Episode 7

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, today we will stand with the seventh commandment of our Lord, may He be exalted, in Surah Al-An'am, which is His saying: ((And give full measure and weight with justice)) The measure is for volumes, such as when a merchant sells an amount that fills two outstretched hands for a certain price. The balance is for weights. Justice is fairness and avoiding cheating. Therefore, our Lord, may He be exalted, commands us to be just in weighing and measuring for people, and to give them their rights without reducing them. This certainly includes not cheating them in the goods. What is the benefit if you give them the measure with some cheated goods?! Imagine the life of prosperity if communities adhered to this divine commandment. And let us note two issues here: The first: that in Islam there is no separation between beliefs and transactions, for all must be subject to the command of Allah, the Most High. No one can say: I will believe in the existence of Allah, the Most High, and worship Him and love Him, but I will exempt myself from His commands and prohibitions in my practical dealings. Many do not say this with their tongues but with their actions. The prophets of Allah, may He be exalted, commanded the people with monotheism and also commanded them to fulfill rights and avoid cheating. Look at the saying of Shu'ayb, peace be upon him, to his people: (Give full measure and do not be of those who cause loss. Weigh with the straight balance and do not cheat people of their things and do not cause corruption in the land). It is not acceptable for his people to worship Allah alone and then deviate from His command and prohibition. Obedience to Allah in commercial dealings is also worship. And imagine that it is acceptable to conduct human transactions with laws other than the laws of Allah, this imagination is corruption in faith as claiming partners to Allah is corruption in faith. Therefore...((And give full measure and weight with justice)) The second issue, my brothers and sisters: that fulfilling and being just in the physical measure and balance accustoms the person to justice and precision in evaluating ideas, people, and methods as well. It is inconceivable that a Muslim would refrain from reducing his brother a few grams of rice or flour, then he would evaluate his brother's behavior and personality by reducing his positives and diminishing his worth and focusing only on his negatives! This is a cheating worse than cheating rice and flour. And if we are commanded to refrain from reducing people grams of food or drink, then it is even more important to refrain from reducing them good deeds that may be heavier in the balance of Allah than the world and all that is in it.

Therefore, this was the seventh commandment of our Lord, may He be exalted...((And give full measure and weight with justice)). We will continue in the upcoming episodes, God willing. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.