The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Render back trusts to the one who entrusted it to you, and do not
betray the one who betrays you.” (Abu Dawud)
Amaanah is honesty. Honesty is the respect of rights and
commitments. It is also to assume one’s responsibilities. Responsibilities are
a charge that Allah (twa) has entrusted to us. By fulfilling our
responsibilities we render back trusts to the one who is entitled to it.
Faith is an Amaanah.
The practice of religious obligations such as Prayers (Salat), Fasting (Sawm), Mandatory
Tax (Zakaat) Pilgrimage (Hajj) or even the Wudhu and Ghusl, is an Amaanah.
To carefully learn the tenets of the Muslim faith and
the laws of Islam is an Amaanah. To teach
the Religion (Islam) is an Amaanah. To
give sincere and dedicated advice is an Amaanah.
Enjoining good and preventing evil, the Haraam
(anything that is illegal) and injustices is an Amaanah.
The opposite of Amaanah
is Khiyaanah which is only betrayal,
cheating, deception, falsehood and deceit. Thus, lying, fraud, deceit and
deception are part of Khiyaanah. Amaanah is the characteristic of good, sincere
and accomplished believer (Mumin). As
for Khiyaanah, it is that of the
hypocrite (Munafiq).
The Amaanah
which is summarized in the rights and assurance of responsibilities is even
more important than charity and forms of supererogatory spending (for cause of
Allah) or charity (Sadaqaat). Allah
(twa) ordered to first pay off the debts of the deceased, which is a return of
the Amaanah to those concerned.
Second, beneficiaries of the bequest are to receive their shares, and at last there
is the division of the inheritance between the heirs.
Respect for the Amaanah
is a character of the Prophets (as).
When our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (saws) had sent his letter to the Byzantine Emperor (Heraclius) and to invite his people to Islam, the latter wished to have accurate information about our beloved Prophet. He was in the land of Palestine; so he called the Arab traders who were there. Among them was Abu Sufyan which was still a disbeliever (Kaafir). It was him that the emperor questioned because he was an important dignitary of the tribe of Quraysh, the people of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (saws).
When our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (saws) had sent his letter to the Byzantine Emperor (Heraclius) and to invite his people to Islam, the latter wished to have accurate information about our beloved Prophet. He was in the land of Palestine; so he called the Arab traders who were there. Among them was Abu Sufyan which was still a disbeliever (Kaafir). It was him that the emperor questioned because he was an important dignitary of the tribe of Quraysh, the people of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (saws).