Al-Mutaffifin 83:6 - Linguistic Miracle

On a day mankind stands for Rabb of ʿĀlamīn

Commentary covering verses 5–6

First, the words Rabb of ʿĀlamīn. Rabb means the Master, the caretaker, and the nurturer as has been explained in earlier surahs, whereas ʿĀlamīn refers to mankind and Jinn since they serve as Allah’s signs as is the position of Zamakhsharī, and is supported by Ibn Abbas as well.

The word yawm (a day) is in accusative case again just like the last verse of surah alinfiṭār. Ibn ʿĀshūr again holds the position that since the second part of the construct phrase is a verbal sentence, this is allowed, but as pointed before, that only holds true when the verb is in past tense, not an imperfect verb as in here. Al Alūsi says that yawm is governed by the word ( مبعوثون they will be raised) in verse 4, which would

make yawm an adverb of time, which seems to be the correct position to me.⁶⁶ In simple English, this would translate to, ‘They will be resurrected on a day mankind stands for Rabb of ʿĀlamīn.’

The use of the preposition ‘for’ instead of ‘on’ in both verses, contains multiple meanings. Firstly, they will be raised for His command, and for the sake of His judgment only, nothing else. This goes back to the last verse of the previous surah where Allah said that all command, power and control will belong to Allah alone. This has been mentioned by al-Rāzī and al-Ālūsī.

In addition, Ibn ʿĀshūr says something really interesting. The proposition ‘for’ conveys that since Allah is the Rabb of ʿĀlamīn, it necessitates that people stand before Him on judgment day to receive His judgment and ruling.⁶⁷ It is a necessary consequence of Allah being Rabb of ʿĀlamīn. The context of this surah is about people who wrong others, even in small amounts. Allah is the Rabb, the kind and loving Master who nurtures and takes care of His subjects. This necessitates that He brings justice to those who have been wronged, in any shape or manner, of even a few pennies like the people who have been wronged by given less measure. Hence, since Allah is the Rabb, He will redeem all those who have been wronged and will bring them justice by pronouncing judgment on the wrongdoers.

The use of the future imperfect verb (stands) is for the mental evocation of the scene, so that the reader can paint the picture in his brain of the whole scene happening in front of him.

Lastly, notice the flow of the surah thus far. It started with those people who give slightly less measure to people and rob them of a few pennies. We would normally assume this amount to be insignificant and hence, would even ignore it. Think of it, if someone robbed you of a handful of wheat grains, or lentils, you would not even bat an eye. It is worth almost nothing. But after mentioning this relatively small crime, Allah repeatedly highlights the greatness and immense nature of judgment day. Zamakhsharī summarizes the whole picture beautifully:

ووصفه ذاته ، وقيام الناس فيه لله خاضعين ، ووصف اليوم بالعظم ، وفي هذا الإنكار والتعجيب وكلمة الظن برب العالمين بيان بليغ لعظم الذنب وتفاقم الإثم في التطفيف وفيما كان في مثل حاله من الحيف وترك القيام

بل في كل قول وعمل ، والعمل على السوية والعدل في كل أخذ وإعطاء ، بالقسط

“In this denunciation or rejection (of the act of defrauders), in the expression of

amazement (in verse 4) and the use of the word ‘( ظن think’ in verse 4), in describing

the Day of Judgment as great and mighty, in the depiction of people standing before Allah in submissive obedience, and in His describing Himself as the Rabb of ʿĀlamīn, there is a powerful and eloquent clarification of the gravity of their sin and the enormity of their crime in defrauding people by giving measure, as well as in all matters that resemble this injustice, including neglecting to uphold proper justice and fairness, and failing to act with equity not only in all matters of giving and taking, but also in every word and action.”

⁶⁶ al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 28, p. 374
⁶⁷ Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, vol. 30, p. 193