Surah Ar-Rahman Part 4

In the Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace

Part 4.

و السماء رفعها و وضع الميزان

الا تطغوا فى الميزان

و أقيموا الوزن بالقسط و لا تخسروا الميزان

And the sky (heaven) has He raised high and has devised a measure
So that you might never transgress the measure
And establish the balance in/with justice and cut not the measure short!

This section of the surah deals with الميزان (measure/balance).  Lane's Lexicon has it that الميزان is a weighing instrument/a balance/a pair of scales.  How is it connected to the sky and the previous verses?  Then, there is the transition to a reminder - that we, the readers/the students, should maintain that balance.  How do we relate to these three verses?  Also, anticipating the next few verses, the mizan (الميزان) is set between the heaven (the last few verses) and the earth (the subject of the next few verses).  Again, there is a symmetry in ordering of the verses in this Surah.

I remember the story of 'Chicken Little' who was worried about the falling sky.  Well, until the Hour happens, God assures us in this verse that He has raised the sky high and in balance.  The sun and the moon and everything else in the heaven/sky above us are in a state of balance, the measure mentioned here is linked to the precision of the sun and the moon.  And that there is balance between the heaven and the earth.

In a sense, the whole universe is a balanced Universe, as Maududi stated:

Almost all the commentators have interpreted mizan (balance) to mean justice, and '...set the balance" to imply that Allah has established the entire system of the Universe on justice. Had there been no harmony and balance and justice established among the countless stars and planets moving in space, and the mighty forces working in this Universe, and the innumerable creatures and things found here, this life on earth would not have functioned even for a moment. Look at the creatures existing in the air and water and on land for millions and millions of years on this earth. They continue to exist only because full justice and balance has been established in the means and factors conducive to life; in case there occurs a slight imbalance of any kind, every tract of lift would become extinct.

My understanding of Nouman Ali Khan's lecture is that God is instructing us that we should emulate the same balance and justice that is inherent in the universe in ourselves.  This is why the two verses directly after is addressed to us.  

He calls us to not only not transgress the balance but also establish balance (in its other word form الوزن) in/with justice.  One is in passive form, i.e. avoidance, while the other is an active form, i.e. positive action is required.  It is not enough that we refrain from upsetting the balance, we need to step forward and establish it in cases where we detect an imbalance (in ourselves and our surroundings).  It is pertinent to note that the Qur'an uses the word 'establish', the same word which is used to associate with prayer, i.e. establish the prayer.  It sets the tone of how serious the matter of balance is.

But how do we know what the balance is?  How do we know we are in balance and with our surroundings?  Everything in its place and time, so my dad likes to say.  Give each its due - that's what it means by not cutting the measure short.  As an employee, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a citizen, a vicegerent of God (etc) and towards my own self, each of these roles should be given its due without short-changing one for the sake of the other.  The optimal answer, any optimisation expert would tell you, is when all the constraints are 'tight' and there is no slack.  Basically a very good balancing act.

But it is not only that.  Maududi, like many other commentators before him, also equates balance with justice:

As you are living in a balanced Universe, whose entire system has been established on justice, you also should adhere to justice. For if you act unjustly within the sphere in which you have been given authority, and fail to render the rights of others, you would indeed be rebelling against the nature of the Universe; for the nature of this Universe does not admit of injustice and perversion and violation of the rights. Not to speak of a major injustice, even if a person fraudulently deprives another of an ounce of something, by giving him short measure, he disturbs the balance of the entire Universe.-This is the second important part of the Qur'anic teaching that has been presented in these three verses. The first teaching is Tauhid and the second is justice. Thus, in a few brief sentences the people have been told what teaching has been brought by the Qur'an which the Merciful God has sent for the guidance of man.