• Another lesson to be drawn is that beneficial knowledge is not limited to teaching religious matters pertaining to worship and financial contracts; it equally embraces the teaching of worldly matters that govern people’s transactions. Allah has preserved for His servants both their religious and their worldly interests, and His magnificent Book provides clarification for everything.

• It is likewise permissible to transact without a written deed, relying merely on mutual trust, for He says: “If you trust one another, then let the one who is entrusted discharge his trust” (al-Baqarah 2:283). In such a situation confidence rests on piety and fear of Allah; otherwise, the party entitled to the right is taking a risk. Hence Allah admonishes the one upon whom the obligation rests to fulfil his trust.

From this we learn that anyone who deals with you, is satisfied with your integrity, and places his confidence in you, has done you a favor (1) by deeming you worthy of trust. Therefore you are all the more obliged to discharge the trust from two perspectives:
• to fulfil Allah’s right; and
• to repay the one who trusted you and to recompense his kindness.