al-Raḥmān

وَأقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَآ تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ

9. And observe the weight with equity and do not make the balance deficient.

Failing to attend to balance, equity, fairness, and justice in respect to the rights of people will lead man to immoderation and injustice. Islam provides people with significant and precise injunctions for the maintenance of justice and balance such that according to traditions, a judge wearing tight shoes is not supposed to issue verdicts lest the tightness of the shoes may affect his judgment and lead him to haste and intemperance thereby he may err as to the administration of justice.

According to another tradition, valuable commerce rests upon truth. According to a tradition narrated from Imam ‘Ali (as):

"Merchants are wrong-doers and wrong-doers shall abide in Hellfire, unless his transactions be based on truth." ⁹

Imam ‘Ali (as) ordered that adulterated coins be cast into wells so that they may not be used for transactions.¹⁰ He walked in the market of Kufa and at times stopped in the middle of the market saying:

"O merchants! Ask God Almighty for good. Find Divine Blessing in being lenient toward people. Refrain from telling lies in transactions. Abstain from injustice. Be not involved in usury. The said tradition is attested in Kafi, Man la Yahdhuruhu al-Faqih, Majalis, and Tahdhib.”

It is worthy of note that the blessed Verse emphasizes maintaining balance and justice saying:

"Observe the weight with equity and do not make the balance deficient."

The word:

"balance"

is attested thrice in these blessed Verses, though it was possible to use pronouns in the second and third instances. It reflects that the word balance (mizan) is employed in three different senses and using pronouns may not do justice in conveying the meanings and the contextual meaning of the Verses also bear witness to the same, since the first instance implies the balance, criterion, and laws set up by God Almighty throughout the world of existence.

The second instance treats of abstention of human beings from disobedience in all the matters concerning individual and social lives which are naturally more limited. The third instance emphasizes the issue of weighing in the narrower sense of the word saying that one may not make the balance deficient in weighing things and the last instance is more restricted in scope. Thus, there is an interesting consistency in the Verses in the hierarchy of balance from larger circles toward smaller ones. The significance of balance in human life in any of the aforesaid senses is such that taking out the balance in the narrowest sense will entail chaos, problems, and disagreement. The broader the sense, the more disorder will prevail.

Based on the above, it is clarified that the reason behind the interpretation of balance as the presence of Imam (as) is that the presence of the Infallible Imam (as) serves as a criterion for assaying truth and falsehood which may lead to perception of truth and finding guidance. Interpretation of balance to the Holy Qur’an is in this light. It is, however, worthy of note that all these blessed Verses treat of Divine Blessings reflecting that the existence of balance in the entirety of the world of existence, human society, social relations, commerce, and transactions are all Divine Bounties.

Footnotes

1. 9. Furu‘ Kafi, vol. 5, p. 150.
2. 10. Kafi, vol. 5, p. 160.