“Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts back to their rightful owners” (Qur’an 4:58).

And the Prophet ﷺ said: “The hand is liable for whatever it takes until it returns it.” Reported by Abu Dawud (3561).

4 – A trust (amānah) is any property that comes into your possession with the owner’s consent. It remains a trust whether it is a loan for use (ʿāriyah), a rented item, a deposited article, property held by an agent, and the like. The detailed rulings for this will appear, God willing, in the Book of Deposits.

5 – By unanimous agreement, a loan for use must be compensated if it perishes through transgression or negligence on the part of the borrower.

6 – If some of its parts are consumed or worn out in the very use for which it was borrowed, there is, by consensus, no liability.

7 – Transgression (taʿaddī) is to do what is impermissible; negligence (tafrīṭ) is to omit the due safeguards of preservation.

8 – If the borrowed item is lost or destroyed without transgression or negligence and in a manner unrelated to the use for which it was lent, the scholars differ—a discussion that will follow shortly, God willing.

9 – It is obligatory to safeguard every trust—including the ʿāriyah—and to avoid both transgression and negligence. This ruling is derived from Hadith 764 as well as from Allah’s words: “Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts back to their rightful owners” (Qur’an 4:58). The verse indicates that returning a trust is impossible without first preserving it; preservation is therefore a necessary corollary.

10 – It is forbidden to betray a trust, even if its owner has betrayed someone else—borrower included—because of the prophetic directive: “Do not betray the one who betrays you.” The well-known juristic issue of “the right of self-recoupment” (masʾalat al-ẓafar) will be discussed later, God willing.

11 – It is permissible to lend weapons, provided they are not loaned to unbelievers who would thereby gain strength against Muslims, nor to rebels, highwaymen, or anyone using them to terrify Muslims. Likewise, it is impermissible to sell or lend them during periods of civil strife among Muslims.

12 – Some scholars hold that every ʿāriyah is liable for compensation in all circumstances; others restrict liability to cases of transgression and negligence. The matter will be examined in detail, God willing.

13 – Hadith 765 distinguishes between the guaranteed loan for use and the non-guaranteed loan for use.