Reflections upon Surah al-Mutaffifin
Note: These are my personal thoughts and reflection, I am not a scholar and you should refer to the tafsir of these verses to get a scholar’s opinion on this.
I have been reflecting upon surah al-mutaffifin since the past week and while I have been pondering upon the meaning of its verses all these while, this morning its understanding come to me in a different perspective, with regards to instances I could make reference to and I wanted to share this here.
In the first Ayah (verse) above, Allah (God) rebukes those that give less than due whose descriptions are given in its two following verses. I understood this as those that cheat others when they have to give out (right or dues ) but demand full measure, and even extra when they are on the recieving end. And while there’s nothing wrong with demanding in full that which you are entitled to, it’s only right that you also treat others in the same way.
However, upon deeper reflection, I thought this could also apply indirectly to some of our daily dealings which we might also give less than due without us really paying attention.
Some of the instances that came to mind were,
- when we don’t try our best to return value for services offered by us to people after being paid for it, even if the person paying you isn’t aware. I believe it’s best not to take up on the offer if you are not satisfied with what you’re going to be paid rather than putting in less effort.
- when we seek/demand attention from friends, partners or relatives without willing to do same and be there to support when the other is in need.
- when we don’t pay service providers in full for the utilities we use (e.g electricity, water, security) and even going as far as using these services illegally in order to use more than you paid for. And I understand the economy is really hard and the prices are ridiculously high these days but it’s our obligation to pay the exact price for the services we use.
- bargaining for a commodity at a price you way less than it is supposed to worth because you know the seller would be at no better choice than to offer it to you at that price, often times unhappily.
- bearing false witness in favour of someone rather than being just even if it might displease either party.
- always criticizing food for its error(s) without equally praising the effort put in getting it done.
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) never found fault with food (served to him). If he liked anything, he ate it and if he did not like it he left it. — Sahih Muslim 2064
and while all these might seem like you’re gaining more\saving cost at that moment, there really might be no Barakah (blessing) upon that which you have held back and it has already been written in your Book of Deeds and only Allah knows its magnitude.
Perhaps, if you had paid/given duly what is being deserved by others, Allah would’ve blessed you with more in this Dunya(world) or given you a better reward on the Day of Judgement. Allah knows best.
And while the rest of the verses from the surah are worth reflecting upon as well, the verses above stood out to me and provoked these thoughts and all credit is due to Allah.
I find myself in a few of the instances I stated above and I am willing to work on the areas I’m being affected. I hope this is also enough for you to start to reflect upon which of those habits you don’t really think about and you might’ve unknowingly been giving less.
The verse that follows says;
"Do they not think they would be resurrected?" — al-Mutaffifin 83:4
Everyone would be held onto account what he has put forward during the short time we spend on here. I ask Allah SWT to make us of those who are conscious of our deeds and give us the opportunity to rectify the faults in them, Ameen.
P.S: I am open to different views on this and please do not hesitate to share your thoughts if you find any error in all stated above.
