Session 11: Shu'ayb, and the Pattern Named.

Part 1 of 6. About this session.

The previous passage told of Salih and Lut. Now comes the last of the five stories of the messengers: Shuayb, sent to the people of Madyan. His first words are the call Nuh, Hud and Salih made before him: “O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him.” Then he turns to the market: “So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due”. He tells them not to sit on every road, threatening people and turning believers away from Allah’s path.

The arrogant chiefs threaten to drive out Shuayb and the believers, “or you must return to our religion.” Shuayb refuses, leaves the matter to Allah, and prays: “Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth”. The chiefs tell the others that following Shuayb will make them losers. The earthquake seizes them, and the Qur’an answers in their own word: “Those who denied Shu'ayb - it was they who were the losers.”

Then the surah steps back from all five stories and names the pattern. To every city that denied its prophet, Allah sent hardship, so that they might humble themselves, then ease, until they grew many. They only said: “Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease.” Had they believed, there were blessings from the sky and the earth. Instead they felt safe: “But no one feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people.”

One thread runs through it: who the real losers are. The passage asks how we deal with people, how we read good times and hard times, and what makes us feel safe.

Part 2 of 6. The passage, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 85.

And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due and cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. That is better for you, if you should be believers.

Ayah 86.

And do not sit on every path, threatening and averting from the way of Allah those who believe in Him, seeking to make it [seem] deviant. And remember when you were few and He increased you. And see how was the end of the corrupters.

Ayah 87.

And if there should be a group among you who has believed in that with which I have been sent and a group that has not believed, then be patient until Allah judges between us. And He is the best of judges."

Ayah 88.

Said the eminent ones who were arrogant among his people, "We will surely evict you, O Shu'ayb, and those who have believed with you from our city, or you must return to our religion." He said, "Even if we were unwilling?"

Ayah 89.

We would have invented against Allah a lie if we returned to your religion after Allah had saved us from it. And it is not for us to return to it except that Allah, our Lord, should will. Our Lord has encompassed all things in knowledge. Upon Allah we have relied. Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth, and You are the best of those who give decision."

Ayah 90.

Said the eminent ones who disbelieved among his people, "If you should follow Shu'ayb, indeed, you would then be losers."

Ayah 91.

So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.

Ayah 92.

Those who denied Shu'ayb - it was as though they had never resided there. Those who denied Shu'ayb - it was they who were the losers.

Ayah 93.

And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and advised you, so how could I grieve for a disbelieving people?"

Ayah 94.

And We sent to no city a prophet [who was denied] except that We seized its people with poverty and hardship that they might humble themselves [to Allah].

Ayah 95.

Then We exchanged in place of the bad [condition], good, until they increased [and prospered] and said, "Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease." So We seized them suddenly while they did not perceive.

Ayah 96.

And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.

Ayah 97.

Then, did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them at night while they were asleep?

Ayah 98.

Or did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them in the morning while they were at play?

Ayah 99.

Then did they feel secure from the plan of Allah? But no one feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people.

Ayah 100.

Has it not become clear to those who inherited the earth after its [previous] people that if We willed, We could afflict them for their sins? But We seal over their hearts so they do not hear.

Ayah 101.

Those cities - We relate to you, [O Muhammad], some of their news. And certainly did their messengers come to them with clear proofs, but they were not to believe in that which they had denied before. Thus does Allah seal over the hearts of the disbelievers.

Ayah 102.

And We did not find for most of them any covenant; but indeed, We found most of them defiantly disobedient.

Part 3 of 6. The explanation, from the classical tafsir.

What the classical commentators say about these eighteen ayat. Take this one if you want to go deeper.

Two parts in seven units: Shuayb and the people of Madyan (ayat 85 to 93), then the pattern the surah names after all five stories of the messengers (ayat 94 to 102).

Reading guide: source summaries below are paraphrases, not direct quotations. Reflections and facilitator notes are editorial teaching suggestions. The Verses and audio page uses Saheeh International, whose bracketed words are the translators’ own; English quoted from tafsir editions follows those editions.

Ayah 85 — The same call, then the measure and the weight.

First, the ayah again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 85: And to [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their brother Shu'ayb. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due and cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. That is better for you, if you should be believers.

Allah sent Shuayb to the people of Madyan, their brother. His first words are the call Nuh, Hud and Salih made before him: worship Allah. Then he turns to the market: give full measure and weight, and do not cut short what is owed to people.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says Madyan “was the name of the tribe and also a city that is close to Ma`an on route to the Hijaz (from Ash-Sham)”, and that these are the people at the well in Surah Al-Qasas, ayah 23. Of the call he says: “this is the call of all Messengers”.

Source summary: On the measure, Ibn Kathir says Shuayb commanded them “to refrain from cheating people in buying and selling”, and he compares Surah Al-Mutaffifin, ayat 1 to 6. Al-Jalalayn: “diminish the value of people’s goods”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi gives the word bakhs its widest sense: lessening what belongs to people, by running down their goods, talking a seller out of them, cheating on the value, or tricks in measuring. All of it, he says, is taking wealth wrongfully.

Optional source note — “clear evidence”, the land set right, the same words, and a name.

Source summary: On “clear evidence”, the commentators differ. Ibn Kathir: “Allah has presented the proof and evidences of the truth of what I brought you.” Al-Jalalayn calls it “a miracle”. Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi notes that the Qur’an does not name a miracle of Shuayb.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On “after its reformation”, al-Qurtubi reports Ibn Abbas: before Shuayb, sins were done in the open; when he was sent, the land was set right, and every prophet sent to a people is their setting right. Al-Jalalayn: “set right through the sending of messengers thereto”.

Our check of the Arabic: from “He said” to “from your Lord”, Shuayb’s words are Salih’s at ayah 73, word for word, and they begin as Hud’s did at ayah 65. That comparison is ours, not a commentator’s.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir: “Shu`ayb was called `Speaker of the Prophets', because of his eloquent words and eloquent advice”. Al-Qurtubi gives the same name.

Reflection: The first thing Shuayb names after worship is the scale. Faith and fair dealing come in one breath.

Ayat 86 to 87 — The roads, and two groups.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 86: And do not sit on every path, threatening and averting from the way of Allah those who believe in Him, seeking to make it [seem] deviant. And remember when you were few and He increased you. And see how was the end of the corrupters.

Ayah 87: And if there should be a group among you who has believed in that with which I have been sent and a group that has not believed, then be patient until Allah judges between us. And He is the best of judges."

Shuayb tells them not to sit on every road, threatening people and turning believers away from Allah’s path. If they are split into two groups over him, let them wait until Allah judges.

Source summary: What did they do on the roads? Ibn Kathir gives two readings. Al-Suddi: they were bandits, threatening people “with death if they do not give up their money”. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and others: they threatened “the believers who come to Shu`ayb to follow him”. Ibn Kathir prefers the first, and reads the rest of the ayah, turning people from Allah’s path, as the second.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: On ayah 87, al-Qurtubi says “be patient” does not give them leave to stay as they are; it is a warning. Al-Tabari: Allah is the best of judges because there is no leaning and no favour in His judgment. Al-Jalalayn: Allah judges “by delivering the affirmer of this truth and destroying the denier of it”.

Optional source note — a third reading, and “few”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi calls the second reading the apparent meaning. Al-Tabari also reports al-Suddi that they took a tax on the roads, and al-Jalalayn has them “seizing their garments or by charging them excise tax”.

Source summary: “Remember when you were few and He increased you”: Ibn Kathir says “you were weak because you were few. But you later on became mighty because of your large numbers”. Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi adds a second sense: you were poor, and He made you rich.

Reflection: A road is where people come and go. Shuayb names two ways to block it: taking from people, and frightening them away from the good.

Ayat 88 to 89 — Leave, or come back; “Our Lord, decide between us”.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 88: Said the eminent ones who were arrogant among his people, "We will surely evict you, O Shu'ayb, and those who have believed with you from our city, or you must return to our religion." He said, "Even if we were unwilling?"

Ayah 89: We would have invented against Allah a lie if we returned to your religion after Allah had saved us from it. And it is not for us to return to it except that Allah, our Lord, should will. Our Lord has encompassed all things in knowledge. Upon Allah we have relied. Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth, and You are the best of those who give decision."

The chiefs threaten to drive out Shuayb and the believers unless they return to the chiefs’ religion. Shuayb refuses: going back would be a lie against Allah. He leaves the matter to Allah, and asks his Lord to decide between them in truth.

Source summary: “Return”, when Shuayb had never been in their religion? Al-Jalalayn: the chiefs speak to Shuayb and his followers together, “because Shu‘ayb was never part of their religious community”, and he answers in the same plural. Ibn Kathir: they spoke to Shuayb “but intended it for those who followed his religion too”. Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi adds that the verb can also mean simply to come to be.

Source summary: “Except that Allah, our Lord, should will”: the commentators read it in more than one way. Ibn Kathir: “This part of the Ayah refers all matters to Allah's will”. The other readings are in the source note below.

Source summary: “Our Lord, decide between us”: Ibn Kathir explains, “judge between us and our people and give us victory over them”, for “You are the Most Just Who never wrongs any in His judgment.” The word is iftah, which usually means “open”.

Optional source note — more readings, and when Shuayb made this du'a.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi gives three readings: nothing happens except by Allah’s will, which al-Zajjaj calls the view of Ahl al-Sunnah; a handing of the matter to Allah, as Shuayb says in Surah Hud that his success is only through Allah (Surah Hud, ayah 88); or a way of saying it will never happen. Al-Tabari: unless it has already gone before in Allah’s knowledge; he also reports al-Suddi: Allah does not will shirk.

Source summary: “Even if we were unwilling?” Ibn Kathir: “would you force us to do that, even though we hate what you are calling us to”. Al-Jalalayn: the question “is meant as a disavowal”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi reports from Ibn Abbas that Shuayb prayed much, and made this du'a when he lost hope that his people would change; Allah answered it with the earthquake. Al-Tabari: he turned to his Lord when he despaired of them and feared for himself and the believers.

Reflection: Shuayb is firm, and he ends in humility. He does not rest on his own firmness; he leaves it with Allah.

Ayat 90 to 93 — Who were the losers.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 90: Said the eminent ones who disbelieved among his people, "If you should follow Shu'ayb, indeed, you would then be losers."

Ayah 91: So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.

Ayah 92: Those who denied Shu'ayb - it was as though they had never resided there. Those who denied Shu'ayb - it was they who were the losers.

Ayah 93: And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the messages of my Lord and advised you, so how could I grieve for a disbelieving people?"

The chiefs tell their people that following Shuayb would make them losers. The earthquake seizes them. Then the Qur’an answers the chiefs with their own word: those who denied Shuayb were the losers. Shuayb turns away: how could I grieve for a disbelieving people?

Source summary: Ayah 92 answers ayah 90. Ibn Kathir: “Allah refuted their earlier statement”. Al-Jalalayn: the repeated words are “intended as a refutation of what they had said previously”. Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Tabari: Shuayb’s followers did not lose; those who denied him lost. On the chiefs’ word, he explains: cheated in your bargain, and ruined.

Source summary: The end. Ibn Kathir says the earthquake shook them “as punishment for threatening to expel Shu`ayb and his followers”.

Source summary: Ayah 93 is read two ways. Ibn Kathir: “I will not feel any sorrow for you since you disbelieved”. Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Tabari reports Ibn Ishaq: Shuayb did feel grief for his people when he saw the punishment, then said this to console himself. Al-Jalalayn: the question “is meant rhetorically as a negation”.

Optional source note — three tellings of the end, “never resided”, and the people of the Wood.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir joins the three places that tell it: the earthquake here, the cry in Surah Hud (Surah Hud, ayah 94), and the punishment of the Day of the Shadow in Surah ash-Shuara (Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 189). Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi: the earthquake, and it is also said the cry. Al-Jalalayn: “the violent earthquake”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: “As though they had never resided there”: al-Tabari, as if they had never stayed and lived there. Al-Qurtubi explains the verb as staying long in a place. It is not the word for wealth, though it looks like it.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir says the people of Madyan “are also the people of Al-Aykah (the Woods)”, named in Surah ash-Shuara (Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 176). Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi reports from Qatadah, and al-Tabari from al-Suddi, that Shuayb was sent to two peoples, Madyan and the people of the Wood. The pages give both views.

Our check of the Arabic: ayah 91 is ayah 78, the end of Thamud, word for word. Ayah 93 begins as Salih’s farewell at ayah 79, but says “messages”, in the plural, as Nuh and Hud said it (ayah 62, ayah 68).

Reflection: The chiefs counted loss in money and standing. The passage counts it by where a person ends.

Ayat 94 to 95 — Hardship, then ease, and “Our fathers [also]”.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 94: And We sent to no city a prophet [who was denied] except that We seized its people with poverty and hardship that they might humble themselves [to Allah].

Ayah 95: Then We exchanged in place of the bad [condition], good, until they increased [and prospered] and said, "Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease." So We seized them suddenly while they did not perceive.

Now the surah steps back from the five stories. To every city that denied its prophet, Allah sent hardship, so that they might humble themselves. Then He gave them ease, until they grew many, and they said: our fathers had both. So He seized them suddenly.

Source summary: The two words for the hardship, al-basa and al-darra, are read the opposite way round by two commentators. Ibn Kathir: the first “refers to the physical sicknesses and ailments that they suffered”, the second to “the poverty and humiliation that they experienced”. Al-Jalalayn gives the first as severe poverty and the second as illness.

Source summary: “That they might humble themselves”: Ibn Kathir, so that they would “supplicate, humble themselves and invoke Allah”. The hardship came with a door left open.

Source summary: “Until they increased”, the word afaw: Ibn Kathir, “increase in numbers, wealth and offspring”.

Source summary: “Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease.” Ibn Kathir: they said “it is a cycle where we sometimes suffer a hardship and at other times, we enjoy a bounty”, and “they did not comprehend Allah's wisdom, nor the fact that He is testing them in both cases.” Al-Jalalayn: “this is nothing but the habit of time and not the consequence of God”. Ibn Kathir then cites the narration of the believer’s affair, the second core reading on the hadith page.

Optional source note — who is told this, and the readings of afaw.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Tabari reports the same from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, al-Suddi and others: they grew many, as plants grow. Qatadah read it as: they were pleased; al-Tabari does not accept that, unless it means pleased with their numbers. Al-Qurtubi: the word has two opposite senses, to grow abundant and to be wiped away.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari: Allah tells the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam His way with the earlier nations, as a warning to his own people. Al-Jalalayn adds the step the ayah leaves out: the hardship came “when they denied him”.

Reflection: Neither the hard years nor the good years moved them. The narration on the hadith page shows the other way: thanks in ease, patience in hardship.

Ayat 96 to 99 — If only they had believed; feeling safe.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 96: And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.

Ayah 97: Then, did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them at night while they were asleep?

Ayah 98: Or did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them in the morning while they were at play?

Ayah 99: Then did they feel secure from the plan of Allah? But no one feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people.

Had the people of the cities believed and feared Allah, He would have opened blessings on them from the sky and the earth. They denied, and were seized. Did they feel safe, at night or in the morning, from the plan of Allah? No one feels safe from it but the losing people.

Source summary: The blessings, barakat: Ibn Kathir, “the rain that falls from the sky and the vegetation of the earth”. Al-Jalalayn: “by way of rain” and “by way of vegetation”.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Qurtubi gives a caution with this ayah. It is said of the peoples already named. Believers, too, may be tested with a narrow living, as an expiation of their sins. So the ayah is not a promise that faith brings wealth.

Al-Tabari: no surviving comment on ayat 96 to 98. The printed edition and its manuscript go straight on from ayah 95 to ayah 99, and no later commentator quotes him on these three ayat (the editor, Shakir, in his note at ayah 99).

Source summary: “The plan of Allah”: the commentators explain it, and none of them means trickery. Ibn Kathir: “His torment, vengeance, and His power to destroy them while they are inattentive and heedless”. Al-Jalalayn: “His drawing them on by degrees through graces and then seizing them suddenly”. Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Tabari says much the same as al-Jalalayn. Al-Qurtubi: His punishment, as the recompense for their own plotting, or His drawing them on by favour and health.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir closes with al-Hasan al-Basri: “The believer performs the acts of worship, all the while feeling fear, in fright and anxiety. The Fajir (wicked sinner, or disbeliever) commits the acts of disobedience while feeling safe (from Allah's torment)!”

Optional source note — the people of Yunus, the night and the morning.

Source summary: Ibn Kathir adds that no town believed as a whole except the people of Yunus (Surah Yunus, ayah 98, Surah As-Saffat, ayat 147 to 148).

Source summary: At night and in the morning: Ibn Kathir, “while they are busy in their affairs and unaware”. Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi: the questions are a rebuke, and “at play” means busy with what does not help them.

Reflection: Ayah 96 says they did not believe, amanu. Ayat 97 to 99 ask whether they felt safe, amina. It is one root: two ways of resting, one in Allah and one in yourself. That link is our reading of the corpus count.

Ayat 100 to 102 — The heirs, the cities’ news, and the covenant.

First, the ayat again, in Saheeh International.

Ayah 100: Has it not become clear to those who inherited the earth after its [previous] people that if We willed, We could afflict them for their sins? But We seal over their hearts so they do not hear.

Ayah 101: Those cities - We relate to you, [O Muhammad], some of their news. And certainly did their messengers come to them with clear proofs, but they were not to believe in that which they had denied before. Thus does Allah seal over the hearts of the disbelievers.

Ayah 102: And We did not find for most of them any covenant; but indeed, We found most of them defiantly disobedient.

Those who inherit the land after a people destroyed should see that Allah could take them too. These are the cities whose news is told to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Their messengers brought clear proofs, and they would not believe what they had already denied. In most of them no covenant was kept.

Source summary: Ibn Abbas, in Ibn Kathir: “did We not make clear to them that had We willed, We would have punished them because of their sins”. Ibn Kathir compares Surah Ta-Ha, ayah 128 and Surah As-Sajdah, ayah 26: people walk among the homes of those destroyed before them.

Source summary: “They were not to believe in that which they had denied before”: the commentators give four views. Ibn Kathir: they would not believe later “because they denied the truth when it first came to them”, the explanation of Ibn Atiyyah, and he calls it “sound”, comparing Surah Al-An'am, ayat 109 to 110.

Optional source note — which cities, and the other three views of ayah 101.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Which cities? Al-Tabari and al-Qurtubi: those of Nuh, Ad, Thamud, Lut and Shuayb, the five stories of this part of the surah. Al-Qurtubi: they are told as a comfort to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the believers. Ibn Kathir compares Surah Al-Isra, ayah 15: no people is punished before a messenger is sent.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: Al-Tabari prefers the view of Ubayy ibn Kab and al-Rabi: it was already in Allah’s knowledge, from the day of the covenant. Al-Suddi: on that day they believed only unwillingly. Mujahid: even if they were brought back, they would not believe; al-Tabari does not accept this one. Al-Jalalayn: they persisted in disbelief.

Source summary: The covenant: Ibn Kathir, “The covenant mentioned here is the Fitrah that Allah instilled in them while still in their fathers' loins”.

Optional source note — the covenant.

Paraphrase from the Arabic: al-Qurtubi reports Ibn Abbas the same, and al-Hasan: the covenant made with them through the prophets, to worship Allah alone. Al-Tabari: the charge they were given, which they did not keep.

Reflection: Ayah 100 speaks to whoever lives where others lived before. That is all of us.

Part 4 of 6. Hadith connected to the passage.

Narrations that sit alongside this passage.

Reading guide: the English passages below are plain-language summaries of narrations reported from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. They are not direct quotations or translations. The full source entry for each one, with its chain, is on Sunnah.com, linked from the Hadith page. Connections to the verses are editorial.

Core reading: Truth in a sale brings blessing.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that the buyer and the seller may each change their mind until they part. If they both speak the truth and make clear what is in the goods, their sale is blessed. If they lie and hide something, the blessing of their sale is wiped out.

Narrated by Hakim ibn Hizam.

Sahih al-Bukhari 2079, Book 34, Hadith 32, also Sahih Muslim 1532a.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Shuayb’s charge in ayah 85 is about the measure and the weight. This narration ties honesty in a sale to baraka, blessing, the word of ayah 96, barakat. None of the four commentators brings it at these ayat; the link is ours.

Core reading: The affair of the believer.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that the affair of the believer is a wonder: all of it is good for him, and this is so for no one but the believer. If something good comes to him, he gives thanks, and that is good for him. If harm reaches him, he is patient, and that is good for him.

Narrated by Suhayb.

Sahih Muslim 2999, Book 55, Hadith 82.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ibn Kathir cites this narration at ayah 95, against the people who said, “Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease.” The narration’s two words for good times and harm, sarra and darra, are the two in ayah 95; that comparison of the Arabic is ours. They saw a cycle. The believer sees a test in both, and answers each one.

Optional reading: Weigh, and give more.

Summary: Suwayd ibn Qays and a companion brought cloth to Makkah to sell. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam came to them on foot and bought a pair of trousers. A man was there weighing out payments, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told him to weigh, and to give more.

Narrated by Suwayd ibn Qays.

Sunan Abi Dawud 3336, Book 23, Hadith 11, Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani), as listed on Sunnah.com, also Sunan an-Nasa'i 4592 and Jami at-Tirmidhi 1305.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ayah 85 forbids giving less. Here the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the one paying, asks for a little more than the weight. None of the four commentators brings it at these ayat; the link is ours.

Optional reading: Easy-going when buying and selling.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: may Allah have mercy on a person who is easy-going when he buys, when he sells, and when he asks for what he is owed.

Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah.

Sahih al-Bukhari 2076, Book 34, Hadith 29.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Ayah 85 is about the measure. This narration adds the manner: not only a fair weight, but an easy way with people. None of the four commentators brings it at these ayat; the link is ours.

Optional reading: The heap of grain, wet underneath.

Summary: The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed a heap of food for sale and put his hand into it, and his fingers came out wet. The owner said rain had fallen on it. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asked why he had not put the wet part on top, where people could see it, and said that whoever cheats is not of him.

Narrated by Abu Hurayrah.

Sahih Muslim 102, Book 1, Hadith 190, also Jami at-Tirmidhi 1315.

Connection to the verses, editorial reflection: Al-Qurtubi reads the bakhs of ayah 85 widely, cheating on the value included. Hiding a fault in the goods is one way of doing it. None of the four commentators brings this narration at these ayat; the link is ours.

Part 5 of 6. Arabic words in the passage.

Five words: cutting short what people are owed, the judge Shuayb asks for, the people who grew many, the blessings from the sky and the earth, and feeling safe. Indonesian has words from three of these roots: maaf, berkah and aman. The first is a false friend here.

Tabkhasu, ayah 85.

Saheeh International: “deprive” — and do not deprive people of their due.

Meaning in context: To cut short what is owed: give a little less, take a part of someone’s due. Shuayb says it right after “So fulfill the measure and weight”, and what is cut short is “their things”, anything that belongs to people. Al-Qurtubi reads it widely: running down someone’s goods, talking a seller out of them, cheating on the value, or tricks in measuring.

Root: b-kh-s, lessening. Lane: “He diminished to him his right, or due; deprived him, or defrauded him, of a part of it”, and he cites this ayah.

For reflection: Where is it easiest for you to give a little less than full: in work, in time, or in a price?

In this surah: Only here. But Shuayb says the same words in Surah Hud (Surah Hud, ayah 85) and in Surah ash-Shuara (Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 183): in all three places where his story is told.

Grammar: Verb, form I — 2nd person masculine plural imperfect, jussive mood, after la, “do not”. The twenty-third word of ayah 85.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 7 times: 5 times as this verb and twice as the noun bakhs. In Surah Hud Shuayb says it again:At Surah Yusuf, ayah 20 the noun describes the price Yusuf was sold for: “very low”, in the corpus gloss.

Surah Hud, ayah 85 — the same command as in ayah 85.

From the tafsir: Ibn Kathir and al-Qurtubi on the measure and the weight. Question 1 on the discussion page starts here.

Iftah, ayah 89.

Saheeh International: “decide” — Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth.

Meaning in context: The verb usually means “open”. Here every commentator gives “judge”: decide between us. The ayah ends on the same root: “You are the best of those who give decision”, al-fatihina. You know the root from al-Fatiha, the Opening, the first surah of the Qur’an.

Root: f-t-h, opening. Lane says that in the dialect of Himyar the verb means he judged between people, and he gives “Judge thou between us” for this ayah.

For reflection: When you have said all you can in a disagreement, what does it look like to leave the judgment with Allah?

In this surah: The same verb comes back seven ayat later, in its usual sense: “We would have opened upon them blessings” (ayah 96). The surah also has it once in another form, at ayah 40.

Grammar: Verb, form I — 2nd person masculine singular imperative. The thirty-fifth word of ayah 89. The ayah’s last word, al-fatihina, is an active participle, and it occurs only here in the whole Qur’an.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 38 times, and this verb, form I, 16 times. At Surah Saba, ayah 26 the root names Allah as the Judge:

Surah Saba, ayah 26 — “(is) the Judge”, in the corpus gloss.

From the tafsir: Ibn Kathir on “judge between us”, and when Shuayb made this du'a.

Afaw, ayah 95.

Saheeh International: “they increased [and prospered]” — until they increased [and prospered].

Meaning in context: They grew many: in numbers, in wealth and in children. Ibn Kathir says so, and al-Tabari reports it from Ibn Abbas and Mujahid: they grew as plants grow. The Indonesian maaf, sorry or forgive, comes from this root, from afw, pardon. Here the word has nothing to do with forgiving. Al-Qurtubi says it is a word with two opposite senses: to grow abundant, and to be wiped away.

Root: ayn-f-w. Lane, on this ayah: “They became many, or numerous”. He gives the picture too: hair or herbage that “became abundant”. Lane numbers the ayah 93, by an older count.

For reflection: When things go well for a long stretch, what do you forget first?

In this surah: Once more, as a noun, at ayah 199, in the sense of what is given freely.

Grammar: Verb, form I — 3rd person masculine plural perfect. The seventh word of ayah 95. The corpus files it with the other verbs of this root under “to forgive, to pardon”, and glosses it here as “they increased”.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 35 times, and this verb 27 times. Nearly everywhere else it means pardon:

Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 52 — “We forgave”, in the corpus gloss.

From the tafsir: The commentators on afaw, and on “Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease.” Question 2 on the discussion page starts here.

Barakatin, ayah 96.

Saheeh International: “blessings” — We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth.

Meaning in context: Blessings: good that comes, stays and grows. Ibn Kathir and al-Jalalayn say that here they are rain from the sky and growth from the earth. In Indonesian, berkah and berkat come from this root. Al-Qurtubi warns that the ayah is not a promise that faith makes you rich; the tafsir page has his words.

Root: b-r-k. The concrete picture is a camel settling down: Lane, “He lay down, or kneeled and lay down, upon his breast”. From the same root comes the word for a pool, where water collects and stays. Of baraka itself, Lane gives “abundance of good”.

For reflection: Where have you seen a little go a long way?

In this surah: The root comes twice more, as a verb: at ayah 54, where Allah is called blessed, and at ayah 137.

Grammar: Noun — accusative feminine plural, indefinite. The ninth word of ayah 96.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 32 times, and this plural noun only 3 times: here, to Nuh as he comes down from the ship (Surah Hud, ayah 48), and to the household of Ibrahim:

Surah Hud, ayah 73 — “and His blessings”, in the corpus gloss.

From the tafsir: Ibn Kathir on rain and growth, and al-Qurtubi’s caution. On the hadith page, honesty in a sale brings baraka.

Afa-aminu, ayah 99.

Saheeh International: “Then did they feel secure” — Then did they feel secure from the plan of Allah?

Meaning in context: To feel safe, free from fear. The verb comes four times in ayat 97 to 99: did they feel secure at night, in the morning, from the plan of Allah; and no one feels secure from it but the losing people. The same root gives amanu, “believed”, in ayah 96. In Indonesian, aman, safe, and iman, faith, both come from it.

Root: hamza-m-n, safety. Lane: “originally, he was, or became, quiet, or tranquil, in heart, or mind”. And with an object, citing ayah 97: “he thought himself secure, or safe, from him or it”.

For reflection: When do you feel so safe that you stop checking yourself?

In this surah: This form of the verb, “feel secure”, comes in Al-A'raf only in these four places. The form that means “believe” comes again and again, at ayah 96 among them. That the two meet here is our observation.

Grammar: Verb, form I — 3rd person masculine plural perfect, with the question a- and fa-, “then”, in front. The first word of ayah 99.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an: The root occurs 879 times. This form of the verb, “to feel secure”, 20 times, and the form “to believe” 537 times. At Surah An-Nahl, ayah 45 the same question is asked again, of people who plan evil:

Surah An-Nahl, ayah 45 — “Do then feel secure”, in the corpus gloss.

From the tafsir: The commentators on “the plan of Allah”, and al-Hasan al-Basri on fear and feeling safe.

More words to notice.

La-khasiruna, ayah 90, ayah 92, ayah 99: “Losers.” Three times in this passage: the chiefs (ayah 90), the Qur’an’s answer (ayah 92), and every city (ayah 99). Lane calls loss in buying and selling the word’s “original signification”. In Surah ash-Shuara Shuayb uses the same root for short-changing: “those who cause loss” (Surah Ash-Shu'ara, ayah 181).

Lam yaghnaw, ayah 92: “As though they had never resided there.” Al-Qurtubi: the verb means to stay long in a place. It looks like ghina, wealth, but here it is about living somewhere. The same words come for Thamud at Surah Hud, ayah 68 and for Madyan at Surah Hud, ayah 95.

Asa, ayah 93: “How could I grieve.” The verb comes 4 times in the Qur’an. At Surah Al-Ma'idah, ayah 26 Musa is told not to grieve over the defiantly disobedient people.

Bil-basai wal-darrai, ayah 94: “With poverty and hardship.” Ibn Kathir and al-Jalalayn read the two words the opposite way round; the tafsir page has both. In ayah 95 al-darra comes back beside al-sarra, ease:. That pair comes only twice in the Qur’an, here and at Surah Ali 'Imran, ayah 134.

Iwajan, ayah 86: “[Seem] deviant”: crookedness. Twice in this surah, here and at ayah 45, both times of people who want Allah’s path to look crooked. The noun comes 9 times.

Makra llahi, ayah 99: “The plan of Allah.” The commentators explain it as His punishment, or as His drawing people on by ease; none of them reads it as trickery. The noun comes 19 times.

Ahdin, ayah 102: “Covenant.” Ibn Kathir: the fitrah, placed in people from the start. The noun comes 29 times; its own ayah comes later in this surah, at ayah 172.

Part 6 of 6. Questions for discussion, and personal reflection.

These are the questions the halaqa discusses. The first three are the core questions; the rest are optional. Pause after each one and think it through, or talk it over with someone.

Question 1, core, on ayah 85.

Shuayb’s first charge after the call to worship is about the market: “So fulfill the measure and weight and do not deprive people of their due”. The word is tabkhasu. Al-Qurtubi gives it a wide sense: running down someone’s goods, talking a seller out of them, cheating on the value, or tricks in measuring. Most of us do not hold a scale, but we all buy, sell, get paid and pay others. Where is it easiest to give a little less than full measure, in work, in time or in a price, and what helps us give it in full?

Question 2, core, on ayah 95.

Hard times came, then good times, until the people grew many, afaw, and they said: “Our fathers [also] were touched with hardship and ease.” Ibn Kathir says they saw only a cycle, hardship sometimes and good times at others, and did not see that Allah was testing them in both. On the hadith page, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says the affair of the believer is all good: in ease he gives thanks, in hardship he is patient. When a good stretch or a hard one comes, what makes it easy to say “that’s just life”, and what helps us remember it is from Allah?

Question 3, core, on ayah 90.

The chiefs warn their people: “If you should follow Shu'ayb, indeed, you would then be losers.” Two ayat later the Qur’an answers them: “Those who denied Shu'ayb - it was they who were the losers.” The word is khasirun, and Lane’s dictionary gives loss in buying and selling as its first meaning. Holding to what is right can look like losing: a deal, a chance, some money, how people see us. When has doing the right thing felt like a loss to you, and how do you count it now?

Question 4, optional, on ayah 89.

Shuayb refuses to go back. Then he says: “And it is not for us to return to it except that Allah, our Lord, should will. Our Lord has encompassed all things in knowledge. Upon Allah we have relied.” Ibn Kathir: this part of the ayah “refers all matters to Allah's will”. He is firm, and he does not lean on his own firmness. How do we hold firm to our faith without becoming too sure of ourselves?

Question 5, optional, on ayah 93.

When it was over, Shuayb turned away and said: “so how could I grieve for a disbelieving people?” Al-Tabari reports Ibn Ishaq: Shuayb did feel grief for them, and said this to console himself. Think of someone you tried hard to help who went another way. How do you carry that, without bitterness and without blaming yourself?

Question 6, optional, on ayah 96.

Ayah 96 says that if the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, “We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth”. The word is barakat, the Indonesian berkah. Al-Qurtubi warns that this is not a rule that faith makes you rich: believers too are tested with a narrow living. On the hadith page, honesty in a sale brings blessing, and lies wipe it out. If berkah is not simply having more, what does it look like in your home or your work?

Question 7, optional, on ayah 102.

The pattern ends: “And We did not find for most of them any covenant”. Ibn Kathir says this covenant is the fitrah, what Allah placed in people from the start. Many of us make a promise to Allah in a hard time. What helps us keep it when the good times come back?

Tadabbur — personal reflection.

These are personal applications, written for this session. They are separate from the verse translation and from the tafsir.

Reflection 1. Ayah 85 names the scale right after worship. Choose one place this week where you will give full measure: an hour of work, a price, a promise.

Reflection 2. In ayah 89 Shuayb says, “Upon Allah we have relied.” Say it once, slowly, about something you are holding on to.

Reflection 3. In ayah 95 the people said their fathers had good times and hard times too, and saw nothing more. Name one good thing and one hard thing from this year, and what each one asked of you.

Reflection 4. Finish this silently: One place I may be giving less than full is blank. One good thing I will thank Allah for, and not call luck, is blank.