Tafsir of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Indeed, We offered the trust”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner asks: What is the meaning of the verse[Al-Ahzab 33:72]
Answer:
Its meaning is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) presented the trust, which is the religious obligations, the commands and prohibitions, and the acts of obedience, to the heavens and the earth. It was a presentation of choice, not a presentation of compulsion. He gave them the choice to bear it and receive the reward, or not to bear it and be free from its responsibility. They preferred safety, but the human being, the human race, Adam and his descendants, the human race, bore it. They bore this trust, preferring the gain, the reward, and the recompense. Among them are those who bore it outwardly and inwardly, and they are the believers. Among them are those who refused to bear it outwardly and inwardly, and they are the disbelievers. And among them are those who bore it outwardly but neglected it inwardly, and they are the hypocrites. For this reason, He said afterwards:[Al-Ahzab 33:73]. Yes.
The questioner asks: What is the meaning of the verse
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 جَهُولًاAnswer:
Its meaning is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) presented the trust, which is the religious obligations, the commands and prohibitions, and the acts of obedience, to the heavens and the earth. It was a presentation of choice, not a presentation of compulsion. He gave them the choice to bear it and receive the reward, or not to bear it and be free from its responsibility. They preferred safety, but the human being, the human race, Adam and his descendants, the human race, bore it. They bore this trust, preferring the gain, the reward, and the recompense. Among them are those who bore it outwardly and inwardly, and they are the believers. Among them are those who refused to bear it outwardly and inwardly, and they are the disbelievers. And among them are those who bore it outwardly but neglected it inwardly, and they are the hypocrites. For this reason, He said afterwards:
[It was] so 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 men and believing women. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
لِّيُعَذِّبَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ وَيَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/051 — archive.org (4:00)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.