The Trust Allah Gave to Us (with Sign Language) - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah al-Hajjah (Opening)

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

The Offer That the Heavens, Earth, and Mountains Refused

The heavens were made an offer and they declined to take it. The earth was made the same offer and it also declined to take it. The mountains were made the same offer and they also declined to take it. But mankind — me and you — we accepted that responsibility.

In verse number 72 of Surah al-Ahzab, Allah is bringing to us a very powerful message. It is something which should make us sit up and think about our role and our purpose in life. Allah is telling us that the heavens, with all of their splendor and all of their beauty, refused to take this responsibility. And the earth, with all of its stability and its power, also refused. And the mountains, with all of their strength and all of their formidability, they also refused.

Not only did they refuse, but they were afraid of taking this responsibility. Allah says that he offered the trust — the responsibility — to the heavens, and to the earth, and to the mountains. Each one of them refused. Not only did they refuse, وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا — they were afraid to take on this responsibility. وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ — mankind, me and you, we bore this responsibility.

When Allah speaks about this amanah — a trust, a responsibility — the vast majority of the scholars of tafsir, عليهم رحمة الله, said that the meaning is the obligations that Allah has placed upon us and the prohibitions that Allah has made haram for us. This is what is being referred to — what is meant by the trust and responsibility. With that trust and responsibility there come certain perks and certain honors, but there also comes a threat of punishment. The trust that Allah gives — it is something which, on one hand, if it is fulfilled, then it takes you to the highest levels of reward, but if it is not fulfilled, if it is squandered, then it takes you to the depths of punishment.

Al-Imam al-Hasan al-Basri and the Meaning of the Amanah

Al-Imam al-Hasan al-Basri, رحمه الله تعالى, one of the greatest, most illustrious scholars of Islam — a giant from amongst the scholars of the Tabi'een. The Tabi'een in general, as you know, are the students of the Companions, رضي الله عنهم أجمعين. They are a prestigious generation of Muslims. They have been honored by Allah. The Prophet, by his own tongue, said:

"The best of people are my generation, then those who follow them, and then those who follow them." Those Tabi'een — that generation — were nurtured by the very hands that were nurtured directly by the Prophet. They studied and took their religion from the Companions, and the Companions were there and witnessed the revelation of the Quran. They understood the context of the Sunnah; they understood what was taking place and why it was taking place and how it took place.

But amongst that generation of Tabi'een, al-Imam al-Hasan al-Basri, رحمه الله تعالى, is a giant amongst them — a leader amongst the scholars of the Tabi'een. So well known is he in the books of fiqh and hadith and tafsir — in all of the books of Islamic sciences — that when the name al-Hasan on its own, no first name, no kunya, no second name, no indication of where he came from, nothing — just the name Hasan, which as you can imagine is an extremely popular Muslim name throughout Muslim history — but when the name al-Hasan on its own is mentioned, it refers to this scholar. Everyone knows — anyone that is a student of knowledge, anyone that studies Islam — when you see the name Hasan on its own, it's referring to only one person. That's how great his position was in Islam and amongst the scholars of Islam.

Al-Imam al-Hasan al-Basri, رحمه الله تعالى, in his tafsir of this very verse, said that Allah gave this trust — this offer — that they should fulfill the obligations of Allah and stay away from his prohibitions. He gave it to the heavens with all of its beauty and all of its stars and all of its splendor, and then Allah said to it that what it means — the trust — is that if it accepts and fulfills that trust, it will be rewarded, but if it doesn't fulfill that trust, it doesn't fulfill that condition, it will be punished. And this elaborate creation of Allah — this amazing creation — the heavens, it refused. And then the earth, likewise, was given the same offer with all of its expansiveness and all of its stability — the very earth that we tread upon and stand upon — it was given the same offer, and if you fulfill this offer, oh earth, you will be rewarded, and if you squander it, you will be punished, and it too said no. And then the mountains, with all of their formidability — the pegs that Allah mentions in the Quran, the pegs that keep this earth stable — the Himalayas, the Rockies, all of these amazing mountain ranges — were made the same offer and they also said no.

But then humankind — mankind, me and you — people who in relative comparison are weak, feeble, insignificant compared to all of those other vast, elaborate creations of Allah — we bore that responsibility and we took it on. And that is why, for those who fulfill that responsibility of following Allah's legislation, of living their life in a way that is pleasing to Allah, fulfilling the obligations that Allah placed upon them — not just religious obligations, but in every single facet of life, in every aspect of life — and they stay away from the haram and the prohibitions, and if they fall into the haram, they turn back to Allah and they repent and they make tawbah, because they know that that is the path to get back into Allah's favor and good grace — those people who fulfill that responsibility and that trust, Allah will honor them. He will honor them to such heights that none of those other creations can have. The earth and the heavens and the mountains are vast, formidable creations, but they don't have free will. No prophets were sent to them. No books were revealed to them. They haven't been offered jannah and its reward of paradise and all the beauty that it contains.

And that's why those people who fulfill that responsibility that Allah has placed upon them — some of them will reach heights even greater than the angels. When the Prophet went on the night journey, the Isra wal-Mi'raj, there was a point in that journey when even Jibreel, who is the archangel — the leader of the angels of the heavens — even he said to the Prophet: I cannot go beyond this point; this is for no one other than you. Even Jibreel has a place where he has to stop, but the Prophet continued, showing the honor that Allah then gave to mankind — why? Because they accepted that responsibility.

But at the same time, the earth and the heavens and the mountains won't be punished because they didn't take on that responsibility. There's no threat of hellfire upon them. But on the humans — the people who don't fulfill their obligations, who fall into the haram, who don't repent to Allah, who disbelieve in Allah — upon them is the threat of severe punishment, and some of them will be placed in the depths of agony in the fire. That is the trust that Allah gave to them.

The Scope of the Amanah: Ibn Mas'ud's Explanation

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, رضي الله عنه, the great illustrious Companion — a leader amongst the Companions — he said in the tafsir of this verse, speaking about how it isn't just contained to Islam or the religious obligations but spans across all of our lives in everything that we do. He said — and he mentioned a number of things — that the prayer, it is from those trusts. And the wudu' that you make — meaning that you don't pray without wudu', or making wudu' correctly — there is a trust that Allah has placed upon you. Your prayer isn't accepted until the conditions of salah are fulfilled. It is an amanah. And he mentioned a whole list of things, and then he said: even the way that you weigh your produce when you buy and sell — whether you do it by weight or whether you do it by volume or whether you do it because it's a liquid — however you do it, that is also an amanah. It is a trust that Allah has placed upon you.

So our relationships with one another — our relationships as husbands and wives, and fathers and mothers, our relationships as sons and daughters, as children, as employers and employees, as teachers and students — in every single facet and aspect of life, these relationships, every single one of them, is an amanah. It is a trust from Allah. It is so important. And the greatest of them without doubt is the trust that Allah placed upon us in terms of worshipping him alone — that is a trust that Allah placed upon us.

When you fulfill those trusts, when you stand up and take ownership and responsibility of that trust and responsibility that Allah has placed upon your shoulders, then Allah gives to you blessings and he showers upon you his mercy and forgiveness, and Allah makes all of your affairs in this life and the next — he makes them affairs that are easy and good for you. But those people who turn away from those responsibilities, who shirk those responsibilities, who don't want to know, can't be bothered, who haven't taken the time and effort to learn even what those responsibilities are — those are the people that Allah will turn away from, just as they have turned away from him.

The Advice of the Pious Predecessors

All of us have trusts. The salaf of this ummah — the pious scholars of the past — you know how now, when people are on their deathbeds, they give their final advice and will and testament. People write it down, people say it verbally; they advise their children and their family about many things — about their relationships, about their property, about wealth, about jobs, and many other things. But if you look at the wasaya — the advice and the testaments of the past, of the scholars of the past — you will find that they more or less exclusively focused on their relationship with Allah, because they understood that is the greatest of trusts. Yes, your wealth and your property and your family and the people that you leave behind — they are important, and they have a role, and Islam gives them that role and that importance. But more so, and even greater than those responsibilities and those trusts, is the trust of worshipping Allah.

And that is why we need to ask that question to ourselves, and be honest: have we done enough as individuals — for ourselves, in our relationship with Allah — that we would be confident that we have fulfilled that trust? By the help of Allah, by the mercy of Allah, have we done enough to fulfill that trust that Allah placed upon us? Its reward is great, but the threat of its punishment is also great. And then, within our families and our children — have we made enough time and taken enough effort, made the necessary steps, to ensure that they also have that sense of amanah? It is a trust that is meant to be passed on from generation to generation. That is what the scholars of Islam understood; that is what the pious people of the past understood; that is what Allah is saying directly to me and you.

When Trust Is Lost: The Sign of the Hour

Our Prophet mentioned in a hadith that a person came to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, when will the Hour be established? When is Yawm al-Qiyamah? And the Prophet responded and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 59)

"If trust is lost, then await the arrival of the Hour." When trust is lost amongst the people, then await the arrival of the Hour.

So we have this condition today, unfortunately, and we don't need to look beyond even this masjid and our families and ourselves — let alone what's going on in the rest of the world and with all of the mess that's going on. Even amongst ourselves as individuals, within our families, in our own personal relationships — hasn't trust been lost amongst us? Our trust in terms of how we are as Muslims and how we portray our religion and our Islam — when we look at how many people amongst Muslims are in prison, how many of them are known to be criminals and gang members, how many of them are peddling drugs and doing all sorts of things — and then we look at the condition of our families, and how rampant things like abuse — domestic abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse — all of these types of abuses are within our communities. We know that they're out there. We know that they're in the news. We know that they're in the media. But within us, amongst us, the Muslim community, it is also rampant. Just because it hasn't come out into the media, just because you may not hear about it — don't be under any false illusions. It is something which is rampant amongst us. Domestic abuse, women being abused — all of these different types of issues are there. Why? Because that trust has been lost. We don't have that trust anymore — that fear of Allah.

Even amongst our families when it comes to inheritance — families bickering with one another, breaking up their ties, families splitting up over wealth and over money and over marriage and over land and over property — why? Because that trust has been lost. They used to say about the Companions of the Prophet that they wouldn't bicker and they wouldn't squabble — even though there are narrations, as you know, where there were disputes and disagreements amongst the Companions — but as a whole and in general, it wasn't something which was common amongst them. Why? Because each one of them knew their rights, and each one of them knew the rights of others among them. They knew the rights that they had over others and the rights of others over them, and so they were able to fulfill that trust that Allah placed upon them. They were people who were upstanding, of good moral character.

And that's why the Prophet said, in the hadith of Anas ibn Malik, رضي الله عنه:

(Reported by al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; also referenced in similar narrations in Sahih al-Bukhari)

"The first thing that will be lost from this nation is trust." That's the first thing to be lost. Because when you can no longer trust people in your own family, you can no longer trust your Muslim brothers and sisters, you can no longer trust the people around you — then society begins to crumble. You no longer have that trust and assurance in someone because you know that they themselves don't have that similar trust within themselves. People don't pray, people don't give zakah, people are dishonest, people lie, people steal, kill, murder — all of this is rampant. Why? Because we've lost that sense of trust.

The Prophetic Guarantee: Six Things for Jannah

The Prophet said, in the hadith of Abu Umamah al-Bahili, رضي الله عنه, and it is an authentic hadith:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 22757; also reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak and deemed authentic)

"Guarantee to me six things and I will guarantee for you jannah — paradise. Guarantee six things to me and I will guarantee to you paradise: if one of you speaks, then don't lie; and if one of you is entrusted — is given a trust — then don't break that trust, don't be treacherous; if one of you makes a promise, then don't break your promise; lower your gaze; keep your hands from harming others; and preserve your modesty." Those six things — if you do them — the Prophet said that he will guarantee for you jannah.

But the unfortunate reality is that often it is the opposite. We speak and much of what we say is false or a lie. We're given trusts and responsibilities and we break those trusts — not just the trusts in terms of Allah's obligations upon us, religious obligations, but as people who are employees, as people who are students, as people who are employers, as people who are teachers, as people who are parents and spouses and children — in every single one of those different dynamic relationships we break those trusts. And when we make oaths, when we make promises, when we give our word — our word is worthless, doesn't mean anything. It's easy for us to break our word and break our promises. There's no sense of responsibility or integrity anymore in even what we say.

The Solution: Fear Allah and Speak Uprightly

This is something which we need to rectify and correct. It is something which Allah is telling us — it comes to the crux of our religion. Everything comes back to the central point, and that is when Allah mentions in this verse — that I began with in Surah al-Ahzab, verse number 72 — he didn't say that he placed Islam upon them. Allah didn't say he placed iman upon them, or the Quran, or anything else. He chose a specific word — amanah — because that word denotes responsibility. It denotes integrity. It denotes trustworthiness and honesty and all of those traits that make up your character.

The solution is also something which Allah mentions in the Quran — in the verses that we often begin with, the verses of the khutbatul hajjah. The third of them, in Surah al-Ahzab, are the two verses that come directly before the verse of trust. Before it, Allah says:

"O you who believe, fear Allah and say a word and a statement that is upright." Have the consciousness of Allah; be aware of Allah; that Allah is watching you and knows and hears everything that you do and think and feel. Fear Allah, be conscious of Allah, be wary of Allah. And say a word that is upright — that statement that is upright is لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ and everything that it contains. It is that trust that Allah has placed upon you.

Allah has told you how to fulfill that trust. When you start taking responsibility for your actions — when we as a community start taking responsibility for our individual roles within our families, within our community, and within the society at large — even the way that we're dealing with the non-Muslims and their perception of Islam. Much of what's going on — yes, there's a part that involves the media and politics and so on — but a great part is also down to us and the way we behave and the perception that we give and the image that we portray of ourselves and our religion. The reality is that all of us have a responsibility. All of us have a part to play. And all that Allah commands upon you is that you play your role. You're not responsible for the whole community and everyone else. You're responsible for what you're able to do, what's under your control — you and your wife and your family and your children. This is something which you're able to fix and remedy. But you need to instill within yourself and within them that sense of trust.

Because if you do so, as Allah continues — Allah will rectify for you all of your actions. Everything that you embark upon, everything that you want to do, Allah will make it a good, blessed choice for you. And if Allah doesn't grant you something, he removes you away from it — it's because there was harm in it that you're not aware of. He will forgive you for all of your sins:

"And whoever obeys Allah and his messenger, then indeed they have attained the greatest of success." That is the solution to this issue of trust and fulfilling trust — that you go back and you learn: what is it that Allah wants me to do in every single one of these aspects of life, in every one of these relationships? What is my role? What is the trust that Allah placed upon me in terms of worshipping Allah? In terms of being a husband, a father, a wife, a mother, a son — all of these different relationships — what is my role and my trust that Allah placed upon me? And then you fulfill that to the best of your ability with the help of Allah, asking Allah for steadfastness and his tawfiq, and ask Allah that he makes us from amongst those people who fulfill our trusts, and that Allah helps us to fulfill those trusts, and that Allah makes us from amongst those who will be successful and be given that reward, and he safeguards us from the punishment of those who do not fulfill these trusts.

The Hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman: Trust Being Lifted from Hearts

I want to conclude this khutbah by mentioning a hadith that is in al-Bukhari and Muslim — the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, رضي الله عنه. Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman is one of those amazing Companions of the Prophet. He is often a Companion who would go and speak to the Prophet and question him about the trials that would afflict this ummah. He would say about himself that the majority of the Companions would go to the Prophet and ask about the good, but he would go and ask about evil and trials — out of fear that it would afflict him and those around him. This was his mindset. And because of this way of thinking, we have all of these ahadith in which the Prophet warned us against the evils that will come — why? So that we can safeguard ourselves and protect ourselves and be ready and prepared for them.

In this hadith in al-Bukhari and Muslim, Hudhayfah says: I heard two ahadith from the Prophet. One of them I have seen with my own eyes — it has become reality — and the other one I am waiting for it to occur.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6497; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 143)

As for the first hadith — he said that the Prophet said that indeed Allah sent down trust into the depths of the hearts of people, meaning that each and every single one of us has a natural inclination to be people who are good, people who fulfill our trusts, people who take responsibility. That's something which Allah has placed within our fitra — it is within our hearts. That's naturally what people want to do. Everyone grows up being good and being pure; it is then society and all of these other things that corrupt people. But originally, we have that within our hearts. And then he said that they learned from the Quran and they learned from the Sunnah, because learning what Allah and the Prophet want from you helps that amanah — that sense of trust — to flourish. It nurtures it, it nourishes it, it helps it to spread out and become stronger.

That's the first hadith — and that is what Hudhayfah says: I saw this with my own eyes. They were people like Abu Bakr and Umar — people who even before Islam were known amongst Quraysh and some of them amongst the Arabs for their characters and for certain characteristics. And then when Islam came and they learned from the Quran and they learned from the Prophet, they became even better. They became far greater. They became people that everyone looked up to.

But then the second hadith — he says that the Prophet said that trust will be lifted from the hearts of people to the extent that a person will sleep, and when they wake up, all that will be left from the sense of trust in their heart is like the dying embers of a fire — that's all that's left. And then that person will sleep — or another person will sleep — and they will wake up, and even the dying embers of the fire, that small trace, even that won't be left. And all that will be left in its place is a blister — meaning that it will have the shape of something that's puffed up but inside it is empty, devoid, doesn't have anything in it — to the extent that no one will be able to find a person that they consider to be trustworthy. People will buy and people will sell, people will do dealings and contracts and agreements, but they can't find anyone that they consider to be trustworthy. Until someone will say: I heard that so-and-so, the son of so-and-so, in such-and-such a far place — he's a man of trust. That's how rare it will become. That person will become famous even though they're far away, because amongst the people in general, trust will be something which is rare. It is something which will be lifted from the vast majority of people.

That is the second hadith which Hudhayfah said, رضي الله عنه: I haven't seen in my lifetime. But I think we can say that it is something that we are seeing in our lifetimes. It is something which is becoming more and more common.

Conclusion: Be People of Integrity and Trust

All of us have a responsibility that Allah has placed upon us. This trust — that we fulfill our trust to Allah, first and foremost — and from it comes every other trust that we have with our families and our jobs and every other thing that we do. We should be people of impeccable integrity, people that are trustworthy, people that are honest, people that when we speak, our words carry weight — they're not just empty words and empty promises. Unfortunately, that is what is becoming the case. This is something that we need to rectify.

We ask Allah that he gives us the ability to do so, and that Allah keeps us and our families firm and steadfast upon his religion, and that Allah protects us from evil characteristics and from the traps of Shaytan, and that Allah showers his mercy and blessings upon us and our families, our parents and our communities, and that Allah guides us to that which he loves and that which is good, and keeps us away from that which is evil and harmful.