It was said about Shu'ayb, peace be upon him, that he is the orator of the prophets, due to his good manner of addressing his people. They were people who were deficient in measures and weights. 'A clear proof has come to you from your Lord' is a miracle that testifies to the truth of my prophethood, which obligates you to believe in me and to adhere to what I command you and to refrain from what I prohibit you. So fulfill and do not be deficient. If you ask: What was his miracle? I say: It is known that he had a miracle, due to his saying, 'A clear proof has come to you from your Lord.' And because it is necessary for a claimant of prophethood to have a miracle that testifies for him and confirms him; otherwise, his claim would not be valid, and he would be a false prophet, not a true prophet. However, his miracle is not mentioned in the Qur'an, just as most of the miracles of our Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, are not mentioned in it. Among the miracles of Shu'ayb, peace be upon him, is what has been narrated about the staff of Musa, peace be upon him, fighting the dragon when it was given his sheep. And the birth of the sheep that were special in their wool when he was promised that they would have wool from their offspring. And the staff of Adam, peace be upon him, falling into his hand in the seven times, and other signs, because all of these occurred before Musa, peace be upon him, was appointed as a prophet, so they were miracles for Shu'ayb. If you ask: Why was it said 'the measure and the weight' and not 'the measuring instrument and the balance,' as in Surah Hud, peace be upon him? I say: By 'the measure' I mean the tool for measuring, which is the measuring instrument. Or it is named by what is measured with it, just as it was said: 'the livelihood' for what is lived by. Or it is meant: So fulfill the measure and weigh with the balance. It is also possible that 'the balance' is like 'the appointment' and 'the birth' in the sense of the source. And it is said: 'I have deprived him of his right' if I have reduced it. Hence, it was said for the tax as 'the deprivation.' And in their proverbs: You think it is foolish, while it is depriving. And it was said 'their things' because they were depriving people of everything in their transactions, or they were tax collectors who did not leave anything except that it was taxed, as is done by the people of the two sanctuaries. It has been narrated that when a stranger entered their land, they took his fine coins and said they were counterfeit, so they cut them into pieces, then took them with a clear reduction or gave him counterfeit coins in exchange after fixing them, meaning do not corrupt them after what the righteous from the prophets and their followers have fixed in them by following their laws. And its addition is like the addition of His saying: 'Rather, the plotting of the night and the day,' meaning rather your plotting in the night and the day, or after the fixing of its people by omitting the added. That is a reference to what has been mentioned about fulfilling the measure and the weight and avoiding deficiency and corruption in the land. Or to acting upon what He commanded them and prohibited them from. And the meaning of 'better for you' refers to humanity and good reputation, and what you seek from earning and profit, because people are more eager for your trade if they know of your honesty and fairness if you are believers. If you are truthful in my saying, that is better for you. And do not sit on every path and do not follow the devil in his saying: 'I will surely sit for them on Your straight path,' so you sit on every path, meaning on every methodology of the paths of religion. The evidence that the intended path is the path of truth is His saying: 'And you hinder from the path of Allah.' And the place of 'you threaten' and what is attached to it: the accusative is in the state, meaning: And do not sit as two threatenings and hindering from the path of Allah, and seeking it to be crooked. If you ask: The path of truth is one, and indeed this is My straight path, so follow it and do not follow the paths, lest they separate you from His path, how was it said: on every path?

I said: The path of truth is one, but it branches into many different knowledge, limits, and rulings. So when they saw someone beginning to engage in any of it, they would oppose him and turn him away. If you ask: To whom does the pronoun in 'he believed in it' refer? I say: To every path. Its meaning is: You threaten those who believe in it and turn them away from it. Thus, the apparent mention of the path of Allah is used in place of the pronoun, increasing the ugliness of their matter and indicating the greatness of what they turn away from. It is said: They would sit on the roads and watch, saying to those who passed by: 'Surely Shu'ayb is a liar, so let him not tempt you away from your religion,' just as Quraysh did in Mecca. It is also said: They would cut off the roads.

It is said: They were tax collectors and you seek it to be crooked, and you seek for the path of Allah to be twisted, meaning you describe it to the people as a crooked path that is not straight, to turn them away from following it and entering into it. Or it could be mockery of them, that they seek for it what is impossible, because the path of truth does not twist. And remember when you were few, meaning: and remember in a manner of gratitude the time when you were few in number, so Allah increased you and multiplied your number.

It is said that Midian, son of Ibrahim, married the daughter of Lut, and she bore children, so Allah placed blessings and growth in her offspring, and they multiplied and spread. It is permissible to say: When you were few and poor, He made you many and prosperous. Or you were few and humiliated, so He honored you with an increase in number. The fate of the corruptors is the end of those who corrupted before you from the nations, like the people of Nuh, Hud, Salih, and Lut, and they were close in time to what befell the overturned cities. So be patient and wait until Allah judges between us, meaning between the two groups, by granting victory to the truthful over the false and making them prevail over them. This is a threat to the disbelievers of Allah's vengeance against them, as His saying: 'So wait, indeed we are waiting with you.' Or it is an admonition to the believers and encouragement to be patient and endure the harm that befalls them from the polytheists until Allah judges between them and avenges them from them.

It is possible that it is addressed to both groups, meaning let the believers be patient with the harm of the disbelievers, and let the disbelievers be patient with what troubles them from the faith of those who believe among them, until Allah judges to distinguish the wicked from the good, and He is the best of judges.

Because His judgment is true and just, and there is no fear of injustice in it.