446. The trust shouldered by man.
In this verse (33:72) of the Quran, it says only man has been entrusted with shouldering a trust that has to be returned by him in due course.
The trust that has been mentioned in this verse has not been disclosed either in other parts of the Quran or in the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad. But the only difference between man and other creatures is the presence of rationalism by man, which can be realized from this verse.
The claim by some scholars the trust that has been entrusted with man in the Quran is not acceptable, because it is mentioned that the trust that is shouldered is by the entire mankind. If according to these scholars it is the Quran that is being shouldered by man, it alludes also to the entire mankind even before Prophet Muhammad.
But this is not the reality and hence this claim does not stand good.
People who claim that the Quran is the trust that is being shouldered by man cite the following verse of the Quran as evidence.
‘If we (had) sent down this Quran on a mountain surely you (would) have humbled it, breaking asunder from the fear of Allah. And these examples we present to them that they may give thought.
The Quran 59:21
Taking into consideration this verse and one quoted above we cannot come to a conclusion to accept the trust that has been shouldered by man is the Quran, because Allah cites an incident that did not take place. The Quran did not descend on the mountain.
‘But verse (33:72) of the Quran says we offered the ‘trust’ to be shouldered by the heavens and earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and they feared from it; but bore it the man. Indeed, he was unjust and arrogant’. The verse conveys when the heavens, the earth and mountains were offered to shoulder the ‘trust’ they refused to accept the offer, but man accepted the same, thus narrating an incident that took place at the time of creation.
Everyone understands that rationalism was the ‘trust’ that was sent down upon only man. Maybe this is the reason we do not find any other explanations either in the Quran or in the hadiths.
