Living The Quran
From Issue: 590 [Read full issue]
Delivering Trusts
Al-Nisa (Women) Chapter 4: Verse 58 (Partial)
"Allah commands you to deliver whatever you have been entrusted with to their rightful owners."
The basic and most important trust is that which God has implanted in human nature. This is the one which the heavens, the earth and the mountains refused to accept, but which man undertook. It is that of willingly and deliberately recognising Divine guidance and believing in God. Giving testimony in favour of Islam is an important way of delivering this trust.
- This takes the form firstly of striving hard within oneself so that one's life, feelings, actions and behaviour become a practical translation of faith.
- Another way of giving testimony in favour of Islam is to call on people to believe in Islam, explaining its values and principles.
- Testimony is further given by taking steps to help implement Islam as a code of living for the Muslim community, and in human life in general.
Another trust which is implied in the above is that of dealing with people and delivering to them whatever they have entrusted to us. That includes honesty in daily transactions, giving honest counsel to rulers and ruled, taking good care of young children, protecting the interests of the community and defending it against hostile forces and observing all duties and obligations outlined by the Divine code.
The verse can also be translated as "Allah commands you to deliver trusts to those worthy of them." This forewarns Muslims against the evils which had afflicted the Israelites. One of the fundamental mistakes committed by the Israelites was that in the time of their degeneration they had handed over positions of trust (i.e. religious and political leadership) to incompetent, mean, immoral, dishonest and corrupt people. The result was that corruption spread throughout the nation. The Muslims are directed to take heed of this, and to entrust positions of responsibility only to those who are capable of shouldering the burdens of such positions.
Source:
"In the Shade of The Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, vol 3, pp. 193, 194
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, vol 2, pp. 49