The third sign of a Munafiq (duplicitous person), as described by Rasool Allah SAW in a Hadith mentioned in a recent post, is breach of Amanat (being entrusted with something), meaning that it is not worthy of a Muslim to breach trust when he is entrusted with something. This has been emphasised so strongly that Rasool Allah SAW has said that a person who does not have Amanat does not have Iman (faith). It means that Amanat is an essential part of Iman.
WHAT IS AMANAT?
Today we have a very narrow view of Amanat. Most Muslims think that if a person comes to us and asks us to hold some money or valuables for him for a certain time, then that is Amanat. Similarly people think when the person asks for his money back and we have already spent it or refuse to give it to him, then that is Khiyanat (breach of Amanat). No doubt this is also included in the meaning of Amanat but Islam's concept of Amanat is much wider than this.
In Arabic language Amanat means trusting a person about some matter. If a person entrusts another person with either some duty, or some valuables, or some matter, and believes that that person will discharge that responsibility properly, and will not be careless about it, then this is known as Amanat. If we keep this definition of Amanat in mind then the concept of Amanat becomes much wider than the narrow example given in the previous paragraph.
OUR EMPLOYMENT HOURS ARE AN AMANAT
If a person has signed a contract for employment and has made a commitment to work for 8 hours a day for a specific salary, then he has sold his time for money. Now his 8 hours a day become an Amanat from the person who has employed him. If he now spends even a minute of this time doing things he is not allowed to do in those 8 hours by his employer, for example if his friends come and he is spending time within those 8 hours gossiping with them, then he is committing Khiyanat (breach of Amanat).
OUR OFFICE STATIONERY IS AN AMANAT
When we are working in an office everything that has been provided to us to do our job properly is an Amanat. If that stuff has been given to us with clear instructions and expectations that it is to be used for office work only, then using that stuff for personal chores is a breach of Amanat. Some people think that what difference does it make if we utilise that stuff for our personal use as it is not too expensive, but Khiyanat of things both big and small is still Hara'am and a major sin. We must try to avoid both as getting engaged in both runs the risk of incurring the wrath of Allah SWT.
PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS ARE AN AMANAT
In a Hadith Rasool Allah SAW has said that what is said in private gatherings is an Amanat with the listeners. For example, if a few people get together and share some private matters in an atmosphere of trust, then sharing of that private information with outsiders without the permission of other people in that private gathering is Hara'am and breach of Amanat. Sometimes a person hears something confidential in a private meeting, then he goes to a second person and tells him all the confidential stuff while warning the second person not to share this confidential information with anyone else, and then the third and the fourth person do the same, each person warning the next person about not sharing the information with anyone else. Each person thinks that by repeating this warning about not telling anyone else they have discharged their duty about keeping the information confidential, while the truth is that if the matter was confidential and it had been emphasised in the meeting that it should not be shared with anyone outside of that meeting, then no one should have shared it outside of that meeting, and doing it even with the warning about keeping the information confidential constituted breach of Amanat.
In summary the concept of Amanat is so broad that there is hardly any part of our life in which we have not been ordered to observe Amanat and to refrain from Khiyanat in some way. We must keep this Hadith in our minds all the time that there are three signs of a Munafiq; when he talks he lies, when he makes a commitment he breaks it, and when he is entrusted with some matter he breaches that trust. May Allah SWT keep us safe from these three undesirable habits. Ameen
WHAT IS AMANAT?
Today we have a very narrow view of Amanat. Most Muslims think that if a person comes to us and asks us to hold some money or valuables for him for a certain time, then that is Amanat. Similarly people think when the person asks for his money back and we have already spent it or refuse to give it to him, then that is Khiyanat (breach of Amanat). No doubt this is also included in the meaning of Amanat but Islam's concept of Amanat is much wider than this.
In Arabic language Amanat means trusting a person about some matter. If a person entrusts another person with either some duty, or some valuables, or some matter, and believes that that person will discharge that responsibility properly, and will not be careless about it, then this is known as Amanat. If we keep this definition of Amanat in mind then the concept of Amanat becomes much wider than the narrow example given in the previous paragraph.
OUR EMPLOYMENT HOURS ARE AN AMANAT
If a person has signed a contract for employment and has made a commitment to work for 8 hours a day for a specific salary, then he has sold his time for money. Now his 8 hours a day become an Amanat from the person who has employed him. If he now spends even a minute of this time doing things he is not allowed to do in those 8 hours by his employer, for example if his friends come and he is spending time within those 8 hours gossiping with them, then he is committing Khiyanat (breach of Amanat).
OUR OFFICE STATIONERY IS AN AMANAT
When we are working in an office everything that has been provided to us to do our job properly is an Amanat. If that stuff has been given to us with clear instructions and expectations that it is to be used for office work only, then using that stuff for personal chores is a breach of Amanat. Some people think that what difference does it make if we utilise that stuff for our personal use as it is not too expensive, but Khiyanat of things both big and small is still Hara'am and a major sin. We must try to avoid both as getting engaged in both runs the risk of incurring the wrath of Allah SWT.
PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS ARE AN AMANAT
In a Hadith Rasool Allah SAW has said that what is said in private gatherings is an Amanat with the listeners. For example, if a few people get together and share some private matters in an atmosphere of trust, then sharing of that private information with outsiders without the permission of other people in that private gathering is Hara'am and breach of Amanat. Sometimes a person hears something confidential in a private meeting, then he goes to a second person and tells him all the confidential stuff while warning the second person not to share this confidential information with anyone else, and then the third and the fourth person do the same, each person warning the next person about not sharing the information with anyone else. Each person thinks that by repeating this warning about not telling anyone else they have discharged their duty about keeping the information confidential, while the truth is that if the matter was confidential and it had been emphasised in the meeting that it should not be shared with anyone outside of that meeting, then no one should have shared it outside of that meeting, and doing it even with the warning about keeping the information confidential constituted breach of Amanat.
In summary the concept of Amanat is so broad that there is hardly any part of our life in which we have not been ordered to observe Amanat and to refrain from Khiyanat in some way. We must keep this Hadith in our minds all the time that there are three signs of a Munafiq; when he talks he lies, when he makes a commitment he breaks it, and when he is entrusted with some matter he breaches that trust. May Allah SWT keep us safe from these three undesirable habits. Ameen
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