المطففين
Al-Mutaffifin
It opens with the smallest kind of cheating — taking a full cup for yourself, giving a short one to someone else — and treats it as serious. Because it is.
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Woe to those who give short measure —
who take the full amount when they take from people,
but give less when they measure or weigh for them.
Do they not think they will be raised again
for a tremendous Day,
the Day people stand before the Lord of all the worlds?
No indeed! The record of the wicked is in Sijjin.
And what could tell you what Sijjin is?
A book already written.
Woe that Day to those who deny —
who call the Day of Judgement a lie.
Only someone who goes too far and does wrong calls it a lie —
who says, when Our verses are read to him, “Old stories!”
No — what they kept doing has built up on their hearts like rust.
No — that Day they will be shut away from their Lord.
Then they will enter the Blaze,
and be told, “This is the thing you kept calling a lie.”
No indeed! The record of the good is in Illiyyun.
And what could tell you what Illiyyun is?
A book already written,
witnessed by those brought near.
The good will be in delight,
on couches, looking on.
You will see the glow of delight in their faces.
They are given a pure sealed drink to sip,
sealed with musk — and for that, let people compete.
It is mixed with Tasnim,
a spring the near ones drink from.
Those who did wrong used to laugh at the believers.
When they passed them, they nudged one another,
and when they went home to their families, they went joking.
And when they saw them they said, “These people are lost!”
But they were never sent to watch over them.
So today it is the believers who laugh at those who refused,
on couches, looking on.
Have those who refused been repaid for what they used to do?
Verse meanings adapted for young readers · full translation at Quran.com
About Al-Mutaffifin
Al-Mutaffifin means “those who give short measure” — people who cheat by tiny amounts. The word tatfif is specifically about small cheating: a little off the top, a slightly light scoop, the sort of thing nobody would call stealing.
And the surah opens by declaring woe on exactly that. Look at how precisely it describes them: when they take from people, they take the full amount. When they measure or weigh for others, they give less. Same person, two standards. Any child recognises this immediately — the biggest slice for me, the smaller one for you.
Then the surah widens out. There are two records: one for the wicked kept in Sijjin, one for the good kept in Illiyyun, high up. It says something startling about the people who denied — that what they kept doing built up on their hearts like rust, until they could not see through it any more. Not one big sin; a slow layering.
It ends by turning the tables. In this world, some people laughed at the believers, nudged each other as they passed, went home making jokes. On that Day, the surah says simply: now the believers are the ones laughing, resting on couches, looking on. It is one of the Quran's quietest reversals.
Verse 14 says what they were doing rana — built up like rust — on their hearts. The Prophet ﷺ explained that each wrong action leaves a small dark mark, and if a person keeps going without turning back, the marks spread until the heart is covered. It is a very physical picture, and children get it at once: a bike left out in the rain does not rust in a day.
See honesty in the lessons →Surahs paired with Al-Mutaffifin
These short surahs teach lessons close to Al-Mutaffifin:
For Parents
What does Al-Mutaffifin mean?
Al-Mutaffifin (المطففين) means “those who give short measure” — people who cheat in small amounts when weighing or measuring. The Arabic word tatfif refers specifically to tiny amounts, the kind a person might not even call cheating.
What is Surah Al-Mutaffifin about?
It opens by warning those who take full measure for themselves but give less to others, then asks whether they expect to be raised for a mighty Day. It describes two records — Sijjin for the wicked, Illiyyun for the good — says that wrongdoing builds up on hearts like rust, and ends by reversing the mockery, so that those who laughed at believers become the ones laughed at.
How long is Surah Al-Mutaffifin?
Al-Mutaffifin is thirty-six verses long and takes about two minutes to recite. It is the 83rd surah of the Quran. Its verses are short and it divides into clear sections, which makes it more manageable than the verse count suggests.
What are Sijjin and Illiyyun?
They are the two places where records are kept — Sijjin for the record of the wicked, Illiyyun for the record of the good. The Quran deliberately does not fully explain either, asking twice “and what could tell you what it is?” The point is the contrast: two very different books, kept in two very different places.
Why does a surah about cheating matter for a child?
Because it is about the smallest kind of unfairness, not the biggest. The surah is not describing a robbery — it is describing someone who wants full measure for themselves and gives a little less to everyone else. That is exactly the scale a child lives at: sharing sweets, taking turns, splitting a game. It makes fairness feel like a real thing rather than a rule.
How can my child memorize Al-Mutaffifin?
Take it in four: the short-measure warning (1–6), Sijjin and the hardened hearts (7–17), Illiyyun and the delight (18–28), and the reversal of the mockery (29–36). Verses 8 and 19 are nearly identical, as are 9 and 20, so those pairs come almost free once one is learned.