سُوْرَةُ الْاَحْزَابِ
Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 72
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا ٱلْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا ﴿72﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Truly, We did offer Al-Amânah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allâh has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allâh’s Torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results).[2]
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
إِنَّا
innā
Indeed, We
عَرَضْنَا
ʿaraḍnā
[We] offered
ٱلْأَمَانَةَ
l-amānata
the Trust
عَلَى
ʿalā
to
ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ
l-samāwāti
the heavens
وَٱلْأَرْضِ
wal-arḍi
and the earth
وَٱلْجِبَالِ
wal-jibāli
and the mountains
فَأَبَيْنَ
fa-abayna
but they refused
أَن
an
to
يَحْمِلْنَهَا
yaḥmil'nahā
bear it
وَأَشْفَقْنَ
wa-ashfaqna
and they feared
مِنْهَا
min'hā
from it
وَحَمَلَهَا
waḥamalahā
but bore it
ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ ۖ
l-insānu
the man
إِنَّهُۥ
innahu
Indeed, he
كَانَ
kāna
was
ظَلُومًۭا
ẓalūman
unjust
جَهُولًۭا
jahūlan
ignorant
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
72. 1 When Allah Almighty described the reward and recompense for the obedient and the punishment and torment for the disobedient, now He mentions the legal rulings and their difficulty. By "trust" (امانت), the legal rulings (احکام شرعیہ) and the obligatory duties and requirements (فرائض و واجبات) are meant, for the fulfillment of which there is reward, and for turning away from or denying them, there is punishment. When these legal obligations were presented to the heavens and the earth, they were afraid to bear them. But when this matter was presented to man, he, seeing the reward and virtue of obedience to Allah (the trust), became willing to bear this heavy burden. By referring to the legal rulings as a trust, it is indicated that their fulfillment is necessary. What does "presenting" mean? And how did the heavens, the earth, and the mountains respond? And how did man accept it? We can neither know nor describe the full reality of this. We must believe that Allah has placed a special kind of feeling and consciousness in each of His creations, though we are not aware of this reality, but Allah Almighty is capable of understanding their speech; He surely presented this trust to them, which they refused to accept. And this refusal was not due to rebellion or arrogance, but rather out of fear that if they could not fulfill the requirements of this trust, they would have to bear its punishment. Man, being hasty, did not reflect much on the aspect of punishment and, in his eagerness for virtue, accepted the responsibility.
72. 2 That is, by bearing this heavy burden, he committed injustice against himself, and by turning away from its requirements or by being heedless of its value and worth, he displayed ignorance.
72. 2 That is, by bearing this heavy burden, he committed injustice against himself, and by turning away from its requirements or by being heedless of its value and worth, he displayed ignorance.
