Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 75

(Ayah 75) ➊ {وَ مِنْ اَهْلِ الْكِتٰبِ مَنْ اِنْ تَاْمَنْهُ بِقِنْطَارٍ يُّؤَدِّهٖۤ اِلَيْكَ:} Observe the justice of Allah Almighty that even during the condemnation of the People of the Book, if there was any virtue among some of their people, He acknowledged it. The condemnation was only for those who deserved it. The best example of those who returned a treasure held in trust is the detailed incident mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, in which a man from the Children of Israel borrowed a thousand dinars from another Israelite, and when he could not find a boat to deliver it, he placed it in a piece of wood and entrusted it to the sea, and later himself brought the money as well. But the other also demonstrated trustworthiness and informed that he had received the money sent in the wood. [بخاری، الکفالۃ، باب الکفالۃ فی القرض … : ۲۲۹۱ ]

➋ {وَ مِنْهُمْ مَّنْ اِنْ تَاْمَنْهُ بِدِيْنَارٍ لَّا يُؤَدِّهٖۤ اِلَيْكَ …:} According to them, the reason for not returning even a single dinar without standing over their heads is that, as they say, there will be no accountability upon us for consuming the wealth of the unlettered (Arabs). Allah Almighty said that they are deliberately fabricating a lie against Allah, because Allah Almighty has never commanded betrayal in trust, whether it is an Israelite or an Arab. Rather, Islam has not permitted taking the wealth of any dhimmi without permission, nor has it allowed consuming the wealth of any harbi disbeliever through betrayal. Thus, it is said: «اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَاْمُرُكُمْ اَنْ تُؤَدُّوا الْاَمٰنٰتِ اِلٰۤى اَهْلِهَا » [النساء : ۵۸ ] “Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due.” It is unfortunate that, like the Jews, some Muslims also say in the lands of the disbelievers that dealing in interest is permissible in Dar al-Harb, and Dar al-Harb is also defined according to their own wishes, whether there is war with them or not.

➌ One of our merchant friends argued from this verse that no matter how much a person is unwilling to return a loan, if you keep demanding it from him repeatedly, eventually you will get your money back, provided that you neither fight with him nor give him an opportunity to fight, because then repeated demands are no longer possible. He said this is his experience.

75. 1. By "illiterate, ignorant" is meant the polytheists of Arabia. The dishonest people among the Jews used to claim that since they are polytheists, it is permissible to usurp their wealth and there is no sin in it. Allah Almighty said that they are lying against Allah. How can Allah Almighty permit anyone to usurp another's wealth? And in some exegetical narrations, it is mentioned that when the Prophet ﷺ heard this, he said, "The enemies of Allah have lied. All things from the Age of Ignorance are under my feet except for trust (amanah), for it must be fulfilled in every case, whether it belongs to a righteous person or a wicked one." (Ibn Kathir and Fath al-Qadeer) It is unfortunate that, like the Jews, today some Muslims also say, in order to usurp the wealth of polytheists, that the interest of Dar al-Harb is unlawful and that there is no sanctity for the wealth of a Harbi.

75. Among the People of the Book are some who, if you entrust them with a treasure of wealth, will return it to you; and among them are some who, if you entrust them with a single dinar, will not return it to you unless you keep standing over them. This is because they say, "There is no blame upon us regarding the unlettered (non-Jews)." Thus they knowingly [66] attribute lies to Allah.

[66] Usury was also forbidden to the Jews. But their jurists made such subtle distinctions and invented such interpretations by which they declared it permissible to take usury from non-Jews (just as nowadays there is a group among Muslims who, by creating legalistic subtleties, consider it permissible to take usury from Harbi disbelievers). Then, their habit of usury was not limited to usury alone, but they used to say that it is permissible to seize the wealth of non-Jews by any means possible. Allah Almighty has mentioned this kind of unlawful consumption by the Jews at several places. Thus, in this way, they committed a double crime: one, the consumption of what is unlawful, and second, declaring it permissible by deriving it as a legal ruling from the Shariah. In other words, they would attribute their own inventions to Allah. The effects that usury has on a person's nature are selfishness, hard-heartedness, miserliness, extraordinary love for wealth, and then the concern to accumulate wealth through unlawful means. In this verse, the example Allah Almighty has given of such a person that if you give him even a single dinar, it becomes difficult to get it back from him, is the example of a person caught in this kind of love for wealth. As for the example of an honest person, there are always some good people in every nation and every community, though they are few. Among the Jews, such people were those who truly considered usury and other unlawful means to be forbidden. Abdullah bin Salam ؓ was such a person. Someone had deposited twelve uqiyah of gold with him as a trust, and when the owner demanded his trust, he immediately returned it. In contrast, there was a Jew named Fihas. Someone had deposited a single gold coin with him as a trust. When he demanded his trust from him, he simply denied it.

The Jews Considering the Wealth of Non-Israelites as Permissible:

The justification by the Jews for seizing the wealth of non-Israelites by any lawful or unlawful means is proven from their own books. It is stated in the Talmud that if the ox of an Israelite injures the ox of a non-Israelite, there is no compensation for it. But if the ox of a non-Israelite injures the ox of an Israelite, then there is compensation. Also, if someone finds a lost item, he should see what kind of people live in the surrounding area. If it is inhabited by Israelites, he should announce it. And if it is inhabited by non-Israelites, he should keep the item without announcing it. Rabbi Shmuel says that if a case between a gentile and an Israelite comes before a judge, and if the judge can make his religious brother win according to the Israelite law, he should do so and say, "This is our law." And if he can make him win according to the law of the gentiles, he should do so and say, "This is your law." And if neither law supports him, then by whatever trick he can make the Israelite win, he should do so. Rabbi Shmuel says that one should take advantage of every mistake of a non-Israelite. [تفهيم القرآن، ج 1 ص 266، حاشيه نمبر 64]