159. Majid quotes, “Moses had to suffer ‘many indignities and insults from a rebellious and recalcitrant people, even from his closest relatives, who were jealous of his leadership’ (VJE, p. 442).

Yusuf Ali adds: “The people of Moses often vexed him and rebelled against him and against God’s Law. Here the reference seems to be to Num. xii. 1-##13. It is there said that Moses’s own sister Miriam and his brother Aaron spoke against Moses because Moses had married an Ethiopian woman. God cleared Moses of the charge of having done anything wrong: ”My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house." Miriam was afflicted with leprosy for seven days as a punishment, after which she was forgiven, as also was Aaron. ‘This is the Old Testament story. The holy Prophet was also attacked because of his marriage with Zainab bint Jahsh, but not by his own circle, his motives were of the highest (order) and were completely vindicated as we have seen."

Ahmed has preserved, as also the Shaihayn, that once when the Prophet (saws) divided the booty, someone objected saying,

إن هذه القسمة ما أريد بها وجه الله عز وجل .. فذكرت ذلك للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فاحمر وجهه وقال: رحمة الله على موسى قد أوذي باكثر من هذا فصبر.

"Allah's good pleasure was not sought by this division." This was conveyed to the Prophet. His face reddened (with anger) and he remarked, "May Allah show mercy to Musa. He was given greater pain than this, but he observed patience."

(Haythami treated this and similar reports with some skepticism: Au.). Other reports, as in Ahmed and Abu Da'ud have it that the Prophet once remarked,

عن عبد الله بن مسعود قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لأصحابه: لا يبلغني أحد عن أحد من أصحابي شيئا فإني أحب أن أخرج اليكم وأنا سليم الصدر قال: وأتى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مال فقسمه قال: فمررت برجلين وأحدهما يقول لصاحبه: والله ما أراد محمد بقسمته وجه الله ولا الدار الآخرة فتثبت حتى سمعت ما قالا ثم أتيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقلت: يا رسول الله إنك قلت لنا لا يبلغني أحد عن أحد من أصحابي شيئا وإني مررت بفلان وفلان وهما يقولان كذا وكذا قال: فاحمر وجه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وشق عليه ثم قال: دعنا منك فقد أوذي موسى أكثر من ذلك ثم صبر

"Let not anyone of you convery anything to me about my Companions. I wish to carry a clean heart as I come out before you." But, thereafter some goods came to him and he distributed them. Then I (the narrator) passed by two men, one of whom was saying to his companions, "By Allah, Muhammad did not aim at Allah's approval, nor at the Hereafter through this division of his." I stayed there until I heard what the two were saying. Then I went to the Prophet and told him, “Messenger of Allah. You have said, ‘Let not anyone of you convey anything to me about my Companions. I wish to carry a clean heart as I come out before you.’ Now, I passed by so and so and they were saying such and such a thing. The Prophet’s face became red, as it was quite hard on him (to hear that). He said, "Spare me of you. Musa was given greater pain than this but he remained patient" (Ibn Kathir and Shawkani in part).

Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Zayd, and others reported the following as their own statements which is strengthened by a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ مُوسَى كَانَ رَجُلًا حَيِيًّا سِتِّيرًا لَا يُرَى مِنْ جِلْدِهِ شَيْءٌ اسْتِحْيَاءً مِنْهُ فَآذَاهُ مَنْ آذَاهُ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَقَالُوا مَا يَسْتَتِرُ هَذَا التَّسَتُّرَ إِلَّا مِنْ عَيْبٍ بِجِلْدِهِ إِمَّا بَرَصٌ وَإِمَّا أُدْرَةٌ وَإِمَّا آفَةٌ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُبَرِّئَهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا لِمُوسَى فَخَلَا يَوْمًا وَحْدَهُ فَوَضَعَ ثِيَابَهُ عَلَى الْحَجَرِ ثُمَّ اغْتَسَلَ فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ أَقْبَلَ إِلَى ثِيَابِهِ لِيَأْخُذَهَا وَإِنَّ الْحَجَرَ عَدَا بِثَوْبِهِ فَأَخَذَ مُوسَى عَصَاهُ وَطَلَبَ الْحَجَرَ فَجَعَلَ يَقُولُ ثَوْبِي حَجَرُ ثَوْبِي حَجَرُ حَتَّى انْتَهَى إِلَى مَلَإٍ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَرَأَوْهُ عُرْيَانًا أَحْسَنَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ وَأَبْرَأَهُ مِمَّا يَقُولُونَ وَقَامَ الْحَجَرُ فَأَخَذَ ثَوْبَهُ فَلَبِسَهُ وَطَفِقَ بِالْحَجَرِ ضَرْبًا بِعَصَاهُ فَوَاللَّهِ إِنَّ بِالْحَجَرِ لَنَدَبًا مِنْ أَثَرِ ضَرْبِهِ ثَلَاثًا أَوْ أَرْبَعًا أَوْ خَمْسًا فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ آذَوْا مُوسَى فَبَرَّأَهُ اللَّهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا وَكَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَجِيهًا (البخاري)

"Musa was a shy man and careful about covering himself. He would never bare any part of his body out of modesty. But some of the Israelites offended him saying, 'nothing prevents him from exposing his body to this extent but some kind of defect: either it is leprosy, scrotal hernia, or some other problem.' Allah (swt) wished to clear Musa of what they alleged. One day, assured of privacy, Musa took out his clothes, placed them on a stone and began to bathe. When he was finished he went for his clothes. But the stone began to roll away along with the clothes. Musa took his rod and ran after it saying, 'O stone! My clothes. O stone! My clothes.' The chase ended with a group of Israelites. They saw him naked and found him best of Allah's creation. Thus he was cleared of their allegation. The stone halted. He put on his clothes and began to strike the stone with his rod. And, by Allah, the beating left marks on the stone, either three or four or five." Then the Prophet added, "It is in this reference that Allah revealed, 'Believers! Do not be like those who annoyed Musa. So Allah cleared him of what they uttered. He was highly esteemed in Allah's sight'" (Ibn Jarir).

Bukhari and Muslim have preserved this report. Muslim's version has it at the start that, "The Israelites used to bathe naked with some of them looking at the private parts of others. But Musa would bathe alone. They said, 'Surely, there is some defect in him ..'" (Qurtubi).

Time has taken a full circle. Western Jews and Christians bathe naked before each other. In fact, it is reported that in hostels, girls bathe and walk back naked to their rooms (Au.).

Another instance of the Israelites annoying their Prophet is when Qaroon became envious of him and sent a prostitute in an assembly to allege that Musa had an affair with her. However, when she stood face to face with him, she retracted her earlier statement and confessed that the whole thing had been framed. A third instance of annoying Musa is that when Haroon died, the Israeites alleged that Musa had killed him. They said, "He was more linient with us than you, and loved us more than you" (Ibn Jarir). The report is in Ibn Abi Hatim. In other words, there were many instances of the Israelites causing pain to (the greatest of) their Prophet (Razi, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

Qurtubi points out that if one is assured of privacy, he could bathe naked, even in a pond. However, it is preferable to remain covered. It is reported that Hasan b. `Ali entered into a pond with a cloak around. When questioned, he said, "I covered myself from One who sees me but Whom I do not see."

As to how could Musa say to a lifeless stone, "O stone! My clothes!?" The answer is: it is because the stone was behaving not like a lifeless thing, but very much like one that had life.

160. The translation of the textual “sadida” is influenced by Zamakhshari’s understanding. Literally, however, it means to aim at being straightforward and unambiguous. That is, adds Qurtubi, words whose apparent meaning is the intended one. Asad put is as, “literally, ‘a saying that hits the mark,’ i.e., is truthful, relevant and to the point.”

The Islamic directive in this regard is in contrast to the modern civilized man, who says one thing but means another. He gives his words a construction that supports double-speak. In today’s Western world this is such an outstanding quality that speeches receive standing ovation more for saying the opposite of what is intended than for making a clear statement. One is a poor statesman if he speaks out his true intentions. It can be safely said that when a Muslim politician makes a statement, one might carefully note his words, because that is exactly how he is going to keep it, no less, nor more, while, when a Western politician makes a statement, one might carefully examine the words, because he has stated therein how he is not going to keep it (Au.).

Zamakhshari also points out that this urging to aim at the truth is in contrast with the previous verse where it was said that the believers should not annoy the Prophet, which can happen through false allegations.

161. There have been various opinions explaining what “amanah” stands for. It has been said that the allusion is to the testimony. `Ali ibn Abi Talib’s opinion was that the allusion by amanah is to Prayers. (His countenance would change its hue at the time of Prayers. When asked he would explain, “The time has come for being true to the trust”: Alusi).

Ubay b. Ka`b said that a woman’s private part is her amanah. Ibn Mas`ud said that the reference was to wealth, property, and things handed over in trust. He is also reported to have said that it is the Islamic obligations in general, but the most difficult was that which is related to wealth. Abu al-Darda’ said the allusion was to major ablution after sexual intercourse, i.e., if you wished you bathed, if you did not, you did not, nobody would know about it (Qurtubi).

Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id b. Jubayr, Qatadah and others said that the allusion by the textual “amanah” is to obligations declared mandatory by Allah, and the limits set by His commands. Notwithstanding the various opinions, the great majority throughout the ages has accepted this last opinion as the correct interpretation (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Alusi and others).

In short, the amanah in question is for what the humans know, or have been taught by the Revelation and placed with the as a trust. Acting against them will be the opposite of amanah, i.e., khiyanah in Arabic, or dishonesty in English (Au.).

It appears that when inanimate objects were asked to carry the burden of amanah, they understood that it would imply receiving freedom of the will, and therefore cringed at the idea, realizing that with the freedom to choose and the power to act, they might err. But man hastened to carry the burden and thus implicitly accepted to have freedom of the will. Singificantly, there is hardly any difference in opinion that the root cause of all human catastrophe, and, to a limited scale, of the natural also, at least on the earth, is man’s freedom of will. He has always acted wrongly. Yet, no thinker ever suggested that it would have been better if man did not have this power. Thus the burden of amanah remains with the humanity, by choice, and a great reality is concealed in Allah’s words viz., “But Man undertook it. Indeed, he was very unjust, very foolish” (Au.).

A contemporary commentator has said that the reference by trust is to khilafah. But none of the Salaf have said any such thing. In fact, they never believed in the khilafah (of modern concept), nor spoke of it any oftener than they spoke of the earth’s roundness. Secondly, if it is khilafah that is meant, then the next question would be: over whom was the khilafah to be exercised, if the heavens and the earth were to bear it? In other words, if the heavens and the earth had accepted the burden of khilafah, over whom would they have exercised their sovereignty to fulfill its demands of khilafah? (Au.).

Majid comments: “(Trust) i.e., moral responsibility, which is human sense of answerableness for all acts of thought and conduct. Its first and foremost prerequisite is freedom of choice, which is the real function of a human being as a moral agent. The ‘trust’ referred to is obviously the trust of free choice or accountability.”

Yusuf Ali writes: “The Trust is something given to a person, over which he has a power of disposition; he is expected to use it as directed or expected, but he has the power to use it otherwise. There is no trust if the trustee has no power, and the trust implies that the giver of the trust believes and expects that the trustee would use it according to the wish of the creator of the trust, and not otherwise.”

In Asad’s words, “.. the most convincing .. (mentioned in Lane I, 102, with reference to the above verse) are ‘reason’, or ‘intellect’, and ‘the faculty of volition’ – i.e., the ability to choose between two or more possible courses of action or mode of behavior, and thus between good and evil.”

Ibn Jarir, and, following him Ibn Kathir, present several ahadith with reference to amanah, one of which has Haythami's approval. It says,

قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: "إن الأمانة والوفاء نزلا على ابن آدم مع الأنبياء، فأرسلوا به، فمنهم رسول الله، ومنهم نبي، ومنهم نبي رسول، ونزل القرآن وهو كلام الله، ونزلت العربية والعجمية، فعلموا أمر القرآن وعلموا أمر السنن بألسنتهم، ولم يدع الله شيئا من أمره مما يأتون وما يجتنبون وهي الحجج عليهم، إلا بينه لهم. فليس أهل لسان إلا وهم يعرفون الحسن والقبيح، ثم الأمانة أول شيء يرفع ويبقى أثرها في جذور قلوب الناس، ثم يرفع الوفاء والعهد والذمم وتبقى الكتب ، فعالم يعمل، وجاهل يعرفها وينكرها ولا يحملها، حتى وصل إليّ وإلى أمتي، ولا يهلك على الله إلا هالك، ولا يغفله إلا تارك. فالحذر أيها الناس، وإياكم والوسواس الخناس، فإنما يبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا

The Prophet said: "Trust and Compact came down to the children of Adam with the Prophets; they were sent with it. Some of them were Allah's Messengers, others Prophets, yet others Messenger-cum-Prophets. Then the Qur'an was sent, which is Allah's speech; and Arabic and non-Arabic (languages) came down. So they knew the Qur'anic command and the Sunan in their language. Allah did not leave anything that was obligatory on them or was prohibited, but it was explained to them – leaving them no excuse; so that there was none of the people of the tongue but who knew the difference between good and bad. Then it happened that the Trust was first removed from people's hearts so that a tiny point of it remained in the depth of their hearts. Then the word of honor, compacts, and sense of responsibility happened to be taken away.

“The books remained. The knowledgeable acted (according to the demands of Trust). As for the ignorant, he knew, but denied and refused to carry the burden – until the affair came down to me and to my Ummah.

“And none will destroy himself before Allah, except he who is bent on it; and none will abandon it but he who is heedless. So beware O people. And, be warned of the whisperings of the Devil. You are being tried to discover which of you is fair in practice."

Ibn Kathir declares the above as pretty weak, but adds that it has supporting statements of the Prophet, i.e. bits and pieces of statements here, contained in Sahih ahadith.

Finally, we have the famous hadith preserved by Bukhari:

عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ وَهْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا حُذَيْفَةُ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صلى الله عليه وسلم - حَدِيثَيْنِ رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَهُمَا وَأَنَا أَنْتَظِرُ الآخَرَ ، حَدَّثَنَا « أَنَّ الأَمَانَةَ نَزَلَتْ فِى جَذْرِ قُلُوبِ الرِّجَالِ ، ثُمَّ عَلِمُوا مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ ، ثُمَّ عَلِمُوا مِنَ السُّنَّةِ » . وَحَدَّثَنَا عَنْ رَفْعِهَا قَالَ « يَنَامُ الرَّجُلُ النَّوْمَةَ فَتُقْبَضُ الأَمَانَةُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ ، فَيَظَلُّ أَثَرُهَا مِثْلَ أَثَرِ الْوَكْتِ ، ثُمَّ يَنَامُ النَّوْمَةَ فَتُقْبَضُ فَيَبْقَى أَثَرُهَا مِثْلَ الْمَجْلِ ، كَجَمْرٍ دَحْرَجْتَهُ عَلَى رِجْلِكَ فَنَفِطَ ، فَتَرَاهُ مُنْتَبِرًا ، وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ شَىْءٌ ، فَيُصْبِحُ النَّاسُ يَتَبَايَعُونَ فَلاَ يَكَادُ أَحَدٌ يُؤَدِّى الأَمَانَةَ ، فَيُقَالُ إِنَّ فِى بَنِى فُلاَنٍ رَجُلاً أَمِينًا . وَيُقَالُ لِلرَّجُلِ مَا أَعْقَلَهُ وَمَا أَظْرَفَهُ وَمَا أَجْلَدَهُ . وَمَا فِى قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةِ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ » [صحيح البخارى]

Zayd b. Wahab reported: Hudhayfah told us that the Prophet spoke of two things to us, of which I saw one fulfilled, while I wait for the other to happen. He said, "Trust came down into the roots of men's hearts. Then they learned the Qur'an and learnt the Sunnah." And he spoke to us about they being withdrawn saying, "A man will take a nap and the Trust (amanah) will be withdrawn from his heart so that its effect will remain in the like manner of a light (darkish) patch. Then he will take a nap and it will be withdrawn so that its effect will be left like a rough area as the effect of hard work on the hand, like a spark which you stamped with your foot to put it off, so that you see him as an outstanding person, although there is nothing (of any worth) in him.

"Then the people will deal with each other but you will hardly find a man who would honor the trust so that it will be said, 'There is one among so and so who is trustworthy.' And it will be said about a man, 'How clever? How smart? And, how pretty!’ But he will not have a grain of belief in his heart."

Another of interest is as follows:

عن عبد الله بن مسعود، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال: "القتل في سبيل الله يكفر الذنوب كلها -أو قال: يكفر كل شيء -إلا الأمانة، يؤتى بصاحب الأمانة فيقال له: أدِّ أمانتك. فيقول: أنى يا رب وقد ذهبت الدنيا؟ فيقال له: أدِّ أمانتك. فيقول: أنى يا رب، وقد ذهبت الدنيا؟ فيقال له: أدِّ أمانتك. فيقول: أنى يا رب وقد ذهبت الدنيا؟ فيقول: اذهبوا به إلى أمه الهاوية. فيذهب به إلى الهاوية، فيهوي فيها حتى ينتهي إلى قعرها، فيجدها هنالك كهيئتها، فيحملها فيضعها على عاتقه، فيصعد بها إلى شفير جهنم، حتى إذا رأى أنه قد خرج زلَّت فهوى في أثرها أبد الآبدين"

On the authority of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud, the Prophet said, "Being killed in the way of Allah expiates all sins – or he said, expiates everything – except for trust (amanah). The man (with the responsibility) of trusts (not honored) will be brought forth and said, 'Return the trust.' He will say, 'Aye my Lord, the world is gone.' He will be told, 'Return the trust.' He will say, 'Aye my Lord, the world is gone.' He will be told, 'Return the trust.' He will say, 'Aye my Lord, the world is gone.' He will say, 'Take him to his abode, the Hawiyyah.' He will be taken to the Hawiyyah and (given a push) he will begin to plunge until he lands at its bottom. There he will find the like of it (i.e. trusts). He will lift it to his shoulders, and begin to climb with it to the edge of Jahannum; until when he thinks that he would be getting out, he will slip and fall back - that happening eternally."

Ibn Kathir says that the report has a good chain of narrators.

On the topic, we add the following. One is from Tirmidhi and others. It says:

أَدِّ الأَمَانَةَ إِلَى مَنِ ائْتَمَنَكَ وَلاَ تَخُنْ مَنْ خَانَكَ

"Honor the trust unto he who trusted you and, do not deceive him who deceives you."

Tirmidhi declares it as Hasan. However, Haythamiyy judged the version in Tabarani as Sahih.

Yet another on this topic is in Musnad of Ahmad and others, about which Haythamiyy said that one of the narrators in the chain was declared weak by Nasa'i, but whom Ibn Ma`een considered trustworthy. It says:

عنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ مَا خَطَبَنَا نَبِىُّ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- إِلاَّ قَالَ « لاَ إِيمَانَ لِمَنْ لاَ أَمَانَةَ لَهُ وَلاَ دِينَ لِمَنْ لاَ عَهْدَ لَهُ ».

Anas b. Malik said that the Prophet never addressed us but he said, "There is no faith in him who has no amanah, and there is no religion in him who does not keep the promise."

Also see Surah al-Nisa, note no. 180 of this work for some other details (Au.).

162. One might note that the offer was made in turns from the highest to the lowest: heavens, earth, mountains (Au.).

163. This refusal, points out Razi, was not the kind of refusal that Iblis had committed. His refusal was against a command, whereas these inanimate objects were, sort of, consulted. Secondly, his refusal was out of pride whereas theirs was out of humbleness.

164. Ibn `Abbas is severally reported, as also Dahhak that, Adam was told, “Will you undertake it (the amanah) in good spirit?" He asked, “And what is being in ‘good spirit’?” He was told, “If you did well, you will be rewarded, but punished if you went awry.” He accepted. But it was not between `Asr and Maghrib times but he had already sinned which resulted in his removal from Paradise. According to other reports he was told that the heavens and the earth and the mountains had refused to undertake the trust. But he volunteered all the same (Ibn Jarir). [We have translated a few words as they appear in other reports: Au.].

The report is in Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn al-Anbari, Ibn Abi Shaybah and others including Hakim who declared it trustworthy (Shawkani). And, of course, the `Asr and Maghrib of above reference is to the `Asr and Maghrib of the other world. The above also impacts that it was freedom to choose that led the inanimate objects to shrink back from the undertaking (Au.).

Ibn Kathir adds: A report in the Sahihayn tells us on the authority of Hudhayfah that:

???

There is another report in this connection worth reproducing. On the authority of `Abdullah ibn `Amr, the Prophet said,

"أربع إذا كن فيك فلا عليك ما فاتك من الدنيا: حفظ أمانة، وصدق حديث، وحسن خليقة، وعفة طعمة"

“If you are endowed with four characteristics, then it does not matter what you miss out of this world: Honoring the trust, truthful talk, good character, and lawful food” (Ibn Kathir). Haythami did not grant it his full approval (Au.).

Compare this with the characteristics of a hypocrite described by the Prophet: “When he is entrusted he fails, when he speaks he lies and when he quarrels he speaks bad words” (Au.).

Shawkani makes a useful addition, which, after its correction by S.Ibrhaim is as follows: The Prophet said, i.e., “There is no faith in him who has no amanah, and he has no religion who has no covenant.” (That is, who does not keep his promise: Au.). The narrative was declared trustworthy by Albani.

Compare this with the characteristics of a hypocrite described by the Prophet: “When he is entrusted he fails, when he speaks he lies and when he quarrels he speaks bad words” (Au.).

Amanah in fact, adds Ibn Kathir, is of such a high value that one might not swear by it. The Prophet (saws) said, as in a report of Ahmad, “Whoever swore by amanah is not of us.”

Ibn Kathir also narrates the report of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali in his Kitab al-Zuhd, that it was either Khunas or Jabalah b. Suhaym who said, “I was returning with Ziyad b. Hudayr from Jabiyyah that I said during a conversation, ‘No, by the amanah.” Ziyad began to weep and weep. I began to wonder whether I had committed a great fault.” (It was because early in Islam swearing by the amanah was considered a sin (Au.).

165. That is, Man’s acceptance of the Trust became the cause of the chastisement of the hypocrites and pagans (Imam Razi, Qurtubi, Alusi and others).

166. Hasan said that the implication is that these two classes of human beings, hypocrites and unbelievers, did not keep the trust, while those who kept it were the believers (Ibn Jarir).

In other words, to acknowledge the Oneness of one’s Creator is to prove true, and to refuse is to dishonor the greatest of trusts that man is entrusted with (Au.).

167. Some people have thought that “zalum and jahul” are fond expressions rather than those expressing anger or criticism (Shabbir).

It may be noted that in contrast to man’s two qualities: injustice and foolishness, Allah (swt) brought two of His own Qualities: very forgiving (of man’s injustices), very kind (in face of his foolishness). Further, Allah knew that man is unjust and foolish, yet entrusted him with the amanah, in knowledge that He will respond to him with forgiveness and kindness, if he fell short (Razi). 