14/38. Chapter:
Jami at-Tirmidhi 1264 — Trust and Honesty
Fulfill The Trust For The One Who Entrusted You'
Fulfill the Trust Hadith: Honesty Without Revenge
Jami at-Tirmidhi : 1264
Jami at-TirmidhiHadith Number 1264
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا طَلْقُ بْنُ غَنَّامٍ، عَنْ شَرِيكٍ، وَقَيْسٍ، عَنْ أَبِي حَصِينٍ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَدِّ الأَمَانَةَ إِلَى مَنِ ائْتَمَنَكَ وَلاَ تَخُنْ مَنْ خَانَكَ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ . وَقَدْ ذَهَبَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ إِلَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ وَقَالُوا إِذَا كَانَ لِلرَّجُلِ عَلَى آخَرَ شَيْءٌ فَذَهَبَ بِهِ فَوَقَعَ لَهُ عِنْدَهُ شَيْءٌ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ أَنْ يَحْبِسَ عَنْهُ بِقَدْرِ مَا ذَهَبَ لَهُ عَلَيْهِ . وَرَخَّصَ فِيهِ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ . وَهُوَ قَوْلُ الثَّوْرِيِّ وَقَالَ إِنْ كَانَ لَهُ عَلَيْهِ دَرَاهِمُ فَوَقَعَ لَهُ عِنْدَهُ دَنَانِيرُ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ أَنْ يَحْبِسَ بِمَكَانِ دَرَاهِمِهِ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَقَعَ عِنْدَهُ لَهُ دَرَاهِمُ فَلَهُ حِينَئِذٍ أَنْ يَحْبِسَ مِنْ دَرَاهِمِهِ بِقَدْرِ مَا لَهُ عَلَيْهِ .
Abu Hurairah Narrated from:
The Prophet (ﷺ) Said: "Fulfill The Trust For The One Who Entrusted You, And Do Not Cheat The One Who Cheated You." [Abu 'Eisa Said:] This Hadith Is Hasan Gharib. Some Of The People Of Knowledge Followed This Hadith, They Said That When Something Belonging To A Man Is With Another And He Leaves (With It), Then He Has Something That Belongs To Him, He May Not Withhold From Him An Equivalent To What The Other Took Of His.Some Of The People Of Knowledge Among The Tabi'In Allowed That. This Is The View Of Sufyan Ath-Thawri, He Said: "If One Man Has Some Dirham That Belong To Another, And The Second Has Some Dinar Belonging To The First, He May Not Withhold Any In Place Of His Dirham, Unless It So Happens That He Has Some Dirham Of His, Then In That Case He Can Withhold Some Of His Dirham Equal To What He Is Owed By The First."
Reference : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1264In-book reference : Book 14, Hadith 66English translation : Vol. 1, Book 12, Hadith 1264
Summary of Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 1264
This famous hadith about trust in Islam gives a short but strong rule: “Fulfill the trust for the one who entrusted you, and do not cheat the one who cheated you.” It speaks to daily life, trade, borrowing, and personal dealings. The hadith does not allow a person to become dishonest just because someone else acted dishonestly first. The added discussion in the text shows how scholars used it in cases where one person has another’s property and wants to hold back something in return. The core meaning stays clear: amanah is not controlled by anger. A Muslim keeps trust because trust is right, not because the other person always behaved well.
What we learn from this hadith
- Return what was entrusted to you.
- Do not use another person’s betrayal as a reason to betray them.
- Trust is a duty even when emotions are high.
- Property disputes should not be handled by private cheating.
