ABSTRACT
The root-word of amānah is a-m-n. According to Ali Bulut, in his unpublished master’s thesis, derivatives of this root-word is mentioned 879 times in the Qur’ān. 1 The direct meaning of a-m-n is, according to Bulut, to trust a person or a being with peace of mind and heart. 2 Bulut’s conclusion, after a semantic analysis of the term, is that the common denominator for the meaning of amānah is ‘trust.’ 3 In the history of Islam until most recent studies, a lot of different interpretations have been made regarding what the divine trust, mentioned in the following verse of the Qur’ān, might mean:
We did indeed offer the Trust to the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains; but they refused to undertake it being afraid thereof. But man assumed it; indeed, he is most unjust (ẓalūman), most foolish (jahūla). 4
