835 – ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather (may Allah be pleased with him), reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever is entrusted with a deposit bears no liability.” Related by Ibn Mājah, and its chain of transmission is weak (1).
The chapter on distributing mandatory charities has already been discussed at the end of Zakāh, while the chapter on distributing fayʾ and war-booty will follow the section on Jihād, Allah willing.
Hadith grading
The report is judged ḥasan li-ghayrih (sound on the basis of corroborating chains). Ibn Mājah transmitted it through the route of Ayyūb ibn Suwayd → al-Muthannā ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ → ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb → his father → his grandfather. This isnād is weak because al-Muthannā is weak; al-Dhahabī listed him among unreliable narrators, Ibn Maʿīn declared him weak, and al-Nasāʾī said, “He is abandoned.” The hadith, however, has three additional weak routes; taken together, they raise it to the level of acceptability, making it ḥasan li-ghayrih.
Terms related to deposits
• al-mūdiʿ (with a kasrah on the dāl): the owner who entrusts the deposit.
• al-mūdaʿ (with a fatḥah on the dāl): the person with whom the deposit is left for safekeeping without payment.
• al-wadīʿah: the property deposited with someone for safekeeping without payment.
Points gleaned from the hadith
- A wadīʿah is a trust, and the trustee is not liable for it unless he transgresses or is negligent.