Remembering the Meaning of Trust in a Broken World
Trust is a rare commodity in our world today, one that many find themselves struggling to use freely. The deafening charge of humanity’s collective consciousness ravenously chasing selfishness drowning out the meek voices of conscience and altruism. Trust is an unfortunate victim of this feral change that rips the world from its delicate position and throws it unceremoniously in front of wolves in sheep’s clothing. As one man’s suffering becomes another man’s treasure, we lose—perhaps not our visible assets but those intrinsic to our humanity, especially our ability to trust.
Each act of cruelty, animosity and dishonesty—every cold, calculated decision to deprive or hurt others for one’s own gain—edges us a touch closer to the precipice. With each step, we become less trusting and sure and see that the trust we should base our lives on gives way to constant suspicion. As deception, injustice, depravity, and wickedness become the new norms, we begin to shift into a behavioral pattern that is neither healthy nor natural for us; we build impregnable walls of prejudice around ourselves and fit them with barbs of distrust. In a way, we sowed the wind and are now reaping the whirlwind.
Loss of trust among the members of a society will be inevitable if they do not embrace iman as a guiding light. This is because the principles and morals of Islam are our only insurance against the seismic shift threatening to undermine everything that holds us together. We are not entirely lost to the tide of darkness, however. There is still hope as long as we, as Muslims, seek the true guidance that only Islam can provide and let the light of iman shine bright in our hearts.
If we fail to make enormous strides in correcting our way of life and upholding the ideals that Islam stipulates are necessary for trust to flourish among us, people’s lives, properties, virtues, and honor will be at far greater threat than they are today. Maybe it will come to a stage so grave that people will feel too nervous to go out, even in broad daylight. Unfortunately, the cues that such harrowing times are not too far ahead of us are already present and glaringly obvious.
It’s almost as if the hadith that tells us of a time when amanah will be wiped from the face of the earth and people will speak in incredulous tones about actual honest people living in such-and-such places is referring to a very near future.
In today's world, the lack of trust, which is felt everywhere and in every subject, profoundly affects our lives as one of the biggest moral problems. The ominous price of breaking with the values that make people trustworthy and generally safe to be around could have knocked on our door long ago.
However, despite all this destruction, the manifestations of iman in our hearts, which thankfully have not lost all their glimmer, even if only through imitation, were able to delay this grim fate. For now, the beauty of Islam, reflected in our traditions and the warm atmosphere of zakat and helping each other, holds off the storm that could violently shake the foundations of society.
The need for justice and spirituality
Today, the concept of life in contemporary culture has begun to force Muslims’ hand to practice iman through taqlid, that is, imitation rather than tahqiqah, meaning realization. This flow of so-called contemporary life started to push against the boundaries of what defines Muslims so hard that, like a flood flattening everything it comes across, it uprooted everything in its path. The traditional view of life, based on Islamic values, has been completely changed. The image of a peaceful man who trusted in Allah and praised Him after drinking his soup in his adobe house left its place to the ambitious man trying furiously to climb his way up the economic ladder to keep up with the living standards of the new age.
Today, some may also feel content with today's minimum living standards, but unfortunately, there isn’t a big enough cake for everyone. This is because a small minority share most of the world’s income. As staggering statistics show, the richest one percent of people in the world hold more than fifty percent of the world's wealth. With such a dramatic difference between what would be a fair global income distribution and the reality that utterly and completely guts those at the bottom of the financial pyramid, the emergence of severe poverty, misery, and by extension, distrust becomes inevitable.
As a result, moral values are on a collision course with the grinding gears of inhumane new-age norms, set to be crushed to bits like crystal vases, one after another. Patience succumbs to the instigating power of fitnah. Trust in Allah is discarded in favor of the cold, harsh, positivist logic of a direct cause-and-effect relationship. The concept of human conscience is going through its most woeful days. However, if those who hoard the largest slice of the pie paid only their zakat and no more, perhaps the economic dimension of this issue would be completely resolved. This would keep some of the moral values that we desperately need in our lives intact. However, charity and zakat alone are not enough to overcome the crisis of trust in our age.
If material well-being alone were sufficient, people in societies that are considered “advanced” would not live in fear that their next-door neighbor might pull out their gun and come knocking on their door during a psychotic episode. They could leave their children outside to play by themselves and not have to worry about their safety. On the grand scale of things, trust and the broader concept of amanah are so essential for peace and prosperity that even such massive “security” expenditures as we see being allocated to prevent threats proactively would not be needed.
That world is not far away
A society of complete security, trust, and peace has never been founded in any period in human history without showing staunch adherence to the one true religion of Allah and obtaining the correct, accurate, and complete iman as prescribed by Him.
Rebuilding such a society of bliss is by no means impossible. History is full of similar examples. The Age of Bliss is the most vivid example that comes to mind. One doesn’t need to look any further back than the Ottoman Empire period to develop an understanding of the pervading atmosphere of security and trust in society at the time.
Let’s summarize the issue with a couple of examples before moving on to our main topic: The Ottoman army was passing through vineyards and orchards in the enemy's lands on their way to their destination. The owners had fled to the mountains due to fear, beating their knees with woe and watching the scene. When the army left, and they returned to their garden, they were stunned because the Ottoman soldiers had hung the money for the fruits they had eaten on the branches and left. If the fear of Allah and the feeling of amanah were not in the hearts of these people who defied the world, who or what could prevent them from just taking what they wanted?
In Ottoman society, there were zakat stones in the outbuildings of large mosques. The rich would come at night when no one could see them, raise the lid on the stone and leave some money in the hollow area carved into it. The poor would also come at night, lift the lid, take as much money as they needed, and leave the rest. Thus, the rich and the needy would not know each other, and the poor would not feel indebted.
It was this spirit that made Islam the source of overflowing love, kindness, and trust in people’s hearts. If the prevalence of faith had been achieved only by the sword, that state would not have been able to stand even for a human lifetime in the conditions present in that period. The propagation of the message of Islam to the whole world once more will hopefully be possible with the rebuilding of such a society in the future.
Amanah and iman
Drawing attention to the relevance of “trust” to faith, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used a powerful and striking expression to reveal an earth-shattering truth: “He who is not trustworthy has no faith” (Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal). That is, a person who does not fulfill his duty to Allah and His servants, betrays others’ trust, is a liar, and a dishonest and slippery person cannot be said to have complete iman.
These are people who do not keep their promises, do not pay their debts when they have the means, and do not do their job properly even though they are paid. They do not fully comply with the orders of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) either. They are unkind to their family and other people. They harbor no mercy in their hearts for others.
Just as people with all or some of these qualities cannot be perfect believers, it is difficult to find a strong sense of security and trust outside of perfect believers.
However, in Arabic, the word “believer” originates from the same root as the words that mean “trust, security, and faith.” In other words, a believer is a representative of faith, security, and trust on earth. The words “Islam” and “Salam,” which come from the root of “sa-la-ma,” add depth to the same meaning by having trust, security, and peace as a substrate of definitions underneath their most obvious, primary dictionary entries. Two Muslims who greet each other with salam are, in fact, praying for each other, wishing peace, serenity, well-being, and safety upon one another.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the people are safe, and the believer is the one from whom the people’s lives and wealth are safe” (Tirmidhi, 2627). Thereby, he drew attention to the common feature that defines what it means to be a “Muslim” and a “Mumin.” That is to say, if one cannot be sure that no harm will come to them from someone’s hand and tongue, that person is neither a Muslim nor a perfect believer.
In today’s world, “man is a wolf to man” is the modus operandi for the majority of the human population and this harsh, predatory, ruthless tendency on the fast track to becoming the new norm gnaws at the honor and dignity of humanity. Remembering the most trustworthy person to have ever graced the earth, being refreshed and rejuvenated in our hearts merely by speaking his blessed name, and letting the light of his morals shine into our lives through our love for and fascination with him, will hopefully be a soothing balm for our wounds.
He even protected his enemies’ trust
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was known as “Muhammadu'l-Amin,” even in the age of ignorance before prophethood was revealed to him. There was no one more reliable than him in all the realms. Even his mortal enemies were sure that he would never betray and would never lie.
Shortly before he set out to emigrate to Medinah, his house was surrounded by enemies. He had told Ali bin Abi Talib (radiyallahu anh) to lie in his bed in his stead and ordered him to return the properties entrusted to him to their rightful owners in the morning. Scattering dirt on the faces of the polytheists, He read the ninth verse of surah Yasin, “And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see.” He then simply walked past them, safe and sound.
Even in such a difficult moment, he did not betray the trust of those who meant to take his life.
Even his enemies trusted his word
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had never lied once in his life. Finally, on the day he emerged with a great cause, he went up to the hill of Abu Qubays to declare the tawhid and his prophethood and addressed his people as follows:
“O Tribe of َQuraysh! If I were to inform you that there is an enemy cavalry in the valley intending to attack you, would you believe me?” he asked. All in unison:
“Yes, we do. Because we've never heard a lie from you before; you don't lie,” they said.
Among those who said this were the enemies of Allah, such as Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl. But they all affirmed His truthfulness and reliability.
Byzantine Emperor Heraclius accepted Abu Sufyan, who had come to Damascus for trade, and asked him some questions about Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). One of these questions was:
“Have you ever heard that this person who claims to be a prophet has lied?”
Abu Sufyan, who had not yet converted to Islam, said:
“Never! We've never heard him lie.”
Indeed, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) regarded lying as one of the three signs of hypocrisy. The other two are related to the issue of trust: not keeping the promises one makes and betraying people’s faith or that which is entrusted.
He would not allow even an iota of backbiting.
He reminded on various occasions that backbiting was described as “eating the flesh of one’s dead brother” (Al-Hujurat, 12) in the Qur’an. He also explained that, during his ascension to the heavens known as Mi’raj, he had seen those who gossipped and sought to uncover other people’s secrets clawing their faces with their nails.
He was a man of his word
A young man who agreed to meet the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in a place during the Age of Ignorance had forgotten his promise. Three days later, he remembered his promise and ran to the agreed location. He saw that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was waiting there. Yet he was not angry with him. He only said, “Young man, you tired me. I’ve been waiting for you here for three days.”
Honesty, even to animals
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) wanted people to be honest, not only towards humans but also towards animals and all beings. He could not even tolerate someone deceiving an animal. One of his companions pretended to have food in his hand while calling his horse. This bothered him greatly, so he called his companion and warned him.
He did not grant anyone privileged status before the law
One vital way to ensure trust in society is to apply the law equally to all. Influential and reputable people should not be privileged before the law. If privileged people benefit from certain rights exclusive to them and penalties are applied only to those less fortunate, injustice, insecurity, all kinds of strife, and anarchy will break out like a virulent disease.
A woman from the Tribe of Banu Makhzum committed theft. Her tribe members gathered together and put Usama bin Zayd forward to ask the Prophet to forgive the woman. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) flared up with righteous indignation at this request, climbed the minbar, and called out:
“O people, those who have gone before you were destroyed because if anyone of high rank committed theft amongst them, they spared him; and if anyone of low rank committed theft, they inflicted the prescribed punishment upon him. By Allah, if Fatima (the daughter of the Prophet) were to steal, I would have her hand cut off.”
He categorically rejected the use of deception
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) strongly opposed cheating both in trade and daily life and said, “He who deceives is not one of us.”
He foretold that those who were truthful, honest, and reliable in commercial life would be resurrected with prophets, siddiqs, and martyrs in the Hereafter.
He would state, “The hand of Might is upon two partners as long as they do not betray each other,” thus encouraging honest and sincere partnerships.
He asked for our word on six issues
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Guarantee me for six issues, and I will guarantee for you Paradise:
1. Be truthful when you speak,
2. Keep your promises when you make them,
3. Fulfill the trust when you are trusted,
4. Guard your chastity,
5. Lower your gaze,
6. And restrain your hands from harming others.”
Isn't the formula for transforming our house, street, city, and eventually the whole earth into paradise hidden in these six items? It's all a matter of having the right intention: to stand up straight no matter how fiercely the wind blows or how relentlessly the forces acting against us try to bend and break us. With this intention, we will be safe with the help of Almighty Allah inshallah.
Ahmet Safa
