The term /muţaffifin/ is based on /taţfif/ derived from...

The term /muţaffifin/ is based on /taţfif/ derived from /ţaf/ which means 'the edge of something'; and everything which is slight or insufficient has been called /ţafif/ as well as a measure which is not completely full viz., the content is up to the edge, but it is not sufficiently full. Then, the different forms of this term have been used for 'shortchanging'. The word /wayl/, here, means; 'woe, or a great misfortune, or sorrow, or death, or punishment, or a very hot site in Hell'.

It is usually used when it is meant 'an evil and lowly sense or damnation'. The word is very short, but it implies many ideas. It is noteworthy that a narration from Imam Sadiq (as) says that Allah has not used the term /wayl/ ‘woe', in the Qur'an, for anyone unless He has called the one a pagan, as He says: "...and woe to the Unbelievers because of the (coming) Judgement of a momentous Day” [^5] . [^6] Thus, by this narration we understand that 'dealing in fraud' is akin to 'paganism'.

"Who, when they take a measure from people, take it in full.” “But when they give by measure or weight to men; they cause loss (give less than what is due)”. Some of the commentators have understood from the above verse that /mutaffif/ 'a defrauder' is a person who takes more than his right when he buys something and gives less than what is due when he sells it, and Allah has used the word 'woe' against him, in both cases.

However, this idea is wrong because the term /yastaufun/ means that they take their right fully, but, there is nothing in verse 2 which indicates that they take something more than what is their right. In comparison with these two circumstances of when they buy something they take it in full, but, when they must give in full what is due from them, they do not and cause a loss, Allah curses them.

This is noteworthy, too, that in dealing with others, when they take their own right, it is speaking of 'measure' and they take measure in full, but when they are going to give people's rights to them, it is speaking of both ‘measure and weight' and they give them less than what is their due.

This difference in the usage, of the words, may be due to one of the following reasons: The first is that, in old times when wholesale trades used to occur the buyers mostly used big measures because, scales were not big enough for weighing very heavy loads, but smaller measures were more suitable and easily available.