Inna Allaha yamurukum an tuaddoo alamanati ila ahliha waitha hakamtum bayna alnnasi an tahkumoo bialAAadli inna Allaha niAAimma yaAAithukum bihi inna Allaha kana sameeAAan baseeran
English
Ahmed Ali
God enjoins that you render to the owners what is held in trust with you, and that when you judge among the people do so equitably. Noble are the counsels of God, and God hears all and sees everything.
58
Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : regarding the key that the prophet (pbuh) took from 'uthman ibn talhah as a deposit, allah commanded his messenger to give back deposits to their owner, saying: (lo! allah commandeth you that ye restore deposits) to give back the key (to their owners) to 'uthman ibn talhah, (and, if ye judge between mankind) between 'uthman ibn talhah and 'abbas ibn 'abd al-muttalib, (that you judge justly) that you give back to 'uthman and the providing of water (siqaya) to al-'abbas. (lo! comely is this which allah admonisheth you) comely is this which allah commands you, of giving back deposits to their owners and judging justly. (lo! allah is ever hearer) when al-'abbas said: o messenger of allah! give me both the key and the providing of water, (seer) of what 'uthman ibn talhah did when he refused to give the key and said: by allah's trust! give me my right, o messenger of allah!
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : verily, god commands you to restore trusts, that is, the rights entrusted [to you by others], back to their owners: this was revealed when ‘alī, may god be pleased with him, took the key of the ka‘ba from its keeper, ‘uthmān b. talha al-hajabī, by force, upon the arrival of the prophet (s) in mecca in the year of the conquest, after he [‘uthmān] had tried to prevent him [‘alī from taking it] saying, ‘if i had known that he was the messenger of god, i would not have prevented him’. the messenger of god (s) then ordered him [‘alī] to give it back to him [‘uthmān] saying to him, ‘here you are, [it is yours] now and always’. he [‘uthmān] was amazed by this, whereupon ‘alī recited to him this verse, and he accepted islam. upon his death, he [‘uthmān] gave it [the key] to his brother, shayba, and thus it remained in [the keep of] his descendants. although the verse was revealed regarding a specific occasion, it holds true in general on account of the plural person [to which it is addressed]. and when you judge between people, he commands, that you judge with justice. excellent is (ni‘immā, the mīm of ni‘ima has been assimilated with the indefinite particle mā, which is the object described, in other words, na‘ima shay’an, ‘an excellent thing [is]’) the admonition god gives you, to restore a trust and to judge with justice. god is ever hearer, of what is said, seer, of what is done.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (lo! allah commandeth you that ye restore deposits to their owners…) [4:58].
this verse was revealed about ‘uthman ibn talhah al-hajabi, from the banu ‘abd al-dar. this man was the caretaker of the ka‘bah. when the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, entered mecca upon its conquest. ‘uthman rushed to lock the door of the sacred house and climbed up to its roof. when the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, asked for the key, he was told that ‘uthman had it. and when he asked him for it, ‘uthman refused to give him the key, saying: “if i knew that he was the messenger of allah, i would not refuse to give him the key”. ‘ali ibn abi talib then twisted the hand of ‘uthman and took the key from him and opened the door of the ka‘bah. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, entered the house and performed inside it two units of prayers. when he came out, al-‘abbas asked for the key of the ka‘bah, so that he could combine the duty of giving water to the pilgrims and that of caretaker of the sacred house. but allah, exalted is he, revealed this verse, and the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, commanded ‘ali to give the key back to ‘uthman and apologize to him, and so he did. ‘uthman said to him: “o ‘ali, you forced and hurt me, and now you come to apologize”. ‘ali said to him: “allah, exalted is he, has revealed this verse about you”, and he recited it to him. upon hearing, ‘uthman said: “i bear witness that muhammad is the messenger of allah”. gabriel, peace be upon him, then came and said: “as long as this house stands, its key and the duty of taking care of it will stay in the progeny of ‘uthman”, and so it is up to this day.
abu hassan al-muzakki informed us> harun ibn muhammad al-istrabadhi> abu muhammad al-khuza‘i> abu’l-walid al-azraqi> his grandfather> sufyan> sa‘id ibn salim> ibn jurayj> mujahid regarding the words of allah, exalted is he (lo! allah commandeth you that ye restore deposits to their owners…): “this verse was revealed about ‘uthman ibn talhah. the prophet, allah bless him and give him peace, collected from him the key of the ka‘bah upon the conquest of mecca. he entered inside it and then came out reciting this verse. he then called ‘uthman and handed the key over to him. he said to him: ‘take the key, o household of talhah, a trust from allah, none but transgressor will take it from you’ ”.
abu’l-nasr al-mihrajani informed us> ‘ubayd allah ibn muhammad al-zahid> abu’l-qasim al-muqri’> ahmad ibn zuhayr> mus‘ab> shaybah ibn ‘uthman ibn abi talhah who said: “the prophet, allah bless him and give him peace, gave the key of the ka‘bah to me and ‘uthman and said: ‘take it, o children of abu talhah, to be eternally kept among your offspring, and none shall take it from you except a transgressor’. thus, the banu talhah who are the caretaker of the ka‘bah belong to banu ‘abd al-dar”.
