the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it" (1). He also said: "Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due" (2), meaning deposits and rights. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Render the trust to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrayed you" (3). When the wording is ambiguous, it is not diverted to one of its potential meanings (4) except by his intention or a clear indicator directing it there. Our view is that "the trust of Allah" is an attribute of His, evidenced by the requirement of expiation on one who swears by it when he intends it, and it must be understood as such when used absolutely for several reasons: First, interpreting it otherwise diverts the Muslim's oath toward disobedience or a disliked act, as it would be an oath by a created being, and the apparent state of a Muslim is the opposite of that. Second, an oath is customarily made by what is glorified and respected, and the attribute of Allah Almighty is greatest in sanctity and status. Third, what they mentioned regarding mandatory duties and deposits is not known to be used for swearing, nor would it be considered appropriate if one were to explicitly state it; thus, one does not swear by that which is an expression for it. Fourth, "the trust of Allah," when attributed to Him, is His attribute, whereas others are mentioned without being attributed to Him, as stated in the verses and the report. Fifth, the wording is general to every trust of Allah (6); for when a generic noun is attributed to a defined term, it implies (7) the inclusion of all, so it includes the trust of Allah which is His attribute; thus, the oath is concluded by it, necessitating expiation, just as if he had intended it.

Section: If he says, "By the trust (wa-l-amanah), I shall not do such-and-such," and intends swearing by the trust of Allah, then it is (8) an oath requiring expiation. If he uses it absolutely, there are two narrations: One is that it constitutes an oath, due to the reasons we have mentioned. The second is that it does not constitute an oath, because he did not attribute it to Allah Almighty, so it could potentially refer to something else. Abu al-Khattab said: The same applies if he says, "By the covenant (al-'ahd)," "the pledge (al-mithaq)," "the might (al-jabarut)," and "the greatness (al-'azamah)."