Chapter on Wadīʿah (Deposits for Safekeeping)

The word wadīʿah follows the morphological pattern faʿīlah. The yāʾ is retained in the pattern because it is an added letter. This is a morphological rule: an added letter in a word is represented by that same letter in its pattern. For example, qāʾim follows the pattern fāʿil, since the alif is an added letter; whereas yuqām follows the pattern yufʿal. We have treated the alif in yuqām as the second root letter, since it is original rather than added. Thus, wadīʿah follows the pattern faʿīlah, and its root letters are wāw, dāl, and ʿayn. Accordingly, we give it the pattern faʿīlah, retaining the yāʾ and tāʾ because they are added letters. It carries the passive sense of something entrusted for safekeeping.

Entrusting property for safekeeping means giving it to someone who will preserve it for its owner. With respect to the person entrusting it, this is permissible: a person may entrust his property to another. With respect to the custodian, accepting it is recommended, provided that he is able to safeguard, protect, and care for it. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah, Most High: “And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.” [al-Baqarah: 195]

This is an act of goodness, for if a person gives you something to safeguard for him, he would not have given it to you had he not needed this service. If he needs it and you fulfill his need, that is among the acts of goodness that Allah has commanded and loves. It is authentically reported that Allah aids the servant so long as the servant aids his brother. (1)

An example of this is when a man gives another person his cow as a deposit for safekeeping; the owner