Preservation of trust and the premonition regarding betraying it

First Sermon:

All praise is due and belongs to Allâh. We praise Him, seek His help and forgiveness and repent to Him. We seek refuge with Allâh from the evils of ourselves and from the wickedness of our own deeds. Whomever that Allâh guides, none can mislead him, and whomever He sends astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allâh alone with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ )

(O ye who believe, fear Allâh as he should be feared and die not unless you are Muslims) [Al-Imran: 102]

( يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاء وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءلُونَ بِهِ وَالأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا )

(O people fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul. From it, He created its spouse, and from both of them scattered many men and women. Fear Allâh, by whom you ask one another, and (fear) the wombs (lest you sever its relationship). Allâh is ever watching over you.) [An-Nisa: 1].

(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا * يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا)

 (O you who believe, fear Allâh and say sound statements. He will mend your deeds for you and forgive your sins. Whosoever obeys Allâh and His Messenger shall win a great victory) [Al-Ahzab: 70-71].

In Makkah, before the message, Prophet Muhammad (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him), was popular among its people with two titles; «honest and trustworthy». As for honesty, Ah, what will convey unto you what the honesty is! As for trust, it is our subject of discussion for today.

Many, if asked: «Are you fit to bear the trust?» They underestimate the matter and take it for granted, despise it and regard it as an easy task! The reason is that they may have reduced the meaning of trust to only one type of «returning deposits»!

The truth is that trust has a broad and comprehensive concept, which almost covers all worldly and religious matters and their conditions.  Trust is all that Allâh has placed under your control, imposed upon you, or has charged you with its responsibility of matters of religion and the world, whether it is between you and your Lord or between you and the people, or between you and yourself.

There are many forms and kinds of trust, but the greatest form of trust is that which has to do with the religion of Allâh, the most Glorified and Exalted. Passing a religious verdict is a trust because it serves as a signature on behalf of Allâh, and daring it without knowledge is betrayal of trust: " If anyone is given a legal decision ignorantly, the sin rests on the one who gave it " (Al-Albani graded it Hasan).

Acts of worship are trust. The prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) has considered the muaddhin (a caller to prayer) as one bearing a trust, when he said: "The Mu'adh-dhin is entrusted" (Al-Albani graded it Sahih).

Speech is a trust and to launch it without verification is betrayal. The messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) said, "A person may speak words that he does not understand their repercussions but he sinks down in Hell-Fire farther than the distance between the east and the west "(Agreed upon).

Secret is a trust and divulging it is betrayal: "When a man narrates a narration, then he looks around, then it is a trust". (Al-Albani graded it Sahih).

Buying and selling is a trust and cheating in them is betrayal. The messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) passed by a pile of food. He put his fingers in it and felt wetness. He said: 'O owner of the food! What is this?' He replied: 'It was rained upon O Messenger of Allâh.' He said: 'Why not put it on top of the food so the people can see it?' Then he said: 'Whoever cheats, he is not one of us" (Muslim).

Giving advice is a trust.  The messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) said, "He who is consulted is entrusted" (Al-Albani graded it Sahih) and lack of sincerity in it is betrayal, "If anyone advises his brother, knowing that guidance lies in another direction, he has deceived him" (Al-Albani graded it Hasan).

The wife, children and the household are a trust concerning which one would be held accountable on the Day of Judgment: " There is none amongst the bondsmen who was entrusted with the affairs of his subjects and he died in such a state that he was dishonest in his dealings with those over whom he ruled that the Paradise is not forbidden for him." (Agreed upon).

The secrets of marital relations are trust and divulging them is betrayal. The messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) said: " The most important of the trusts in the sight of Allâh on the Day of judgment is that a man goes to his wife and she goes to him (and the breach of this trust is) that he should divulge her secret "(Muslim).

Perfection of any act you undertake is a trust, especially assuming authorities, about which the messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) said, "It is a trust and it will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection ..." (Muslim).

As for trust in general, it is everything that has been prescribed upon the slaves; such as (Salah) prayer, (Zakah) obligatory alms, fasting and payment of debt. The most serious of them is the deposits, and the most serious of deposits is keeping secrets. Preservation of the religion is a trust, protection of the community is a trust, dissemination of knowledge is a trust ... gazing is a trust, speech is a trust, the limbs are trust and the blessings are trust.

Beloved brother! Trust is of great importance in our religion. This includes the following:

First: It is the attribute of the prophets and angels. If you are trustworthy, it suffices you that you share with the prophets one of their virtues. Every prophet was keen to describe himself with trust for his people. We heard the Qur'an saying in the tongues of Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut and Shuaib, peace be upon them:

(إِنِّى لَكُمۡ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌ۬)

 Lo! I am a trustworthy messenger unto you.

The qualifications of Musa, peace be upon him, that impressed Shuaib's daughter to call her father to marry her to him were nothing more than the trust and power:

(قَالَتۡ إِحۡدَٮٰهُمَا يَـٰٓأَبَتِ ٱسۡتَـٔۡجِرۡهُ‌ۖ إِنَّ خَيۡرَ مَنِ ٱسۡتَـٔۡجَرۡتَ ٱلۡقَوِىُّ ٱلۡأَمِينُ)

One of the two women said: O my father! Hire him! For the best (man) that you can hire is the strong, the trustworthy [Al-Qasas: 26],

It is the most beautiful attribute by which Angel Gabriel, peace be upon him, was qualified

(نَزَلَ بِهِ ٱلرُّوحُ ٱلۡأَمِينُ)

Which the Trustworthy Spirit has brought down [As-Shu'ara: 193].

Second: It is the attribute of every god-fearing believer as confirmed by the beloved Prophet, (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him)   in his saying, "The believer is the one from whom their (people’s) wealth and lives are safe" Al-Albani graded it Sahih).

Third: The care given by Almighty Allâh to this issue. On this occasion, He said,

(إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأۡمُرُكُمۡ أَن تُؤَدُّواْ ٱلۡأَمَـٰنَـٰتِ إِلَىٰٓ أَهۡلِهَا)

Lo! Allâh commands you that you restore trusts to their owners [An-Nisaa: 58].

Fourth: The attention paid by the Prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) to this issue, whereby he used to entrust Allâh with the trust of the traveler, accompanying that by two things. On this, he said, "I entrust Allâh with your Deen (religion), your trust and your final deeds" (Al-Albani graded it Sahih).

O believers! If we assume such attribute, Allâh will grant us the fruit of trust, which include the following:

• It is among the things that qualify one for the Paradise. Allâh, the Almighty said,

(وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمۡ وَعَهۡدِهِمۡ رَٲعُونَ * وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَٲتِہِمۡ يُحَافِظُونَ * أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡوَٲرِثُونَ * ٱلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ ٱلۡفِرۡدَوۡسَ هُمۡ فِيہَا خَـٰلِدُونَ  )

And those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, (8) And those who pay heed to their prayers. (9) These are the heirs (10) Who will inherit paradise. There they will abide therein forever [Al-Mu'minoon: 8-11].

• With trust alone, you can guarantee a quarter of your worldly affairs. Confirmation of this came in the words of the Messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him), "There are four qualities such that if you were to be given them, you will not be harmed by any other things of the world that were to be taken away from you. They are: upholding a trust, truthful words, good character and restraint in food" (Al-Albani graded it Sahih).
• Trust intercedes on behalf of its owner on the Siraat (that is, the Bridge set over Hell-fire on the Day of Judgement). Verily, trust and the ties of relationship would come on the Day of Judgement to stand on both sides of the Siraat, just because of their great status. The prophet (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) said, "Trust and the ties of relationship will be sent forth and will stand on the sides of the Siraat right and left" (Muslim).

Dear trustworthy one! If your heart has longed for this noble trait, I encourage and exhort you, so that the aspiration of Al-Farouque Umar will come to a reality; for he once said to his companions, "I wish that this house is full of men like Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah,". My dear wise and intelligent brother, perhaps you have realized why Umar chose to mention Abu Ubaidah in particular. It is because of the pronouncement of the Messenger of Allâh, (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) in his regard when he said, "For every nation there is an Amin (honest, trustworthy person) and the Amin of this nation is Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah." (Agreed upon).

Let me increase your longing for it now by introducing to you models of those who reached the peak in trust, perhaps you may boost your ambition to catch up with them.

Which models do I present to you when the whole of our history is full of persons that have attained the magnificent peak and had even approached perfection in the execution and protection of trusts! Do I tell you about Abu Bakr, who when he took over the Caliphate, said, "By Allâh, I have never slept and dreamt of this, I have never found the image in my dream and then I assumed, I am on my way and never gone astray."

Or do I tell you of Umar- master of ambition- when he went out in the hot sun searching for a camel that eluded from the cattle collected as charity, while he was then the Commander of the Faithful! He was a different person as he said, "When will I sleep? If I sleep in the night I would have lost the right of my Lord, and If I sleep in the day, I would have lost the right of the subjects?!"

Even if we go beyond all of this generation, should I inform you about Abu Hanifa An-Nu'man, who used to sell clothes? Once his business worker sold a defective piece of silk which he did not show to the buyer, Abu Hanifah journeyed far behind the buyer to disclose it to him ?!

Although, if you must ask me to tell you of a model in detail, I would tell you  the story related to us by the Messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) about two men who reached the peak of trustworthiness to the extent that they each refused a jar filled with gold. The messenger of Allâh, (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) says, "A man bought a piece of land from another man, and the buyer found an earthenware jar filled with gold in the land. The buyer said to the seller. 'Take your gold, as I have bought only the land from you, but I have not bought the gold from you.' The (former) owner of the land said, "I have sold you the land with everything in it.' So both of them took their case before a man who asked, 'Do you have children?' One of them said, "I have a boy.' The other said, "I have a girl.' The man said, 'Marry the girl to the boy and spend the money on both of them and give the rest of it in charity.' "(Agreed upon).

May Allâh make me and you like these virtuous trustworthy people, and I ask for the forgiveness of Allâh for you and me...

Second Sermon:

All praise is due and belongs to Allâh alone. May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon the last Prophet.

(Here) is a last question posing itself: With whom should we maintain trustworthiness? Is it with the parents and loved ones only? Is it with the trustworthy people only? Is it with Muslims only? ... The answer is: Trust should be maintained with all people of the earthly globe, in obedience to the Messenger of Allâh, (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) when he said, «Fulfill the trust for the one who entrusted you, and do not cheat the one who cheated you » (Al-Albani graded it Sahih).

Off course, do not be of the treacherous people even towards those who have betrayed you. My beloved one! Would you believe me if I tell you that if trust were given an eloquent tongue, it would scream with all its power, complaining to the Lord about the betrayal of the betrayers and treachery of the treacherous ones and would have shouted loud: "May Allâh betray him that has betrayed me!".

Do the reckless about keeping trust not realize that such is a sign of hypocrisy?! Do they not memorize this hadith: "Signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he tells lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted, he betrays his trust.”" (Agreed upon).

Are they not ashamed of being disgraced before all the creatures on Doomsday?! "For every one who betrays his trust, there will be a (huge) flag on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said: 'This flag proclaims a breach of trust by so-and-so" (Muslim).

It should shout in their faces: « Indeed anyone that betrayed the trust has breached the faith!», « Indeed, anyone that betrayed the trust has breached the faith!», « Indeed, anyone that betrayed the trust has breached the faith!».

On the authority of Anas, the messenger of Allâh (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) said, "He that does not keep trust has no faith" (Al-Albani graded it Sahih).

This is something the Messenger of Allâh, (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) sought refuge from, saying: "And I seek refuge in You from betrayal, for it is a bad thing to hide in one's heart" (Al-Albani graded it Sahih).

The holy Qur'an even stated betrayal along with dishonesty to Allâh and His Messenger:

( يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَخُونُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُوٓاْ أَمَـٰنَـٰتِكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ )

O you who believe! Betray not Allâh and His messenger, nor knowingly betray your trusts [Al-Anfal: 27].

It is for all these reasons that betrayal of trust threatens of the ruin of the earth and the setting in of the Day of Resurrection; for the messenger of Allâh, (May the blessings and peace of Allâh be upon him) said, "When the practice of honouring a trust is lost, expect the Last Day" (Al-Bukhari).

So be honest, honest with Allâh, honest with yourself, honest with those around you.

Be honest in your religion, faithful in your worship, trustworthy in your house, honest in your business and that which has been entrusted to you ... you will prosper in this world and the hereafter.

O Allâh make us of the loyal and truthful trustworthy people... Oh Allâh, send your blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad...