All praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of Allah’s Messengers and his family, Companions, and those who followed his guidance.Trustworthiness is a characteristic of the elite, from Allah’s Prophets and Messengers, and those who followed their path from the righteous and the faithful people. Contemplate when the king of Egypt said to Prophet Yusuf (Joseph, peace be upon him), “Indeed, you are today established [in position] and trusted.” (Quran 12: 54) Moreover, the daughter of the righteous man said to her father about Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him), “O my father, hire him. Indeed, the best one you can hire is the strong and the trustworthy.” (Quran 28: 26)

As for the Seal of the Messengers, Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), he was called the trustworthy person even before being a prophet. When they built the Ka’bah and reached the location of the Black Stone, they disagreed about who would win this honor of putting it in its place until they almost fought. Then, they agreed that the first one to enter would judge among them. The one who entered was the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) before his mission. When they saw him, they said, “This is the trustworthy one, we are satisfied. This is Muhammad.” Because of the Prophet’s trustworthiness, the people of Makkah used to keep their precious items with him as a trust. He (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) kept their trusts to the point that when he wanted to emigrate and the people of Quraysh had agreed to kill him, he ordered `Ali ibn Abi Talib to sleep in his bed to return the trusts to their owners, assuring him that he would not be harmed. Due to his trustworthiness, the Mother of the Believers, Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) proposed to marry him. Moreover, when Allah granted His Messenger victory during the conquest of Makkah and he (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) circumambulated around the Ka’bah, he took the key of the Ka`bah from `Uthman ibn Talhah and entered the Ka`bah. When he came out, he gave the key back to `Uthman and refused to give it to some of his (the Prophet’s) relatives when they asked for it.

When he borrowed dates from a Bedouin and the Bedouin came to get his due right, he spoke harshly to the Prophet, saying, “I will make things difficult for you unless you repay me.” The Companions rebuked the man and said, “Woe to you, do not you know who you are speaking to?” He said, “I am only asking for my rights.” The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Why do not you support the one who has a right?” Then, he sent word to Khawlah bint Qays, saying to her, “If you have dates, lend them to us until our dates come, then we will pay you back.” She said, “Yes, may my father be ransomed for you, O Messenger of Allah!” So she gave him a loan, and he paid back the Bedouin and fed him. He (the Bedouin) said, “You have paid me in full, may Allah, the Almighty, pay you in full.” He (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Those are the best of people. May that nation not be cleansed (of sin) among whom the weak cannot get their rights without trouble.”

It has been proven that he (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to supplicate with this supplication, “I seek refuge in You from betrayal, for it is an evil inner trait.” It is trustworthiness that Allah, the Almighty, commanded His servants to have and forbade them from betraying. He, the Almighty, says, “O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence].” (Quran 8: 27) Allah also said, “And if one of you entrusts another, then let him who is entrusted discharge his trust [faithfully] and let him fear Allah, his Lord.” (Quran 2: 283)

It is trustworthiness that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) commanded us to fulfill when he said, “Fulfill the trust of the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrayed you.” Moreover, Allah, the Almighty, praised the one who possessed this trait and promised him great rewards and bounties. He, the Exalted, says, “Certainly will the believers have succeeded ….. And they who are to their trusts and their promises attentive.” Then, He points out their reward in His saying, “Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally.” (Quran 23: 1-11)

There is a close relationship between trustworthiness and faith. This is why the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “He who has no trustworthiness has no faith.” Another Hadith stated, “The Muslim is he from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe, and the believer is he whom people trust with their lives and their property.” He also counted the loss of trustworthiness as a sign of hypocrisy. He (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted, he betrays.”

If the Sirat is a bridge laid over Hell, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Trustworthiness and kinship will be sent forth and will stand on both sides of the Sirat, right and left.” Trustworthiness and kinship, due to their great significance and the huge obligation of observing their rights by mankind, will be stopped there for the trustworthy and the traitor, the one who maintains ties of kinship and the one who severs them. Thus, they will argue on behalf of the righteous and bear witness against the wrongdoers.

The loss of trustworthiness is one of the signs of the Hour. The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “When trustworthiness is lost, then wait for the last Hour.”

Trustworthiness is one of the main components of all acts of worship and transactions. The servant is entrusted with his prayers, purification, and all acts of worship, and he is entrusted with the rights of other servants. Any fraud in dealing with people or violating their rights and eating up their property unjustly is a loss of trust. Betrayal of trustworthiness will be a disgrace on the Day of Resurrection, with which the servant will be disgraced before creatures, as indicated by the statement of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), “Every traitor will have a banner raised for him on the Day of Resurrection, according to the extent of his treachery.” What disgrace is that!

Betraying trustworthiness brings disgrace and regret to the traitor on the Day of Judgment. Muslim reported on the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: “I said to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), ‘Why do not you appoint me to an (official) position?’ He (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) patted me on the shoulder with his hand and said, ‘O Abu Dharr, you are a weak man and it is a trust and it will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection except for the one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfills what is entrusted to him (discharges its obligations efficiently).’”

`Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Do not be deceived by a person’s prayer or fasting. The true believer is the one when he speaks, he says the truth, and when he is entrusted with something, he fulfills it.”

Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, “Allah did not permit the insolvent or the solvent to refrain from paying back trusts.”

So, beloved, you should be as the poet put it:

I guard the trust, I do not betray it

For the traitor takes the most difficult path.

O Allah, we seek refuge in You against treachery for it is the worst hidden trait a person may have. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon His Servant and Messenger Muhammad. All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.