exalted,"offered to the heavens and the earth but they declined to
bear it and were afraid of it, but man bore it; verily he was unjust
(to himself) and ignorant (of its results)"?
Praise be to Allah.
Allah, may He be exalted,offered obedience to Him and His obligations
and limits to the heavensand the earth and the mountains in such a
waythat if they did well they would be rewarded, but if they neglected
their duties they would be punished. They refused to bear it out of
fear thatthey might not do what was enjoined upon them, but man took
it on, and verily he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its
results).
This is the explanation ofthe verse in which Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, says:"Truly, We did offer al-amaanah (the trust
or moral responsibility or honestyand all the duties which Allah has
ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they
declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah's
torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and
ignorant (of its results) [al-Ahzaab 33:72]".
The interpretation of theamaanah (trust) as referring to shar'i duties
is the view of Ibn 'Abbaas, al-Hasan al-Basri, Mujaahid, Sa'eed ibn
Jubayr, ad-Dahhaak ibn Muzaahim, Ibn Zayd and most of the
commentators.
See:Tafseer at-Tabari, 20/336-340;Tafseer Ibn Katheer,
6/488-489;al-Jaami' li Ahkaam al-Qur'an, 14/252-253;Fath al-Qadeer,
4/437.
Qataadah said: The amaanah (trust) is the religion, obligatory duties
and limits set by Allah.
It was also said that what is meant by the amaanah here is whatever
people entrustone with.
Some of them said that itrefers to ghusl in the case of janaabah.
Zayd ibn Aslam said: The amaanah is three things:prayer, fasting and
ghuslin the case of janaabah.
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There is no contradictionbetween these opinions;rather they are all in
harmony and refer to responsibility and accepting the commandsand
prohibitions on the basis of their condition, which is that if they do
well they will be rewarded and if they neglect them they will be
punished. Man accepted this amaanah despite his weakness, ignorance
and injustice (to himself), except those who Allah guides. End quote.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 6/489
At-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The most correct of these opinions is that of those who said that what
is meant by the amaanah (trust) here is everything with which one is
entrusted with regard to religious commitment and things entrusted to
one by people. That is because Allah did not specify any particular
type of trust when He said, "Truly, Wedid offer al-amaanah (the
trust)". End quote.
Tafseer at-Tabari, 20/342
Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The word amaanah is general in meaning and encompasses all the duties
of Islam, according to the correct opinion. This is the view of the
majority. End quote.
Al-Jaami' li Ahkaam al-Qur'an, 14/252
As-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Everything that Allah hasenjoined upon His slave is an amaanah
(trust), and the slave must carry them out in the fullest sense. That
also includes things that are entrustedto one by people, such as
wealth, secrets and the like. The individual must pay attention to
both matters and fulfil both trusts."Verily! Allah commands that you
should render back the trusts to those, to whom they are due"
[an-Nisa'4:58]. End quote.
Tafseer as-Sa'di, p. 547
Ash-Shanqeeti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
In this verse Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tells us that He
offered the amaanah, which is the taking on ofduties and the
consequences of reward or punishment, to the heavens and the earth and
the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid of it. In
other words, they were scared of the consequences of taking on this
trust, lest that lead to the punishment and wrath of Allah. This
offer, refusal and fear happened in a true sense. Allah created the
heavens and the earth and the mountains with a sense of understanding,
the nature of which only Allah knows and we do not know. Thus they
understood when this trust was offered to them, and they refused and
were afraid. End quote.
Adwa' al-Bayaan, 36/139
To sum up:
The amaanah (trust) mentioned in this verse, that Allah offered to the
heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it
and were afraid of it, but man took it on, is the Islamic duties,
whether that has to do with duties towards Allah, may He be exalted,or
duties towards His slaves. The one who fulfils his duty towards Allah
and towards His slaves will be rewarded, but the one who neglects his
duty towards Allah and towards His slaves deserves punishment.
And Allah knows best.
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