the pledgor bears the loss, provided that this occurred without negligence or misconduct. If it resulted from negligence or misconduct, then there is another party liable: the trustee appointed by both parties.

For example, the trustee sells the pledged property and receives the price. Then a fire breaks out in the house and the money is destroyed. In this case, the pledgee has recourse against the pledgor, with no difficulty; but the pledgor has no recourse against the trustee, because it was destroyed without negligence or misconduct.

Another example: the trustee receives the price and places it on the threshold of the shop, then forgets and goes off to pray. When he returns, he finds that it has been stolen. The pledgee may claim against the pledgor, and the pledgor may in turn claim against the trustee. The pledgee’s recourse against the pledgor is evident, since the debt remains due from him and the pledgee knows no one but the pledgor. As for the pledgor’s recourse against the trustee, it is because he was negligent: this is not a proper way to safeguard money. Important sums should be kept in a safe, for a person is liable to forget.

This, too, is a matter that one should follow throughout one’s life, and we have already drawn attention to it: a person should begin with what is most important. We mentioned this in the hadith of Itban ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him: when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to him, he said, “Where would you like me to pray?” Itban had prepared food for him, but he did not begin with the food, because he had come only to pray in a place that Itban would take as a place of prayer (1). We also mentioned that when a boy urinated in his lap, he called for water and poured it over it (2). Thus, a person should not be negligent; he should not say, “I will leave…”