Ishāq ibn Bishr relates—through Juwaybir, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, from Ibn ʿAbbās—that he said: “They were a tyrannical, law-breaking people. They would sit along the road and cheat travellers—that is, they imposed tithes upon them—and they were the first to introduce that practice. As Allah says, ‘You bar from the path of Allah those who believe in Him and seek to make it crooked’ (al-Aʿrāf 7:86).”

Thus Shuʿayb forbade them from blocking both the tangible, worldly roads and the intangible, religious path. He also said: “Remember when you were few, and He multiplied you; and look at the fate of the corrupters” (al-Aʿrāf 7:86). He reminded them of Allah’s favour in increasing their numbers after they had been few, and he warned them of Allah’s vengeance should they turn away from the guidance shown to them.

In another account he told them: “Do not diminish the measure and the balance. I see you in prosperity, yet I fear for you the punishment of an all-encompassing Day” (Hūd 11:84)—meaning: do not persist in what you are doing, lest Allah blot out the blessing of what you possess (1), impoverish you, and remove that by which He has enriched you. Added to that is the punishment of the Hereafter, and whoever is afflicted with both has indeed struck a losing bargain. First he forbade them the disgraceful practice of short-changing, warning that it would strip them of Allah’s bounty in this world and bring upon them His painful punishment in the next, censuring them in the strongest terms.

Then, after prohibiting the wrong, he issued the command: “My people, give full measure and weight with justice; do not defraud people of their goods, and do not go about the land spreading corruption. The remainder granted by Allah is better for you, if you are believers; and I am not a guardian over you” (Hūd 11:85–86).

Ibn ʿAbbās and al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said that “the remainder granted by Allah is better for you” (Hūd 11:86) means: the sustenance Allah lawfully provides is better for you than seizing other people’s wealth. Ibn Jarīr said: whatever profit remains for you after giving full measure and weight is better than taking people’s money by cheating; he added that this, too, is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās. What he transmitted is excellent and resembles the Almighty’s words: “Say: the impure and the pure are not equal, even though the abundance of the impure may impress you” (al-Māʾidah 5:100)—that is, a small amount of the lawful is better for you than a large amount of the unlawful. Lawful wealth is blessed even if small, whereas unlawful wealth is blighted even if abundant, as He says: “Allah obliterates usury and nurtures charity” (al-Baqarah 2:276).

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Even though usury is plentiful, its end is to scarcity,” recorded by Aḥmad (2)—that is, it dwindles away. He also said, “The two parties to a sale have the option as long as they have not separated; if they are truthful and clear, their sale is blessed, but if they conceal and lie, the blessing of their sale is erased” (3).

In sum, lawful profit is blessed even when small, whereas unlawful gain is of no benefit even when great. For this reason the Prophet of Allah Shuʿayb declared, “The remainder granted by Allah is better for you, if you are believers” (Hūd 11:86).