disobedience in you.” Thus, a person incurs disobedience in proportion to the extent that he departs from obedience to his Lord.
Allah’s words, “Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will teach you,” have been cited as evidence that fear of Allah is a means of acquiring knowledge. Even clearer are His words: “O you who believe, if you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion”—that is, knowledge by which you distinguish realities and discern truth from falsehood.
Another is that just as teaching religious matters connected with worship is beneficial knowledge, so too is teaching worldly matters connected with transactions. Allah Most High has safeguarded His servants’ religious and worldly affairs, and His magnificent Book contains an explanation of all things.
﴿283﴾ Another is the legitimacy of securing rights through collateral and guarantees that ensure a person receives what is due to him, whether he deals with someone righteous or wicked, trustworthy or treacherous. How many rights have been preserved and disputes ended through such securities!
Another is that a pledge provides complete security when the collateral is taken into possession. This does not indicate that a pledge is valid only upon taking possession. Rather, qualifying the collateral as “taken into possession” indicates that it may be taken into possession, thereby providing complete assurance, or it may not be taken into possession, in which case its security is incomplete.
Another is that His words, “then let there be collateral taken into possession,” indicate that if the pledgor and pledgee dispute the amount of the debt secured by the pledge, the pledgee’s statement is accepted, for he is the right-holder. Allah made the pledge security for the debt; were the pledgee’s statement concerning its amount not accepted, the pledge would provide no security in the absence of writing and witnesses.
Another is that it is permissible to conduct transactions without documentation or witnesses, as indicated by His words: “But if you trust one another, then let the one who has been entrusted discharge his trust.” In such a case, however, fear and mindfulness of Allah are necessary; otherwise, the right-holder is putting his right at risk. For this reason, Allah commands the person who owes the right in this situation to fear Allah and discharge his trust.
Another is that when one party to a transaction trusts the other, he has shown him great kindness and has expressed satisfaction with his religious integrity and trustworthiness. The person who owes the right is therefore under an especially emphatic duty to discharge the trust from two perspectives: by fulfilling Allah’s right and obeying His command, and by honoring the right of the other party, who accepted his trustworthiness and placed his confidence in him.
Another is the prohibition against concealing testimony. The heart of one who conceals it—the sovereign of the bodily faculties—is sinful. This is because concealing testimony, like giving false and fabricated testimony, results in the loss of rights, the corruption of transactions, and recurring sin in relation to both the right-holder and the person who owes the right.
As for mentioning collateral specifically in connection with travel—although it is permissible both while resident and while traveling—that is because the need for it arises when no scribe or witness is available.
The verse concludes by stating that Allah is “All-Knowing” of everything His servants do, thereby encouraging them to engage in proper transactions and warning them against improper ones.
﴿284﴾ “To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Whether you reveal what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. He then forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills, and Allah has power over all things.”
Allah Most High informs us that His dominion encompasses all who dwell in the heavens and on earth, that His knowledge encompasses what His servants reveal and what they conceal within themselves, and that He will call them to account for it. He forgives whomever He wills—namely, the one who turns repentantly and repeatedly to his Lord: “Indeed, He is ever forgiving to those who continually turn to Him.” And He punishes whomever He wills—namely, the one who persists in sin both inwardly and outwardly.
This verse does not contradict the hadiths stating that a person is pardoned for what occurs within himself so long as he neither acts upon it nor speaks of it. Those hadiths concern fleeting thoughts that occur to the soul but do not become a person’s settled qualities and upon which he does not firmly resolve. Here, however, the reference is to firm resolutions and qualities established within the soul, whether good or evil. Hence He says, “what is within yourselves,” meaning what has become established and settled therein of resolutions and qualities.
He also informs us that He “has power over all things.” Part of the perfection of His power is that He will call all creatures to account and deliver to them the reward or punishment they deserve.
﴿285- 286﴾ “The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, as do the believers. All believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers. ‘We make no distinction between any of His messengers.’ And they say, ‘We hear and obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord; to You is the final return.’ * Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. It shall have the good it has earned, and it shall bear the evil it has acquired. ‘Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not place upon us a burden like that which You placed upon those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with what we cannot bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy upon us. You are our Protector, so grant us victory over the unbelieving people.’”
It is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whoever recites these two verses during the night, they will suffice him—that is, protect him from every evil. This is because of the sublime meanings they contain. At the beginning of this surah, Allah commanded people to believe in all the foundations of faith, in His words: “Say, ‘We believe in Allah and in what has been sent down to us,’” and the rest of the verse.
In this verse, He informs us that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the believers with him believed in these great foundations, in all the messengers, and in all the Books. They did not act like those who believe in some and disbelieve in others, as do the deviant adherents of distorted religions.
Coupling the believers with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and describing them all in a single statement confers great honor upon the believers.
It also indicates that the religious commands addressed to the community apply to him as well, that he fulfilled them perfectly, and that he surpassed the believers—and indeed all the messengers—in fulfilling faith and its obligations.
Their words, “We hear and obey,” constitute a general commitment by the believers to everything brought by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Book and the sunnah. They heard it with acceptance, assent, and submission. This also implies their humble supplication to Allah for assistance in fulfilling it and for forgiveness of their shortcomings in performing obligations and of the prohibitions they committed. They likewise humbly entreated Allah with these beneficial supplications. Allah Most High answered their prayer through the words of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: “I have done so.”
These supplications are certainly accepted from the believers collectively and from individual believers, unless an impediment prevents their acceptance in a particular case. Allah has absolved them of accountability for mistakes and forgetfulness. He has made His law exceedingly easy for them and has not imposed upon them the hardships, burdens, and shackles that He imposed upon those before them. Nor has He burdened them beyond their capacity. He has forgiven them, shown them mercy, and granted them victory over the unbelieving people.
We therefore ask Allah Most High, by His names and attributes and by the favor He has bestowed upon us of commitment to His religion, to bring all of this to pass for us, fulfill the promise He conveyed to us through His Prophet, and rectify the condition of the believers.
From this are derived the principle of ease and the removal of hardship in all religious matters, and the principle that forgetfulness and mistakes are pardoned with regard to