Faithfulness is the fulfilment of the deposited rights. It is the opposite of breach and one of the noblest traits and most dignified qualities that achieve admiration and success. The opposite of faithfulness is a breach, which stands for the seizure and usurpation of rights. It is one of the meanest qualities and nastiest manners that cause indignity, failure, and disappointment.
Therefore, reports and traditions urged faithfulness and warned against breach: Allah commands you to return that which had been entrusted to you to the rightful owners. Be just when passing judgment among people. Allah’s advice is the noblest.(1) Believers, do not be dishonest to Allah and the Messengers or knowingly abuse your trust. (2)
The Prophet (s) said: My ummah will be kept in goodness so long as they do not breach the trusts of each other, keep on fulfilling their trusts, and defray the zakat; otherwise, they will be inflicted with famine and harsh years of drought. The fulfilment of the trusts brings sustenance, while treachery causes poverty.
He who breaches the trust is not one of us. Imam As-Sadiq (a) said: Do not be deceived by their very much offering of prayers and observance of fasting. In fact, prayers and fasting have become habits that they feel desolate if they omit them. You should test them by their truthfulness and fulfilment of trust. Abide by God-fearing and fulfilment of the trusts of them who deposit things with you. If the killer of Ali ibn Abi Talib deposits with me trust, I will surely keep it for him.
Advantages of Faithfulness and Disadvantages of Breach
Faithfulness plays a great role in the lives of nations. It is the system of their deeds, the support of their affairs, the title of their nobility, and the way to their moral and material development. Faithful individuals win others’ admiration, trust, love, and confidence. Besides, such individuals will win shares in people’s fortunes and profits. This fact is applicable to all nations whose lives cannot advance without the surroundings of confidence. Through faithfulness, the Arabs could control the reins of the economy and keys of industry and commerce that brought abundant profits. Unfortunately, Muslims, thereafter, neglected faithfulness; therefore, they failed and were disappointed. Thus, a breach of trust is one of the major reasons for failure. It is a serious factor causing mutual mistrust, enmity, and fear. Such factor results in social corruption, loss of ties, waste of interests, and dissipation of energies.
Forms of Breach
There are many forms of a breach that vary in the scope of its cruelty, crimes, and results. The evilest form is a tradition that is committed by thinkers and writers who violate the sacred facts of science by means of distortion and misrepresentation.
The divulgement of Muslims’ secrets is another form of breach. A third one is the breach of the deposits. To confiscate such deposits is surely a double crime of breach, larceny, and usurpation. There are many other repulsive forms of a breach that injure both the individuals and communities, such as trickery, cheating, deficient measurements, fraud, and dishonesty.
NOTES:
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1. The Quran 4:58
2. The Quran 8:27
