^3 However...

^3 However, like other prophets a part of whose history was mentioned in this Surah before, Shu‘ayb, after his general and godly invitation to piety and the obedience to the command of Allah, emphasized on the ethical and social deviations of that environment and criticized them in the second part of his teachings. Since the most important deviation of those tranquil people was their economic disorders, manifest injustice, inequity and exploitation, Shu‘ayb emphasized on these subjects more.

At first, he says: “Fill up the measure, and be not of the cheaters,” “And weigh (things) with a right balance,” “And do not defraud people in their (due) goods, and do not act corruptly in the earth, making mischief.” Fraud is one of the great sins and unlawful things of economy which brings all corruptions of unlawful food.

Fraud is not seen only in transaction, but there may also be some unjust persons who fraud people in teaching, medical profession, control, engineering and other affairs of life and do not give others their due right as they must do. In these recent verses, in a few short calculated sentences Shu‘ayb commands these misguided people to follow five commandments.

Some commentators have thought that these commandments are mostly some emphasis on each other, while a sufficient care makes it clear that these five divine commandments, in fact, point to five basic different matters, or in others words, they are four commandments and a general conclusion.

In order that this difference can be clear, this fact must be noted that the people of Shu‘ayb (the inhabitants of ’Aykah and Madyan) were living in a sensitive commercial region which was located on the way of those caravans that traveled from Mecca and Medina to Syria and from Syria to Mecca and Medina as well as other regions.

We know that these caravans are in need of many things in this way and sometimes those people who are in the cities along those roads apply the utmost misuse and buy their goods for the lowest price and sell them for the dearest price.