The Meaning of Amanah in the Saying of Allah the Exalted: “Indeed, We Offered the Amanah”
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The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
May Allah bless you and reward you. This person asks, may Allah preserve you: What is the meaning of the amanah mentioned in the Noble Qur'an in the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ahzab 33:72] Does it include material amanah, or does it include everything a Muslim possesses in his life?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The meaning of amanah in this verse, as the scholars said, is the amanah of the Shari'ah obligations, namely the commands and prohibitions. This is the amanah: to do what Allah has made obligatory upon him and to leave what Allah has forbidden. Allah entrusted him with his religion, so it is obligatory upon him to fulfill it. Because of the greatness of this amanah, Allah offered it to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains. It was an offer of choice, not an offer of compulsion. When they asked, “What is upon us?” He said, “If you fulfill it, you will have the reward, and if you do not fulfill it, you will have the sin.” So they preferred safety and disclaimed it.
[Al-Ahzab 33:72] meaning we feared from it, and the mountains feared from it and from its responsibility, so they preferred safety over the spoils. The human being, who is Adam and his descendants, preferred the spoils over the risk and the sin. For this reason, He said that the human being was oppressive and ignorant, meaning that he preferred the spoils and forgot the sin that accompanies them if he loses something or loses it. This is part of the human being's ignorance and greed. The verse indicates the greatness of this trust. For this reason, He said afterwards: [Al-Ahzab 33:73] [Al-Ahzab 33:73]. So the people divided into three categories regarding this trust: some carried it outwardly and inwardly, and they are the believing men and believing women; some lost it outwardly and inwardly, and they are the men and women who associate partners with Allah; and some bore it outwardly and lost it inwardly, and they are the hypocritical men and hypocritical women. Yes.
May Allah greet you and bless you.
The questioner:
May Allah bless you and reward you. This person asks, may Allah preserve you: What is the meaning of the amanah mentioned in the Noble Qur'an in the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًاThe Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The meaning of amanah in this verse, as the scholars said, is the amanah of the Shari'ah obligations, namely the commands and prohibitions. This is the amanah: to do what Allah has made obligatory upon him and to leave what Allah has forbidden. Allah entrusted him with his religion, so it is obligatory upon him to fulfill it. Because of the greatness of this amanah, Allah offered it to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains. It was an offer of choice, not an offer of compulsion. When they asked, “What is upon us?” He said, “If you fulfill it, you will have the reward, and if you do not fulfill it, you will have the sin.” So they preferred safety and disclaimed it.
Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَso that Allah may punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and the men and women who associate others with Him and that Allah may accept repentance from the believing
لِّيُعَذِّبَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ وَيَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَand believing women. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/240 — archive.org (0:56)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.