Allah Almighty says: {Indeed, Allah commands you to return trusts to their owners} [Surat an-Nisā’: 58] Allah also says: {Indeed, We offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, yet they refused to bear it and were afraid of it. But man assumed it; he is indeed wrongful and ignorant.} [Surat al-Ahzāb: 72]
There are two types of trusts:
1) Trusts related to the rights of Allah like acts of worship dedicated to Allah Almighty, and the greatest of which is adhering to Tawhīd (monotheistic belief) and prayer.
2) Trusts related to the rights of people like dutifulness to parents, maintaining ties of kinship, and educating children.
199/1- Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted with something, he betrays the trust.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
In another version of the Hadīth, he said: “even if he fasts, prays, and claims to be a Muslim.”
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1) The information the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) gave in this Hadīth includes two points: identifying the hypocrites and their qualities, and caution against possessing such qualities. Thus, the Hadīth contains information and guidance.
2) Truthfulness in speech, honoring the promise, and fulfilling the trust are among the qualities of the believers, and they are all obligatory.
3) A Muslim’s speech should match his actions. {It is most loathsome to Allah that you say what you do not do.} [Surat as-Saff: 3]
200/2- Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) narrated two narrations to us, one of which I have seen happening, and I am waiting for the other. He narrated that (in the beginning) trust was preserved in the roots of the hearts of men, then the Qur’an was revealed, and they learned it from the Qur’an, and then they learned it from the Sunnah. Then he told us about the disappearance of trust as he said: ‘A man will go to sleep whereupon trust will be taken away from his heart, and only its trace will remain like speckles. He then will sleep, whereupon the remainder of the trust will also be taken away and its trace will remain like a blister, like an ember that you roll on your leg, it causes pain and you see it swollen while it contains nothing.’ Then he took a pebble and rolled it over his leg. ‘So there will come a day when people will deal in business with each other, but there will hardly be any trustworthy persons among them, until it would be said that in such and such a tribe, there is an honest man, and until a man will be admired for his strength, intelligence, and good manners, although he will not have faith equal to a mustard seed in his heart. There came upon me a time when I did not mind dealing with anyone of you, for if he was a Muslim, his religion would prevent him from cheating me, and if he was a Jew or a Christian, his Muslim ruler would prevent him from cheating me; but today I cannot deal except with so-and-so and so-and-so.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) Ethics in Islam are deeper than the concept of contemporary humanism since they go beyond outward and visible aspects to reach the actions of the hearts and the secrets of the souls.
2) Islamic ethics emanate from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and therein lies the perfection of morals and refinement.
3) Morals are changeable, or else refinement would be of no use.
4) Morals and faith are inseparable, whenever either of them is missing, the other is missing too.
5) One of the portents of the Hour is the disappearance of trust so much so that the honest would not be trusted and the dishonest would be trusted.
201/3- Hudhayfah and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah, Blessed and Exalted, will gather mankind (on the Day of Resurrection). The believers will stand until Paradise is brought near to them. So, they will go to Adam (peace be upon him) and say: ‘O our Father! Request that Paradise be opened for us.’ He will say: ‘Was it anything other than your father’s sin that got you out of Paradise? I am not fit for that. Go to my son Ibrāhīm (Abraham), the intimate friend of Allah.’ They will go to Ibrāhīm who will say: ‘I am not fit for that. Indeed, I was only an intimate friend of a low order. Go to Mūsa (Moses) whom Allah spoke directly to.’ They will go to Mūsa, but he will say: ‘I am not fit for that. Go to ‘Isa (Jesus), the Word and Spirit of Allah.’ ‘Isa will say: ‘I am not fit for that.’ So they will go to Muhammad (may Allah’ s peace and blessings be upon him) who will stand and will be given permission. Trust and kinship will be sent to stand on the right and left of the Sirāt (Bridge over Hell). The first of you will pass over it like lightning.” I (the narrator) said: “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! What is the passing of lightening like?” He said: “Have you not seen how it comes and goes in the blink of an eye? Then it will be like the passing of wind. Then it will be like the passing of birds. Then it will be like the running of men; their deeds will make them run. Your Prophet will be standing at the Sirāt saying: ‘O Lord, grant safety, grant safety!’ until the deeds of the slaves will not avail them; until a man would not be able to move except by crawling. On the two edges of the Sirāt, there will be suspended hooks, commanded to snatch whom they are ordered to snatch. Some people will sustain scratches but will be saved; others will be dumped in the Fire.” By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Abu Hurayrah, the depth of Hell is seventy years. [Narrated by Muslim]
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1) Paradise will not be opened until the Intercessor, Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), requests that it be opened.
2) The modesty of the prophets (peace be upon them) is highlighted through each of them referring the matter to the other.
3) Trust and kinship are of a high status as they will stand at the sides of the Sirāt.
4) The manner the slaves pass over the Sirāt will vary according to their righteous deeds, so let everyone strive in doing righteous deeds whereby he would pass over the Sirāt quickly and easily.
202/4- Abu Khubayb ‘Abdullah ibn Az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “When Az-Zubayr got ready to fight during the Battle of Al-Jamal, he called me and I stood up beside him, and he said to me: ‘O my son! Today none will be killed except as either an oppressor or an oppressed one. I see that I will be killed as an oppressed one. My biggest worry is my debts. Do you think that anything will be left of our property after the debts are settled?’ Then he said: ‘O my son! Sell our property and pay my debts.’ He then bequeathed one-third of his property and bequeathed one-third of that portion to ‘Abdullah’s sons. He said: ‘One-third of the one third. If any property is left after the settlement of the debts, one-third (of the one-third of what is left) is to be given to your sons.’” (Hishām, a sub-narrator, said: ‘Some of the sons of ‘Abdullah were equal in age to the sons of Az-Zubayr, like Khubayb and ‘Abbād. ‘Abdullah had nine sons and nine daughters at that time.’) ‘Abdullah added: “He (Az-Zubayr) went on advising me regarding his debts, saying: ‘If you should fail to settle part of the debts, appeal to my Master to help you.’ By Allah! I could not understand what he meant till I asked: ‘O father, Who is your Master?’ He replied: ‘Allah (is my Master).’ By Allah, whenever I had any difficulty regarding his debts, I would say: ‘O Master of Az-Zubayr, settle his debts on his behalf,’ and Allah would (help me to) settle them. Az-Zubayr was martyred leaving no Dinar or Dirham except for land and property, including a land which was (called) Al-Ghābah, and eleven houses in Madinah, two in Basrah, one in Kufah, and one in Egypt. The source of the debt which he owed was, that if somebody brought some money to him for safekeeping, Az-Zubayr would say: ‘No, (I won’t keep it as a trust) but I take it as a debt, for I am afraid it might be lost.’ Az-Zubayr was never appointed governor or collector of the tax of Kharāj or any other similar thing, but he collected his wealth (from the war booty he gained) during the battles he took part in, in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthmān (may Allah be pleased with them). When I counted his debt, it turned out to be two million and two hundred thousand.” (The sub-narrator added:) Hakīm ibn Hizām met ‘Abdullah ibn Az-Zubayr and asked him: “O my nephew, How much is the debt of my brother?” ‘Abdullah did not reveal the exact amount and said, “One hundred thousand.” Hakīm said: “By Allah! I do not think your property will cover it.” Upon that, ‘Abdullah said to him: “What if I told you that it is two million and two hundred thousand?” Hakīm said: “I do not think you can repay it; so if you are unable to repay all of it, I will help you.” Az-Zubayr had bought Al-Ghābah for one hundred and seventy thousand. ‘Abdullah sold it for one million and six hundred thousand. Then he called out to the people saying: “Any person who has any money claim on Az-Zubayr should come to us in Al-Ghābah.” There came to him ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far whom Az-Zubayr owed four hundred thousand. He said to ‘Abdullah: “If you wish I will forgo the debt.” ‘Abdullah said: “No.” Then Ibn Ja‘far said: “If you wish you can defer repayment if you are going to defer the repayment of any debt.” ‘Abdullah said: “No.” Ibn Ja‘far said: “Then give me a piece of the land.” ‘Abdullah said (to him): “Yours is the land extending from this place to this place.” So, ‘Abdullah sold most of the land and settled the debt perfectly, with four and a half shares remaining unsold from the land of Al-Ghābah. He then went to Mu‘āwiyah while ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthmān, Al-Mundhir ibn az-Zubayr and Ibn Zam‘ah were sitting with him. Mu‘āwiyah asked: “At what price have you appraised Al-Ghābah?” He said: “One hundred thousand for each share.” Mu‘āwiyah asked: “How many shares are left?” ‘Abdullah replied, “Four and a half shares.” Al-Mundhir ibn az-Zubayr said: “I would like to buy one share for one hundred thousand.” ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthmān said: “I would like to buy one share for one hundred thousand.” Ibn Zam‘ah said: “I would like to buy one share for one hundred thousand.” Mu‘āwiyah said: “How much is left now?” ‘Abdullah replied: “One share and a half.” Mu‘āwiyah said: “I would like to buy it for one hundred and fifty thousand.” ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far then sold his share to Mu‘āwiyah for six hundred thousand. When ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr had paid all the debts, Az-Zubayr’s other sons said to him: “Distribute our inheritance among us.” He said: “No, by Allah, I will not distribute it among you till I announce in four successive Hajj seasons: “Would those who have money claims on Az-Zubayr come forward so that we may repay them.” So, he started to announce that in public in every Hajj season, and when four years had elapsed, he distributed the inheritance among the heirs. Az-Zubayr had four wives, and after the one-third of his property was excluded (according to the will), each of his wives received one million and two hundred thousand. So the total amount of his property was fifty million and two hundred thousand. [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
The Day of Al-Jamal: a famous battle that took place between the Muslims, and the conflicting parties were the Commander of the Believers, ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib and the Mother of the Believers ‘Āishah (may Allah be pleased with both of them).
Al-Ghābah: A well known land in the uppermost area of Madinah.
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1) Muslims are urged to observe the fulfillment of trusts.
2) Debts are a serious matter. One should hasten to settle his debts before death.
3) Whoever Calls upon Allah Almighty by supplication, takes refuge with Him, and makes Him his master and guardian, Allah will suffice him and give him in abundance. Indeed, He never fails a slave who pins his hopes on Him.
The fighting that took place between the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) has a valid justification. Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy upon him) said in his book Al-‘Aqīdah Al-wāsitiyyah:
“And they remain silent regarding the dispute that took place among the Companions, and they say about the traditions reporting their faults that some of them are fabricated lies while some have undergone addition and deletion and were altered from their original meaning. As for the authentic traditions, the Companions are excused for what is reported about them therein. They conducted Ijtihād (reasoning based on knowledge) and were either correct or incorrect in their deductions... They had of virtues and merits what entails forgiveness of whatever they might have committed, if any. Much of their sins are forgiven in such a way that outdoes those who will come after them because they had good deeds that erase sins much more than those who come after them... Also, if it happened that any of them had committed a sin, then he must have repented of it or had done good deeds that erased it or has been forgiven by virtue of his early acceptance of Islam or by the intercession of Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)... or he was subjected to an affliction that expiated his sin... Another point is that their disapproved deeds are so little in comparison to their merits and advantages including their belief in Allah and His Messenger, doing Jihad in His cause, migration, support of the religion, beneficial knowledge, and righteous deeds. In fact, whoever studies their biographies with knowledge and insight, and recognizes the virtues bestowed upon them by Allah Almighty, will know for sure that they are the best people next to prophets, that there is none who can be like them either in the past or in the future generations, and that they are the chosen of the generations of the Muslim nation, which is the best of all nations and the most honorable in the Sight of Allah.” End of quote with summarization.