Commentary

Emphasis has been placed in this entire Surah on the reverence of the Messenger of Allah and on the obligation of obeying him. Now in the later part of the Surah, the great station and rank of this obedience has been identified. Here, the obedience to Allah and His Messenger and the implementation of their commands has been expressed through the word: amanah: (Trust), the reason of which will appear later.

What does "amanah" mean?

What is meant by the word: amanah at this place? many views of the leading exegetes among Sahabah and Tabi` in, and others, have been reported to answer this question. Different things have been held to be the 'amanah', such as, Islamic Legal Obligations, Protection of Chastity, Properties held under Trust, Removal of Impurity through having bath, Salah, Zakah Fasting, Hajj etc. Therefore, the majority of commentators have said that all areas of religious conduct are included in it. (Qurtubi)

In Tafsir Mazhari, it was said: The whole package of all obligations and prohibitions set by the Shari’ ah is amanah. In Al-Bahr-ul-Muhit, Abu Hayyan said:

اَلظَّاھِرُ اَنَّھا کُلُّ مَا یؤتَمَنُ علیہِ مِن اَمرِ وَ نَھیِ وَ شَانِ دِینِ و دُنیَا وَالشَّرعُ کُلُّہ، اَمَاںَۃُ وَ ھٰذَا قَولُ الجَمھُورِ

Apparently everything one is trusted with (by the Shari'ah) from obligations and prohibitions, and every state of life which relates to this world or the Hereafter - in fact, the Shari’ ah, all of it, is amanah. And this is the position the majority of Muslim scholars has taken.

In short, amanah (trust) means to be obligated with the precepts and injunctions of the Shari` ah and being under command to carry these out. Once this is accomplished to the best of one's ability, the eternal blessings of Jannah (Paradise) have been promised, and on any contravention or shortcoming, there shall be the punishment of Jahannam (Hell). Some early commentators have said that amanah (trust) refers to the capability of fulfilling the heavy responsibility placed by Divine injunctions, something that depends on a particular degree of reason and awareness - and moving forward therein and deserving Divine vice-regency depends on this very capability. The species of creation that do not have this capability, no matter how high or superior their placement, simply cannot advance from their given place. For this reason, the skies and the earth, even angels, have no inherent ability to go forward from the place they are in. Everything from these creatures is restricted to whatever station of nearness (to the Creator) it has. Their state is aptly pointed to in a verse of the Qur'an where it was said: مَا مِنَّا إِلَّا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ (There is no one among us who does not have a known station - As-Saffat, 37:164)

Under this sense of amanah (trust), all narrations of Hadith about amanah turn out to be symmetrical and the sayings of the majority of commentators also converge on almost a mutual agreement.

In the Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, and in the Musnad of Ahmad, there is a narration from Sayyidna Hudhaifah ؓ saying that, 'the Holy Prophet ﷺ had told us about two things. One of these we have already witnessed with our own eyes. The unfolding of the other is still awaited. The first thing was that, "First of all, amanah was sent down into the hearts of the men of faith. Then, the Qur'an was revealed and then the people of faith acquired knowledge from the Qur'an, and practice from the Sunnah".

After that, he narrated the other Hadith as follows: "A time will come when no sooner does a man rise from sleep, amanah (trust) will be confiscated from out of his heart leaving some of its traces behind, just like you would roll down an ember from the fire on your feet (and this ember will certainly roll away but) its traces will survive in the form of inflammation or blister - although, no constituent element of the fire itself is left out there. So much so that people will enter into mutual transactions and contracts, but no one will fulfill the obligations of amanah due against him and (there will be such a dearth of trustworthy men that) people will be found saying that there is a trustworthy man in such and such tribe!"

In this Hadith amanah has been declared to be something which relates to the heart and this alone has the ability of fulfilling the obligations and duties imposed by the Shari` ah of Islam.

And according to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn 'Amr ؓ appearing in the Musnad of Ahmad, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said, "There are four things which, if you come to have them, and you have nothing out of so many worldly things, you are still no loser. (Those four things are): Guarding of trust, telling the truth, good morals and lawful sustenance. (From Ibn Kathir)

An investigation into the way the 'trust' was 'offered'

In the cited verse (72), it was said that Allah Ta’ ala placed this amanah (trust) before the heavens, the earth and the mountains and all of them refused to bear the burden of this responsibility shrinking from it out of the danger of not being able to fulfill its due right - but, man did.

Here, it is worth pondering that the heavens, the earth and the mountains that are inanimate and, obviously devoid of knowledge and consciousness, how then would it be possible to rationalize the presentation of such an offer before them and that of their response to it? Some early commentators have taken this to be a figure of speech - as the noble Qur'an has said elsewhere by way of comparison: لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَـٰذَا الْقُرْ‌آنَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ لَّرَ‌أَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّـهِ (Had We sent down this Qur'an to a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, burst apart out of awe for Allah - Al-Hashr 59:21). It is obvious that this example has been given as a matter of supposition - not that it was really revealed to or on a mountain. So, these commentators have taken the 'offer' of 'trust' to the heavens etc. also in a figurative or metaphorical sense.

But, in the sight of the majority of Muslim scholars, it is not correct, because in the verse of Surah Al-Hashr, the Qur'an has itself made it clear, by initiating the statement with the word: 'if, 'that it is just a hypothetical statement. On the contrary, the present verse is an affirmation of an incident in a descriptive style, and it is not permissible to take it in figurative or metaphorical sense without any proof. And if it is argued that these things have no senses and therefore no question can be asked from them and no answer is expected from them, then this argument stands rejected on the basis of other express statements of the Qur'an. The reason is that the Qur'an has explicitly said: وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ (And there is not a single thing that does not extol His purity and praise - Al-Isra', 17:44). And it is obvious that knowing Allah Ta’ ala, realizing that He is the Creator, the Master, the highest and the best, and glorifying Him consequently is something not possible without knowledge and consciousness. Therefore, it stands proved from this verse that knowledge and consciousness do exist in all elements of creation to the extent that these are also there in what is considered to be inanimate. On the basis of this knowledge and consciousness, these can be addressed and a response can be expected from them. Their response could take different forms. It could take the form of words and letters and - it is not rationally impossible - that Allah Ta’ ala could bestow on the heavens and the earth and the mountains the functional ability to verbalize and speak. Therefore, in the sight of the majority of the learned among the Muslim Ummah, the phenomenon of this ` ard of amanah (the placement or offer of trust) came to pass in reality and these entities expressed their inability to bear the burden of this responsibility - also in reality. There is no simile or metaphor at work here.

The acceptance of the offer of the 'trust' was optional, not mandatory

A question may be asked here. When Allah Ta’ ala personally made the offer of this great trust before the heavens and the earth and the mountains, how could they dare refuse it? If they had contravened the Divine order, they would have been destroyed totally. In addition to that, the obedience of the heavens and the earth to divine orders is also proved from the verse: أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ (we come in obedience - Fussilat, 41:11) which means: When Allah Ta’ ala ordered the heavens and the earth to come to implement His command, be it willingly or unwilling, both of these responded by saying that they were pleased to come to obey His command.

The answer is that, in the cited verse (41:11), the command given had a mandatory command with it where it was also said that they were to come with pleasure, or without it but, no matter what is the case, they had to obey the command. This is contrary to the present verse featuring the offer of the trust where following its presentation, they were given the choice of taking or not taking this awesome responsibility.

Ibn Kathir has, with the support of various authorities, reported from several Sahabah and Tabi` in - Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Hasan al-Basri, Mujahid and others - the following details of this offer of the trust:

'What Allah Ta’ ala offered first to the heavens, then to the earth, and then to the mountains as a matter of choice was: Would you undertake to carry out the responsibility imposed by this trust (obedience to given injunctions) from Us against a return fixed for it?' Everyone asked, 'What is the return?' It was said, 'If you fulfill the demands of this trust (obedience to given injunctions) to the best of your ability, you will have the best of reward, and particularly the honor of having nearness to Allah, and if you failed to implement these injunctions, or fell short in it, you will be punished.' Hearing this, all these huge big bodies responded by saying, '0 our Lord, we are operating under Your command even now. But (now when we have been given a choice), we find ourselves weak and unable to bear the burden of this heavy responsibility. As reward, we do not want it, and as for punishment, we cannot bear it.' And Tafsir Qurtubi, with reference to Hakim Tirmidhi, has reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: ' (After the offer of the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and after their response), Allah Ta’ ala addressed Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and said: 'We offered Our trust to the heavens and the earth but they expressed their inability to bear the burden of this responsibility. Now, would you assume this responsibility knowing that which goes with it?"Adam (علیہ السلام) asked, '0 Lord, what is it that goes with it?' The answer was: 'If you succeeded in fulfilling the demands of this trust to your best (that is, remained obedient to your best), you will be rewarded (which will be in the form of the nearness and pleasure of Allah and the eternal bliss of Jannah (Paradise), and if you let this trust go to waste, you will be punished.' 'Adam (علیہ السلام) (eager to advance towards nearness and pleasure of Allah Ta’ ala) went ahead and assumed this responsibility. However, from the moment he assumed the burden of this heavy trust, not much time had passed, not even that much as is between the Salah of ` Asr and Zuhr, within which the Shaitan snared him into that well-known slip and he was made to leave Jannah.

During which period of time did this event of the offer of trust take place?

From the narration of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ which has appeared immediately above, it seems that this offer of trust made to the heavens and the earth and the mountains was made before the creation of 'Adam. Then, following the creation of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) it was also said before him that this trust was also offered to the heavens and the earth earlier, and that they did not have the ability to bear the burden of this responsibility, therefore, they excused themselves out of it.

And what is apparent here is that this event of the offer of trust came before the Covenant of Eternity, that is, the Covenant of 'Alast because the Covenant of أَلَسْتُ بِرَ‌بِّكُمْ (Am I not your Lord?) is a phase of this very acceptance to carry out the responsibility of fulfilling the trust - and stands for taking a solemn pledge to hold and discharge the responsibilities enjoined by an office.

For vicegerency on the earth, the ability to bear the responsibilities of the great trust was necessary

As eternally predestined, Allah Ta’ ala had already decided to appoint Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) His Khalifah (vicegerent) on the earth and this Khilafah (vicegerency) could only be entrusted with one who bears the responsibility of upholding the essential obedience to Divine injunctions - because, it is the very objective of this Khilafah that the Law of Allah be implemented on the earth and that the creation of Allah be induced to obey Divine injunctions. Therefore, as a matter of creational imperative, Sayyidna 'Adam 'JI agreed to bear the burden of the responsibility of this trust - although the inability of other humongous units of creation to bear it was already in his knowledge. (Mazhari and Bayan-ul-Qur’ an).

In the last sentence of verse 72:إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا : Surely, he was unjust (to himself) unaware (of the end), the word: 'Zalum' means one who is unjust to himself, and 'jahul' means one who is unaware of the end. From this sentence, it is generally assumed that it has appeared here blaming man in an absolute sense, that is, so ignorant was man that he went ahead inflicting injustice upon himself by accepting to carry such a big burden of responsibility, something beyond his power. But, in the light of explicit statements in the Qur'an, this is not actually so because 'man' may mean either Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) or whole mankind. Now Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) is, as a prophet, protected by Allah from committing sins. The burden of responsibility which he had assumed was carried out by him duly and certainly. As a result of this, he was made a vicegerent of Allah (Khalifatullah) and sent to the earth. He was made the object of prostration by angels and, in the Hereafter, his station is far higher than that of the angels. And if 'man' must mean mankind, then, in this class, there are several hundred thousands of noble prophets (علیہم السلام) and several millions of the righteous and the men of Allah (awliya' Allah) even angels emulate - those who proved by their conduct in life that they were capable of handling and deserving this Divine trust. It was because of the basis laid out by these very noble souls, who duly vacated the rights and demands inherent in the great trust, that the Holy Qur'an declared mankind to be the noblest of Divine creation: وَلَقَدْ كَرَّ‌مْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ (And We bestowed dignity on the Children of 'Adam - Al-Isra', 17:70). This proves that neither is Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) blameworthy, nor the mankind as a whole. Therefore, commentators have said that this sentence is not there to impute a blame, rather, it appears there as the description of the actual event with regard to the most of individuals in the class. As such, the sense is that the majority of human kind proved to be zalum (one who inflicts injustice upon himself) and jahul (one who is unaware of the end) that failed to fulfill the rights and demands of this trust and fell into the abyss of loss. And since this was the state of affairs with the majority, therefore, it was attributed to humankind.

In short, in the verse, the two words (Zalum and Jahul) mentioned above have been used for those particular individuals among human beings who did not obey the injunctions of the Shari’ ah as they were expected to, and failed to fulfill the right entailed by the amanah or trust placed with them - that is, the disbelievers, hypocrites, transgressors, the wicked, and sinning Muslims of the community. This Tafsir has been reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Sayyidna Ibn Jubayr ؓ ، Hasan Al-Basri (رح) and others. (Qurtubi)

And there are others who have said that Zalum and Jahul has been used at this place in the sense of 'naive', as an affectionate form of address carrying the thought that man, brimming with love for his Creator and in quest of the station of nearness to Him, simply forgot the end of the whole thing. Similarly, these words could also be taken to have been spoken for the entire humankind. In Tafsir Mazhari, details of this aspect have been reported from Mujaddid Alf Thani and other noble Sufis.