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 Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
We offered the Trust [110] to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid of it. Yet man undertook it. Indeed, he is most unjust [111] and ignorant.
[110]
The Burden of Trust That Man Undertook:
By "trust" is meant the burden of vicegerency, as Allah Almighty said to the angels, "I am going to place a vicegerent on the earth." Allah Almighty created the mighty creations like the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, and asked them: "Tell me, if I grant you the power of will and choice, and also bestow upon you the faculty of intellect and discernment, are you ready to become My vicegerent? You will have to do only what I command; despite having the ability to disobey, you must adhere to My commands and implement them." So, these three types of mighty creations were afraid to bear this great burden and did not accept it. But in contrast, the weak creation, who could die if deprived of breath for even a minute, became ready to bear this great burden. Man, with great courage, said that if he were given the faculty of discernment, intellect, understanding, and the power of will and choice, he would be ready to bear this burden. Thus, Allah Almighty took a covenant from man on this matter, which is famous as the Covenant of Alast (Alastu birabbikum). Whether this conversation took place in actual words or in the language of disposition, or whether it is merely a figurative expression, Allah knows best. However, it is known that the Covenant of Alast was taken from the souls of all humans to be born until the Day of Judgment, and the clear proof of this is that the potential to become a vicegerent and to establish the system of vicegerency exists within man. Then, it is also worth considering that there are not one but two types of responsible creations: one is man, the other is jinn. But here, only man is mentioned. The reason is that the capacity Allah Almighty placed in man is not found in the jinn. The noblest of creation is man, not jinn. Therefore, the jinn are included in this conversation only by extension, not originally.
[111] ﴿ظَلُوْم﴾ and "jahool" are both intensive forms. That is, man is extremely unjust and extremely ignorant for having taken up this burden of trust. He is unjust in the sense that, due to his desire to attain the highest rank among all creation, he accepted this responsibility, but after coming to this abode of trial—the world—he became so absorbed and engrossed in the allure and attractions of the world that he does not even realize what a great responsibility he has taken upon himself. In this way, he became guilty of betraying the trust that was assigned to him. And he is ignorant in the sense that all his attention remained on the fact that he was going to receive the highest honor among all creation, but he was unable to estimate the responsibilities of this honor. Most humans never even tried to find out what responsibilities are imposed upon them by virtue of being the noblest of creation.
[110]
The Burden of Trust That Man Undertook:
By "trust" is meant the burden of vicegerency, as Allah Almighty said to the angels, "I am going to place a vicegerent on the earth." Allah Almighty created the mighty creations like the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, and asked them: "Tell me, if I grant you the power of will and choice, and also bestow upon you the faculty of intellect and discernment, are you ready to become My vicegerent? You will have to do only what I command; despite having the ability to disobey, you must adhere to My commands and implement them." So, these three types of mighty creations were afraid to bear this great burden and did not accept it. But in contrast, the weak creation, who could die if deprived of breath for even a minute, became ready to bear this great burden. Man, with great courage, said that if he were given the faculty of discernment, intellect, understanding, and the power of will and choice, he would be ready to bear this burden. Thus, Allah Almighty took a covenant from man on this matter, which is famous as the Covenant of Alast (Alastu birabbikum). Whether this conversation took place in actual words or in the language of disposition, or whether it is merely a figurative expression, Allah knows best. However, it is known that the Covenant of Alast was taken from the souls of all humans to be born until the Day of Judgment, and the clear proof of this is that the potential to become a vicegerent and to establish the system of vicegerency exists within man. Then, it is also worth considering that there are not one but two types of responsible creations: one is man, the other is jinn. But here, only man is mentioned. The reason is that the capacity Allah Almighty placed in man is not found in the jinn. The noblest of creation is man, not jinn. Therefore, the jinn are included in this conversation only by extension, not originally.
[111] ﴿ظَلُوْم﴾ and "jahool" are both intensive forms. That is, man is extremely unjust and extremely ignorant for having taken up this burden of trust. He is unjust in the sense that, due to his desire to attain the highest rank among all creation, he accepted this responsibility, but after coming to this abode of trial—the world—he became so absorbed and engrossed in the allure and attractions of the world that he does not even realize what a great responsibility he has taken upon himself. In this way, he became guilty of betraying the trust that was assigned to him. And he is ignorant in the sense that all his attention remained on the fact that he was going to receive the highest honor among all creation, but he was unable to estimate the responsibilities of this honor. Most humans never even tried to find out what responsibilities are imposed upon them by virtue of being the noblest of creation.
