55:8
QURANHIVE

Ayah 55:8 — Maintaining the Balance

أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ

“That you do not transgress in the balance (or scale)”.

Balance (al-Mīzān) Order in Creation Justice (al-‘Adl)

Balance and Order as a Signature

  • Balance and order are observable across nature and the universe.
  • From observation alone, one can recognize that balance and order have been created throughout.
  • The placement of the balance (al-Mīzān) is so that humans maintain order rather than fall into disorder or chaos.

Purpose of the Balance

The balance was placed so that humans do not transgress its bounds and order—by upholding its limits and establishing justice to maintain it.

Linguistic Construction: أَلَّا

أَلَّا = أَنْ + لَا

  • أَنْ is understood as explanatory (تَفْسِيرِيَة) linked to what preceded it—giving the sense of “so that”.
  • لَا can be:
    • For forbidding (نَاهِيَة): “Don’t” transgress the balance.
    • For negation (نَافِيَة): “You will not be able to” transgress or change the balance placed in it.

Meaning of الْمِيزَانِ

  • الْمِيزَانِ refers to an actual scale used for weighing.
  • Its purpose is to ensure fairness and justice in giving or receiving weight.
  • For this reason, most scholars of Tafsīr equate it with العَدْل (justice).
Ayah 8