Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 152 of 165

Al-An'am 6:152

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ مَالَ ٱلْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ ۖ وَأَوْفُوا۟ ٱلْكَيْلَ وَٱلْمِيزَانَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۖ وَإِذَا قُلْتُمْ فَٱعْدِلُوا۟ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَىٰ ۖ وَبِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ أَوْفُوا۟ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّىٰكُم بِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

“And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best [i.e., intending improvement] until he reaches maturity. And give full measure and weight in justice. We do not charge any soul except [with that within] its capacity. And when you speak [i.e., testify], be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative. And the covenant of Allāh fulfill. This has He instructed you that you may remember.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The second part of the charge moves into the marketplace: the orphan's money, the shop's scales, the words you speak, and the promise you made.

A reflection

Religion at the scales, not only the prayer mat

When people imagine 'the commandments', they usually picture grand moral boundaries: worship, murder, adultery. The ayah before covered those. This one surprises the reader by moving straight into the marketplace.

An orphan's money. A shopkeeper's measuring scoop and scales. The words you say in an argument or a testimony. A promise. These are the places where faith is actually tested on an ordinary Tuesday.

The worn-smooth assumption is that piety lives mainly in ritual. The ayah corrects it without saying so. The same charge that forbids associating partners with Allah also forbids giving short measure. They sit in one list, under one phrase: that is what He has charged you with.

Picture a butcher who zeroes his scale in front of every customer before weighing their meat. Even the regulars who never look. Even the elderly woman who could not read the display if she tried. He has done it for thirty years. Nobody has ever thanked him for it. He would be surprised to learn that it is part of his worship.

One concise commentary glosses the command as full measure with justice, without cheating. Another explains that to fulfil the measure and the scales with justice is to give complete measure, with nothing held back.

That is the point. Allah's charge does not stop at the door of the mosque. It walks with you to the till, the invoice, the expenses form and the second-hand car sale.

Look at the places where you measure things for other people. Time, money, effort, credit. Are you levelling the scoop?

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.