How Does a Person Acquire Trustworthiness?
كيف يكتسب الإنسان خلق الأمانة؟
How does man acquire the quality of trustworthiness?
The answer gives four ways to acquire trustworthiness: training oneself to return trusts to their owners, remembering its great reward in this world and the next, feeling the consequences of lacking it, and remembering that betrayal and withholding people's rights are traits of the hypocrites.
1. Practical Training
Training oneself to return to people what they were entrusted with. Practice makes perfect, and consistently returning rights to their rightful owners builds a strong, unbreakable habit of integrity over time.
2. Remembering the Reward
By remembering the great reward in this world and the Hereafter. A trustworthy person earns the deep respect and trust of his community in this life, and secures the supreme pleasure and paradise of Allah in the next.
3. Visualizing the Consequences
Feeling the consequences of not having the character of trustworthiness. The absence of trustworthiness inevitably leads to a ruined reputation, the loss of social trust, and severe divine punishment. Being mindful of these negative outcomes powerfully deters a believer from betrayal.
4. Avoiding the Traits of Hypocrites
Remembering that betrayal and failure to give people what is rightfully theirs, is one of the characteristics of hypocrites. A true Muslim actively avoids the traits of hypocrisy to keep their faith pure, sincere, and free from contradiction.
كيف يكتسب الإنسان خلق الأمانة؟
يذكر الجواب أربع طرق لاكتساب خلق الأمانة: تعويد النفس على أداء الأمانات إلى أصحابها، وتذكر أجرها العظيم في الدنيا والآخرة، واستشعار عواقب عدم التخلق بها، وتذكر أن الخيانة وعدم أداء الحقوق من صفات المنافقين.
تعويد النفس عمليا
تعويد النفس على أداء الأمانات إلى أصحابها. فالممارسة المستمرة وإرجاع الحقوق لأهلها يبني عادة راسخة وقوية من النزاهة والمصداقية بمرور الوقت.
تذكر الأجر العظيم
تذكر الأجر العظيم في الدنيا والآخرة. فالشخص الأمين ينال الاحترام العميق والثقة من مجتمعه في هذه الحياة، ويضمن رضا الله سبحانه وتعالى وجنته في الآخرة.
استشعار العواقب
استشعار العواقب المترتبة على عدم التخلق بالأمانة. إن غياب الأمانة يؤدي حتما إلى تدمير السمعة، وفقدان الثقة الاجتماعية، والعقاب الإلهي الشديد. والوعي بهذه النتائج يردع المؤمن بقوة عن الخيانة.
تجنب صفات المنافقين
التذكر بأن الخيانة وعدم أداء الحقوق إلى أصحابها من صفات المنافقين. والمسلم الحقيقي يتجنب بفعالية صفات النفاق ليحافظ على إيمانه نقيا وصادقا وخاليا من التناقض.
1. Return the Trust Even to One Who Betrayed You | ولا تخن من خانك
The Prophet said: Render the trust to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrayed you (Sunan Abi Dawud 3535, graded hasan sahih by al-Albani). The answer's first step, training oneself to return trusts to their owners, holds even when the other party has not been faithful.
قال رسول الله ﷺ: "أد الأمانة إلى من ائتمنك ولا تخن من خانك" (سنن أبي داود 3535، وقال الألباني: حسن صحيح).
2. Those Who Guard Their Trusts | لأماناتهم وعهدهم راعون
Among the believers who will succeed, Allah names those who are faithful to their trusts and their covenants (Al-Mu'minun 23:8), and says that they are the inheritors who will inherit Paradise (23:10-11). Ibn Kathir explains: when they are entrusted they do not betray but render it to its owners, and when they make a covenant they keep it, unlike the hypocrites. This is the reward the answer's second step recalls.
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ (سورة المؤمنون: 8)
قال تعالى في صفات المؤمنين المفلحين: والذين هم لأماناتهم وعهدهم راعون (المؤمنون 23:8)، ثم قال: أولئك هم الوارثون الذين يرثون الفردوس (المؤمنون 23:10-11). قال ابن كثير: "أي: إذا اؤتمنوا لم يخونوا، بل يؤدونها إلى أهلها، وإذا عاهدوا أو عاقدوا أوفوا بذلك، لا كصفات المنافقين".
3. Betraying a Trust Is a Sign of Hypocrisy | وإذا اؤتمن خان
The Prophet said: The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks it, and when he is entrusted he betrays (Sahih al-Bukhari 33). This is the answer's fourth step: remembering that betrayal is a trait of the hypocrites.
قال رسول الله ﷺ: "آية المنافق ثلاث: إذا حدث كذب، وإذا وعد أخلف، وإذا اؤتمن خان" (صحيح البخاري 33).
Scholarly Insight: The answer's steps rest on clear texts: render the trust even to one who betrayed you (Sunan Abi Dawud 3535); those faithful to their trusts and covenants are among the successful believers who inherit Paradise (Al-Mu'minun 23:8-11); and betraying a trust is a sign of the hypocrite (Sahih al-Bukhari 33). Read more in the tafsir of Surah Al-Mu'minun.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How can a person become trustworthy?
The answer gives four ways: practice returning trusts, remember the reward, feel the consequences of betrayal, and remember that betrayal is a trait of the hypocrites.
Should I return a trust to someone who betrayed me?
Yes. The Prophet said: render the trust to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrayed you (Sunan Abi Dawud 3535).
What is the reward of being faithful to trusts?
Allah names those faithful to their trusts among the successful believers who will inherit Paradise (Al-Mu'minun 23:8-11).
Is betraying a trust a sign of hypocrisy?
Yes. The Prophet named it among the three signs of the hypocrite (Sahih al-Bukhari 33).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →