1/64. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 143a — Trustworthiness and Faith
The disappearance of honesty and faith from some hearts and the appearance of fitnah in some hearts
Hadith About Amanah: Trustworthiness in the Heart
Sahih Muslim : 143a
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 143a
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، وَوَكِيعٌ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَدِيثَيْنِ قَدْ رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَهُمَا وَأَنَا أَنْتَظِرُ الآخَرَ حَدَّثَنَا " أَنَّ الأَمَانَةَ نَزَلَتْ فِي جِذْرِ قُلُوبِ الرِّجَالِ ثُمَّ نَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ فَعَلِمُوا مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ وَعَلِمُوا مِنَ السُّنَّةِ " . ثُمَّ حَدَّثَنَا عَنْ رَفْعِ الأَمَانَةِ قَالَ " يَنَامُ الرَّجُلُ النَّوْمَةَ فَتُقْبَضُ الأَمَانَةُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ فَيَظَلُّ أَثَرُهَا مِثْلَ الْوَكْتِ ثُمَّ يَنَامُ النَّوْمَةَ فَتُقْبَضُ الأَمَانَةُ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ فَيَظَلُّ أَثَرُهَا مِثْلَ الْمَجْلِ كَجَمْرٍ دَحْرَجْتَهُ عَلَى رِجْلِكَ فَنَفِطَ فَتَرَاهُ مُنْتَبِرًا وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ شَىْءٌ - ثُمَّ أَخَذَ حَصًى فَدَحْرَجَهُ عَلَى رِجْلِهِ - فَيُصْبِحُ النَّاسُ يَتَبَايَعُونَ لاَ يَكَادُ أَحَدٌ يُؤَدِّي الأَمَانَةَ حَتَّى يُقَالَ إِنَّ فِي بَنِي فُلاَنٍ رَجُلاً أَمِينًا . حَتَّى يُقَالَ لِلرَّجُلِ مَا أَجْلَدَهُ مَا أَظْرَفَهُ مَا أَعْقَلَهُ وَمَا فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ " . وَلَقَدْ أَتَى عَلَىَّ زَمَانٌ وَمَا أُبَالِي أَيَّكُمْ بَايَعْتُ لَئِنْ كَانَ مُسْلِمًا لَيَرُدَّنَّهُ عَلَىَّ دِينُهُ وَلَئِنْ كَانَ نَصْرَانِيًّا أَوْ يَهُودِيًّا لَيَرُدَّنَّهُ عَلَىَّ سَاعِيهِ وَأَمَّا الْيَوْمَ فَمَا كُنْتُ لأُبَايِعَ مِنْكُمْ إِلاَّ فُلاَنًا وَفُلاَنًا .
Hudhaifa Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) narrated to us two ahadith. I have seen one (crystallized into reality), and I am waiting for the other. He told us: Trustworthiness descended in the innermost (root) of the hearts of people. Then the Qur'an was revealed and they learnt from the Qur'an and they learnt from the Sunnah.Then he (the Holy Prophet) told us about the removal of trustworthiness. He said: The man would have a wink of sleep and trustworthiness would be taken away from his heart leaving the impression of a faint mark. He would again sleep and trustworthiness would be taken away from his heart leaving an impression of a blister, as if you rolled down an ember on your foot and it was vesicled. He would see a swelling having nothing in it.He (the Holy Prophet) then took up a pebble and rolled it down over his foot and (said): The people would enter into transactions amongst one another and hardly a person would be left who would return (things) entrusted to him. (And there would be so much paucity of honest persons) till it would be said: There in such a such tribe is a trustworthy man. And they would also say about a person: How prudent he is, how broad-minded he is and how intelligent he is, whereas in his heart there would not be faith even to the weight of a mustard seed.I have passed through a time in which I did not care with whom amongst you I entered into a transaction, for if he were a Muslim his faith would compel him to discharge his obligations to me and it he were a Christian or a Jew, the ruler would compel him to discharge his obligations to me. But today I would not enter into a transaction with you except so and so.
[1] In most of the narrations it is not clear if it refers to Hudhaifah or the Prophet ﷺ, but in the narration recorded by Ibn Mâjah, it is: "Then Hudhaifah picked up"Reference : Sahih Muslim 143aIn-book reference : Book 1, Hadith 274USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 1, Hadith 265
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 143a
This hadith about amanah explains trustworthiness as something rooted in the heart. Hudhaifa reports that trustworthiness first descended into the hearts of people, then they learned from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The hadith then describes a time when trustworthiness would be taken away little by little, leaving only marks like a faint trace or a blister. The message is powerful but clear: when amanah is lost inside people, it affects buying, selling, and daily dealings. People may still praise someone as clever or strong, but the hadith warns that such praise does not prove faith in the heart. For anyone searching for the trustworthiness hadith, this narration links honesty, faith, and public dealings in a direct way.
What we learn from this hadith
- Trustworthiness is connected to the condition of the heart.
- The Qur’an and Sunnah teach and strengthen honest conduct.
- Public praise does not always prove true faith inside a person.
- Business and transactions suffer when people stop returning trusts.
