ICICE AL-NOOR MASJID KHUTBAH FOR FRIDAY 18/12/2020

 TRUST: THE HONOR IN EXECUTING IT AND THE DANGER OF BETRAYING IT

 All praise is due to Allah the glorious, the great and the almighty; He is the one who induced trust in the hearts of whom He wishes among men, while the heavens, the earth and the mountains refused to take that responsibility (Of taking Amana/Trust). I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone who has no partner; he commanded the believers to give sadaqah and preserve trust and warned them against lies and betrayal; he promised for those who guard and protect trusts great rewards and prepared for the betrayers an embarrassing torment. I bear witness that our master Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his servant and messenger who conveyed the “Message” (of Islam) and executed the trust, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his household, his companions and those who follow their path till the last day.

O you people, fear Allah your Lord and know that Amana/Trust is one of the greatest deeds you are enjoined with, and betrayal of trust is one of the greatest sins you are deprived from; Allah says: “Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and when you judge between people to judge with justice. Excellent is that which Allah instructs you. Indeed, Allah is ever Hearing and Seeing.” [04:58] and he says: “O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence].” [08:27]

O believers, you are commanded to render trusts and are deprived from betrayal, so don’t be among the betrayers. Indeed, Allah placed the responsibility of bearing trust on you because you are qualified and capable; because of what he had bestowed you with of senses that you comprehend with and visions that you see with, so render your trusts so that you be among those whom Allah says about: “And they who are to their trusts and their promises attentive; And they who carefully maintain their prayers – Those are the inheritors Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally.” [23:8-11]

Beware of betraying trust; because that’s one of the attributes of the hypocrites. It is enough to serve as deterrent the promise Allah made in the Quran to punish them, he says: “Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire – and never will you find for them a helper” [04:145]

O Muslims, it is narrated in a hadith by Anas Bn Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) he said: The messenger (peace be upon him) didn’t preach to us except that he says: “Indeed, there is no faith for whom is not trustworthy” and in a different narration: “Indeed, there is no religion for whom is not trustworthy, and there is no Salat, and there is no Zakat”.

How great is this issue of trust! With it the faith becomes consolidated, on it the religiosity stands and Allah doesn’t accept the deeds of an incessant betrayer.

In a different hadith of the messenger (peace be upon him), he said: “There are three signs of a hypocrite: when he speaks, he tells lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted, he betrays his trust.”

So betrayal is an indicator of hypocrisy and it is one of the evil acts committed by people; that’s why it is contained in an authentic supplication: “[O Allah! I seek refuge in You from hunger; surely, it is the worst companion. And I seek refuge in You from betrayal; surely, it is a bad inner trait].”

O Muslims, render trusts to their owners and don’t betray who betrays you to reciprocate bad with bad; it is mentioned in a hadith that: “Pay the deposit to him who deposited it with you, and do not betray him who betrays you.” We should know that comprehension of the Deen (of Islam) is one of the greatest reasons for the increase in faith and fulfilment of trust; and that abstaining from piety and embracing the worldly life at the expense of the hereafter is one of the most dangerous causes of losing trustworthiness; you should therefore educate yourselves about the Deen (Islam), worship your Lord sincerely based on the guidance of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), you will be among the trustworthy and will be resurrected on the day of Judgement safe and secure.

O believers, indeed, motives and intentions are also great trusts, you should be sincere with Allah in your motives and always intend goodness; because “(The value of) an action depends on the intention behind it. A man will be rewarded only for what he intended.” You should make your utterances and your deeds that Allah decreed for you to be purely sincere to Allah, seeking his countenance and pleasure and on the other hand, be wary of diverting your deeds towards anyone other than him, worship him as he ordained, be careful of Shirk (disbelief or associating partners with him), whims and innovations (Bid’a), because Allah does not accept deeds except those that are done strictly with the intention of seeking his countenance and pleasure and follow the guidance of his prophet; and this is true Islam and Ihsan that are indicated in the book of Allah, Allah says: “Yes [on the contrary], whoever submits his face in Islam to Allah while being a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.” [02:112]

O believers, Salat (Prayer) is a trust due for Allah; he entrusted his servants with, he had entrusted the purification that comes with it, its timing, its structure, its intention and others among its provisions; it is therefore a prerequisite for Imaan (faith), it is a pillar of the Deen and it is the last rite to be lost in the Deen. You should therefore establish prayer and guard what it comes with of principles, establish it on the designated times, establish it in the mosques congregationally; and know that it is a scale; whoever completes it, Allah will complete his reward (for such) and whoever does otherwise, he faces the punishment of Allah.

O servants of Allah, Zakat is also one of the greatest Amana/Trusts, Allah made it mandatory on the wealth of the wealthy to be given to the poor. Allah has made it to be a source of blessing and purification to one’s wealth. Indeed, there is in it, a lot of solutions to problems and great reward.

Fasting is Amana/Trust; it is a secret between a servant and his Lord, no one knows the intention of a servant in it, because if the fasting servant wishes, he could destroy his fasting by spoiling his intension alone, but what’s contained in his heart of the glorification of Allah and his fear deprives him/her, rather, they fast for Allah while seeking reward.

Bathing from Janaaba is a trust, a woman purifying herself from menstruation and postnatal blood is a trust, and it is compulsory to render that, if not, that would be regrettable on the day of recompense.

Jobs in the public sector, in companies and organizations are trusts on the neck of employees, because they are entrusted with responsibilities; it is therefore crucial for every employee to fear Allah in his own self and the means of his livelihood, such that he/she shows sincerity on his/her job seeking the countenance of Allah, he/she should be wary of favouritism and selfishness. Employees should guard whatever they are entrusted with and guard the confidentiality of what they are entrusted with, if not, Allah will disgrace and humiliate them on the day of account. The messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Whosoever among you is appointed by us to a position and he conceals from us even a needle or less, it will amount to misappropriation and he will be called upon to restore it on the Day of Resurrection”.

Whoever is into a contract with other than him; a permissible contract; from buying, selling, leasing, or other related deals, he should know that he is into a trust and under an oath, he should be wary of cheating, trick and treason. He should give the required, he should declare every defect when there is any, he should give what is due without shortages, he should avoid unnecessary delays in payments; because delaying payments by the rich is injustice and that is definitely going to be queried.

When we seat together with others, what is said in such sittings is Amana, it is therefore not permissible to spread that anyhow. When someone speaks in such gatherings then leaves, what he said is a trust; his secret shouldn’t be spread. The prohibition here becomes stronger if it involves what is between couples when they have intimate moments.

Finally, you should fear Allah O servants of Allah in your trusts, guard and execute them, that’s better for you in the sight of your Lord. You should know that you would stand before your Lord tomorrow, you would be rewarded based on your deeds, you would regret your shortcomings and surely, those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned.

“O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence]. And know that your properties and your children are but a trial and that Allah has with Him a great reward.” [08:27-28