Islam Guidance

Verse58

(58) إِنَّ اللّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤدُّواْ الأَمَانَاتِ إِلَى أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُواْ بِالْعَدْلِ إِنَّ اللّهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُم بِهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا

58. " Verily Allah commands you that you restore deposits to their owners, and when you judge between people, you judge with justice; verily good is the admonition Allah gives you; verily Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing."
Occasion of Revelation :
This verse was revealed at the time when the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.), being completely victorious, arrived in Mecca. The Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) called for 'Uthman-ibn-Talhah, the key holder of the Ka'bah, and took the key from him in order to clear out the Ka'bah from the existence of the idols. After the fulfilment of that aim, 'Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, asked the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to give the key of the Ka'bah to him.

The rank of key-holding of the Sacred-House, in fact, was a distinguished and honourable rank among Arabs. But, contrary to that, after clearing out the Ka'bah from the filth of the existence of the idols, the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) closed the door of the House and delivered the key to 'Uthman-ibn-Talhah while he (p.b.u.h.) was reciting the verse under discussion.
Commentary:
Deposit and Justice in Islam
This holy verse, from which a general and common ordinance is understood, explicitly says:
" Verily Allah commands you that you restore deposits to their owners, ... "
In the second part of the verse, it points to another important subject. It is the proposition of observing justice in government. The verse, conveying the command of Allah, says:
"... and when you judge between people, you judge with justice; ..."
Then, to lay emphasis on these two commands, it says:
" ... verily good is the admonition Allah gives you; ... "
Again, the verse emphasizes and says that Allah is watching you in any state you are, and He both hears your words and sees what you do. It says:
"... verily Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing."
It is evident that the term ' deposit ' has a vast meaning. It includes any physical and spiritual capitals. Therefore, according to the clear meaning of this verse, every Muslim is enjoined not to be treacherous in any deposit and unto any person, whether the owner of the deposit is Muslim or non-Muslim. This ordinance is, in fact, one of the principles of ' the declaration of the rights of human kind in Islam '.
Even the scientists of a society are the depositaries. They are charged with a duty not to conceal the facts. Our children are also the deposits of Allah with us. We must not neglect training and educating them. Beyond than that, our existence and whatever power Allah (s.w.t.) has given us are the deposits of Allah, and we should try to protect them carefully.
A tradition narrated from Imam Sadiq (a.s.) about the importance of ' deposit ' indicates that once he (a.s.) told one of his companions: " If the murderer of Hazrat Ali (a.s.) trusted me a deposit, or wanted me to advise him, or consulted me, and I accepted that from him, certainly I would be honest in the deposition." (1)
In many Islamic traditions, the purpose of the term ' deposit ', mentioned in the current verse, has been introduced the leadership of the society, the men of which are Ahlul-Bayt (a.s.). This is the clear extension of practising this verse.(2)

(1)Tafsir-us-Safi, vol. 1, p. 427
(2)Tafsir-ul-Burhan, vol. 1, p. 380 (second edition) narrates 15 traditions upon this meaning.

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