That Which Is Left by Allah Is Better for You

Allah (swt) says: wa yā qawmi awfū al-mikyāla wa-l-mīzāna bi-l-qisṭ, wa lā tabkhasū al-nāsa ashyāʾahum, wa lā taʿthaw fī al-arḍi mufsidīn. Baqiyyatu Allāhi khayrun lakum in kuntum muʾminīn. And O my people, give full measure and weight in justice, and reduce not the things that are due to the people, and do not commit mischief in the land, causing corruption. That which is left by Allah for you is better for you.

Sayyidunā Shuʿayb is telling them: do not cheat, and give full measure. He is telling them: give full measure, and then give the zakāh, and give the ṣadaqah — and what will remain of that is better for you. Because people without īmān tend to think that if I cheat, I will be able to make more money. That's the logic that we think with when we don't have īmān. Shuʿayb is telling them: no, that's wrong. When you cheat and you make more money, you're not really making more money; you are losing.

If you give full measure — you give the people what is due to them, and then you give out from your money the obligations that you have towards the poor — what will remain to you, even though it seems less, is better for you than the bigger amount that you could make through cheating. Baqiyyatu Allāhi khayrun lakum: what will remain for you is better for you.