Quran 4:58

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Quran 4:58
Verse's Information
NameVerse of Trusts
SuraQur'an 4
Verse58
Juz'5
Content Information
Place of
Revelation
Medina
TopicJurisprudential, Judicial
AboutDelivering the trusts to their [rightful] owners and justice in jurisdictions.


Al-Amānāt Verse (Arabic: آیة الأَمَانَات) or Verse of Trusts, is the verse fifty eight of Qur'an 4. In the first part of the verse, God commends people to return trusts to those who are due, and in the second, He commends the observation of justice in jurisdictions. The verse is said to imply the requirement of judicial institutes in communities.

Al-Tabrisi said about the occasion of the revelation of this verse that after the Conquest of Mecca, the Prophet (s) borrowed the Ka'ba's key from 'Uthman b. Talha. Al-'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle, asked him to give him the key, but he rejected 'Abbas's request and returned the key to 'Uthman while reciting the verse.

Text and Translation

Content

The verse consists of two main parts.[1] In the first, God commends people to return trusts to those who are due. According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, the "Trust" (amana) in this verse has a broad meaning, including both material trusts and spiritual ones such as knowledge and wisdom, and so all kinds of trust need to be given to those who are due.[2] According to Tafsir-i Nimuna, this verse explicitly makes it obligatory for any Muslim to return trusts to those who are due, whether or not the other side is a Muslim.[3] According to the second part of the verse, God commends people to justly judge and rule people.[4]

According to a hadith, Imam al-Baqir (a) takes the verse to be addressed to rulers of a community. Thus, they must trust the right ruler or Imam after them with the leadership of the community, and they ought not to deny the position from the next ruler.[5]

Occasion of Revelation

In his Majma' al-bayan, al-Tabrisi says about the occasion of the revelation of the Verse of Trusts that, after the Conquest of Mecca, the Prophet (s) summoned 'Uthman b. Talha and borrowed the Ka'ba's key from him in order to cleanse the Ka'ba from any idols. At the time, 'Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, asked the Prophet to give him the key and appoint him as the key-holder of the Ka'ba. However, his request was rejected by the Prophet (s). He returned the key to 'Uthman while reciting the Qur'an 4:58.[6]

Requirement of Judicial Institutes in the Community

Every community needs a judicial institution in order to protect its social order. It is rationally self-evident that a community requires a judicial institution. This is indicated in a variety of Qur'anic verses, such as Qur'an 4:59, 65, and 105, Qur'an 5:42,[7] and Qur'an 38:26.[8] The verse fifty eight of Sura al-Nisa' is also said to imply the requirement of judicial institutes within a community.

Notes

  1. Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 378.
  2. Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 378.
  3. Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 3, p. 430.
  4. Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 3, p. 430.
  5. Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 385.
  6. Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 99.
  7. But if you judge, judge between them with justice. Indeed Allah loves the just.
  8. So judge between people with justice, and do not follow your desires, or they will lead you astray from the way of Allah.

References

  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1408 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 2nd Ed. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1974.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnah. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1374 Sh.
  • Mūsawī Jazāʾrī, Muḥammad Mahdī. Al-Ḥākimīyya fī al-islām. Qom: Majmaʿ al-Fikr al-Islāmī, 1425 AH.