurrected for a Great Day}—which is the Day of Resurrection.

Regarding the word ẓann (think/suppose) here, there are two opinions:

1. The first opinion: It means ʿilm (knowledge). Under this interpretation, the addressees of this address might be among those who believe in the Resurrection, or they might not be.
   • If they did believe in the Resurrection (as was narrated regarding the Muslims of Medina, the Aws and Khazraj, when the Prophet (PBUH) arrived, and this practice was common among them), then they were reminded of it.
   • If we hold that those addressed did not believe in the Resurrection, they were still capable of deducing it, as reason suggests that reward and punishment must reach the doer of good and evil, or at least that it is possible, even if its necessity is not established. This is something that can be addressed to those who deny the Resurrection. The meaning then is: Do they not reflect until they know they will be resurrected? But they have turned away from reflection and spared themselves its trouble and hardship.
   • Knowledge derived from deduction is termed ẓann because most deductive knowledge leans toward the probable opinion, unlike doubt where both sides are equally balanced. Hence, it is called ẓann.

2. The second opinion: Ẓann here means doubt/supposition itself, not knowledge. The meaning is: Even if these short-measurers do not have certainty about the Resurrection, they should at least have a strong suspicion (ẓann). It is more fitting for Allah's wisdom, mercy, and care for the welfare of His creation that He would not leave their affair completely neglected after death, and that there must be a gathering and resurrection for them. This suspicion (ẓann) is sufficient to induce fear. It is as if the Almighty is saying: Even if they do not affirm it definitively, shouldn't they at least suspect it?

As for His saying: {The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds}, there are several issues concerning it:

The word yawm has been read in two ways: in the accusative case (naṣb) and the genitive case (jarr).

• Accusative Reading: Al-Zajjaj said that yawm is in the accusative case because it is connected to {they will be resurrected} (i.e., they will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection). Al-Farrā’ said it might be in the genitive case, but it is made accusative because it is added to a verb (like what we mentioned regarding {The Day you will not possess...}).
• Genitive Reading: It is in the genitive case because it is an apposition (substitute) for {a Great Day}.

This standing has several attributes:

The First Attribute: Its Cause There are several views:

1. The soundest view: People will stand for the Reckoning before the Lord of the worlds. There, this short-measuring, which they thought insignificant, will be revealed in its magnitude and accumulation. This is supported by His saying: {But for him who feared the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens} (Ar-Rahman: 46).
2. Second view: Allah will return the souls to their bodies, and those bodies will rise from their resting places. This is what is meant by {The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds}.
3. Third view (Abu Muslim): The meaning of {mankind will stand} is like His saying: {and stand up with devotion to Allah} (Al-Baqarah: 238), meaning for worship. Thus, {mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds} means standing solely for His command and obedience, and nothing else, as established in His saying: {And the command on that Day will be for Allah}.

The Second Attribute: The Manner of that Standing It is narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, from the Prophet (PBUH), concerning {The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds}, that he said: "One of you will stand immersed in his sweat up to the middle of his ears." Ibn ‘Umar narrated that when he recited this Surah and reached this verse, he wept so bitterly that he could not recite what followed.

The Third Attribute: The Duration of that Standing It is narrated from him (PBUH) that he said: "People will stand for a duration equivalent to three hundred years of this world, during which no command will be issued to them." Ibn Mas‘ud said: "They will remain for forty years, then they will be addressed." Ibn ‘Abbas said that for the believers, it will be as long as the time taken to finish their prayer.

Know that the Exalted [Allah] has combined various types of threatening in this verse:

1. First, He said: {Woe to the short-measurers} (Al-Mutaffifin: 1). This word is used when calamity descends.
2. Second, He said: {Do those people not think}, which is a rhetorical question implying denial.
3. Third, He said: {for a Great Day}. A matter that Allah magnifies is undoubtedly of the utmost greatness.
4. Fourth, He said: {The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds}. This contains two types of threat:
   • That they will be standing in utmost humility, extreme abasement, and brokenness.
   • That He describes Himself as the Lord of the worlds.

Here, a question arises: How is it fitting for You, given Your immense greatness, to prepare this grand assembly—the assembly for judgment—for such a trivial, meager thing? It is as if the Almighty answers, saying: The greatness of Divinity is not complete except through greatness in Power and greatness in Wisdom. The greatness of Power is manifested by My being the Lord of the worlds, but the greatness of Wisdom is only manifested by granting justice to the oppressed against the oppressor concerning that meager, trivial amount. For the smaller and humbler the thing, the greater and more complete the knowledge required to address it. Therefore, to manifest the greatness in Wisdom, I have gathered the creation of the first and the last in the assembly of Resurrection and held the short-measurer accountable for that trivial amount.

Al-Ustādh Abu Al-Qāsim Al-Qushayrī said: The term mutaffif (one who gives short measure) encompasses short-measuring in weight and measure, concealing a defect while showing something else, and seeking fairness while withholding it from others. It is said that whoever does not wish for his Muslim brother what he wishes for himself is included in this category. Social interaction and companionship fall under this. Whoever sees the faults of people but not his own faults is included. And whoever demands his own rights from people but does not give them their rights as he demands for himself is included. The true young man (fata) is the one who fulfills the rights of people and does not demand any right for himself from anyone.

7 < { Nay! Indeed, the record of the wicked is in Sijjin. * And what will make you know what Sijjin is? * A written record. * Woe on that Day to those who deny! * Those who deny the Day of Recompense. * And none denies it except every transgressor, sinner. * When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples!" * Nay! But what they have earned has rusted over their hearts. * Nay! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be veiled. * Then indeed, they will be burned in the Hellfire. * Then it will be said, "This is that which you used to deny!" } > 7 !