Surah Al-Mutaffifin, 83: 29-36

Audio discussion of the summary:

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/7c31410c-0981-4abd-af06-7f292fb23298/audio

اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ اَجۡرَمُوۡا كَانُوۡا مِنَ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا يَضۡحَكُوۡنَ  ۖ‏ ﴿83:29﴾ وَاِذَا مَرُّوۡا بِهِمۡ يَتَغَامَزُوۡنَ  ۖ‏ ﴿83:30﴾ وَاِذَا انۡقَلَبُوۡۤا اِلٰٓى اَهۡلِهِمُ انْقَلَبُوۡا فَكِهِيۡنَ  ۖ‏ ﴿83:31﴾وَاِذَا رَاَوۡهُمۡ قَالُوۡۤا اِنَّ هٰٓؤُلَاۤءِ لَـضَآلُّوۡنَۙ‏﴿83:32﴾ وَمَاۤ اُرۡسِلُوۡا عَلَيۡهِمۡ حٰفِظِيۡنَۙ‏﴿83:33﴾ فَالۡيَوۡمَ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا مِنَ الۡكُفَّارِ يَضۡحَكُوۡنَۙ‏ ﴿83:34﴾ عَلَى الۡاَرَآئِكِۙ يَنۡظُرُوۡنَؕ‏﴿83:35﴾ هَلۡ ثُوِّبَ الۡكُفَّارُ مَا كَانُوۡا يَفۡعَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿83:36﴾

(83:29) Behold, the wicked were wont to laugh at the believers: (83:30) when they passed by them they winked, (83:31) and when they went back to their families, they went back jesting,12(83:32) and when they saw the believers, they said: “Lo! These are the erring ones”;13 (83:33) (they said so although) they had not been appointed watchers over them.14 (83:34) But today the believers are laughing at the unbelievers; (83:35) seated upon their couches, they are looking around. (83:36) Have the unbelievers been duly rewarded for their deeds?15


Notes

12. That is, they returned home rejoicing, thinking that they had made fun of such and such a Muslim, had passed evil remarks against him and subjected him to ridicule among the people. 

13. That is, they have lost their reason. They have deprived themselves of the gains and enjoyments of the world and have experienced dangers and undergone hardships only for the reason that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has deluded them with the Hereafter, Heaven and Hell. They are giving up whatever is present here on the false hope that the promise of some Paradise has been held out to them after death, and they are enduring the hardships in the present life only for the reason that they have been threatened with some Hell in the next world.

14. In this brief sentence the mockers and jesters have been given an instructive warning to the effect: Even if what the Muslims have believed in, is false, they are not harming you at all. They regard something as true, and are accordingly adopting a certain moral attitude for themselves, for their own good. Allah has not appointed you to be keepers over them so that you may be free to criticize and persecute those who are not harming you in any way. 

15. There is a subtle satire in this sentence. In the world, the disbelievers used to persecute the believers, thinking it was an act of virtue. In the Hereafter, the believers will be enjoying life in Paradise, and watching the disbelievers being punished in Hell. They will say to themselves: What a reward they have earned for their acts of virtue.