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58- ALLAH COMMANDS YOU TO GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH BACK TO THOSE WHO ENTRUSTED  IT TO YOU, AND IF YOU JUDGE BETWEEN PEOPLE TO JUDGE JUSTLY, NOBEL IS WHAT ALLAH ADVISES YOU TO DO, AND ALLAH HEARS AND SEES ALL THINGS.

Historical background:

On the day Makah was taken by the Muslims, Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him for the key to the Kabba which was in the custody of a man called Othman Ibn Talha.  There were three voluntary jobs related to the Kabba, having any of them was a great honour.  They were:

1-    Custody of the Key of the Kabba, which was with Othman Ibn Talha and family

2-    Watering the Pilgrims.  It was with Abas Ibn Abd El-Motaleb, Allah’s messenger’s uncle and family.

3-    Feeding the Pilgrims.

When Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him asked Othman for the key to the Kabba, Othman hesitated first, and then he brought the key.  Allah’s messenger went into the Kabba to pray, and there he received this Ayah.  When he went out, he gave the key back to Othman Ibn Talha and told him that the key shall remain in his and his family’s custody.

One should remember that this was the action of a leader who just conquered people who prosecuted and fought him for years.  This is a great example of humility while in power and total control, also the total obedience to Allah the Highest.

General meaning:

The Muslim should fulfill and honour whatever he is entrusted with.  It is the same for a disbeliever as for a believer.  Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “Deliver your trust to those who entrusted you, and do not betray those who betrayed you”.  (T: Beyou; 58 & a: 3; 414 & D: Beyou, 57)

This is honesty, which is expected to disappear from the Earth just before the Day of Resurrection.  Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “When honesty disappears, then wait for the hour (Day of Resurrection)”.  (B: Elm; 2)

The order from Allah the Highest in this Ayah is a very strong and direct command “ALLAH COMMANDS YOU”.  It is not used often in the Quran, which shows us how important fulfilling a trust is. 

One has many things one is entrusted with in this life:

-         Work which a person is entrusted with and he should do well.

-         A person is entrusted with his wife or husband, children and wider family. 

-         A person is entrusted with whatever people give him/her to keep safe.

-         A person is entrusted with fulfilling the promises he/she makes.

 Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said in the very well known Hadith: “You are all guardians and you are responsible for what you are in charge of”.  

“AND IF YOU JUDGE BETWEEN PEOPLE TO JUDGE JUSTLY”

Allah the Highest commands us to b just in many Ayahs of the Quran. Justice should be done even with people we hate or dislike, even if it is against our own interests, or our parents and closest kin.  The highest the position the person is, the more the effects of his justice or injustice is going to be, also the more the temptations for him/her to be unjust.  We should remember that justice or injustice does not happen only in the courts, but in all aspects of life.  Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him said: “The dearest person to Allah the Highest and the closest to him on the Day of Resurrection is a just ruler; and the most hated by Allah the Highest on the Day of Resurrection is an unjust ruler”.   (M:Zakah;16 & T:Zohd;53 & N:Qudah;2 & Ma:Eqamah;78 & A:3;22)

Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him also told us that a just ruler is one of the seven whom: “Allah will shadow with His shadow on the day when there is no shadow but His”.  (B: Azan; 36 & T: Janah; 2 & Ma: Sayam; 48 & A: 2; 439)

Such is the importance of Justice, particularly when in authority and power.

Non Muslims often claim that Islam spread by the sword.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  In fact for many years the Muslim Khalifas ruled over largely non-Muslim population.  People converted to Islam gradually in these countries when they witnessed Islam applied correctly and fairly to every one living in the Muslim state. 

I will mention an incident which clarifies this point.  The fourth Khalifa, Ali Ibn Abi Taleb bought a shield from a man in the market.  When he bought it, he had his son and servant with him.  However, the shield was stolen from him in the market soon afterwards.  They went around looking for the thief and soon they found a Jewish man carrying the shield.  They took him to the Judge.

Being the Khalifa, did not give Ali Ibn Abi Taleb any advantage in the court.  The fact that he had to take him to court itself is notable.  The judge asked for evidence of Ali’s ownership of the shield, and Ali had two witnesses, his son and servant. The judge did not accept them because of their very close relationship to Ali.  They could not find the man who sold the shield to Ali.  So it was one man’s word against another.  Ali the Khalifa could not prove his case of Ali the Khalifa accusing a Jewish man of his subject to have stolen from him was dropped.  The Jewish man soon converted to Islam.

Even now people convert to Islam because of what they know about the truth and teachings of Islam, rather than the state of the Muslims.  This is how Islam spread throughout the world, and in countries briefly ruled or never ruled by Muslims.

B: Bukhari    M: Muslim     Mal: Malek    A: Ahmed   D: Abu Dawood     

Da: Daremy       Ma: Ibn Magah            N: Nesae          T: Termezi