Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:283

(And if you are upon a journey), meaning: if you are travelers. There is a tafawwud isti'arah (derivative metaphor) here, as their being established in travel is likened to a rider being established upon his mount. (And you do not find a scribe to write for you) as has been explained. It is said that the sentence is a conjunction to the conditional verb or a circumstantial qualifier (hal).

Abu al-'Aliyah, al-Hasan, and Ibn Abbas recited kutuban (plural of katib).

(Then a pledge in hand), meaning: a security held to substantiate the claim, or [it means] "then you must," or "then let it be taken." Rihan (pledges) is the plural of rahn, which is originally an infinitive, then applied to the pledged item itself—following the pattern of applying the infinitive to the object (maf'ul).

This suspension [of the ruling] is not to imply that traveling and the lack of a scribe are conditions for the legality of a pledge, for the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) pledged his coat of mail in Medina to a Jew for thirty sa's of barley, as recorded in al-Bukhari. Rather, it is to substitute the security of a pledge for the security of a written document during a journey, which is a situation prone to the scarcity of scribes. Mujahid took the literal meaning of the verse and went on to hold that a pledge is not permissible except while traveling. Likewise, al-Dahhak held that it is not permissible during travel unless a scribe is missing. The reason [the verse] does not mention witnesses is because they are in the same category as the scribe regarding the necessity of security and the difficulty of finding them.

The majority of scholars maintain that possession is required for the completion of a pledge. Malik held that it is completed by the offer and acceptance, and that the pledge becomes binding with the contract. He requires that it remain in the possession of the pledgee (murtahin); if it returns to the hands of the pledger (rahin)—such as if the pledgee deposited it with him or returned it to him unconditionally—it has exited the state of pledge. Thus, if the creditors were to stake a claim while it is in the possession of the pledger in one of these two manners, he [the pledger] would be equal to the other creditors regarding it. It is as if he adopted this view because a pledge implies permanence. Abu Ali recited:

And bread and meat have a pledger, And wine, its strainer is the one pouring.

The expression "in hand" (maqbudah), rather than "which you possess" (taqbidunaha), hints at the sufficiency of possession by an agent, not requiring the possession by the pledgee himself. It was also recited as ruhun, like suquf, which is also a plural of rahn. It was also recited with the ha muted for ease.

(Then if some of you trust some others), meaning: some creditors trust some debtors due to their good opinion, whether in travel or at home, and thus do not seek security through writing, witnesses, or a pledge. Ubayy recited fa-in awmana—meaning the people trusted him, described the debtor with trustworthiness and fulfillment, and deemed security unnecessary for someone like him. (And some), based on this reading, is in the accusative case due to the omission of the preposition.

** (Then let the one who was entrusted fulfill)**, meaning the debtor; he is referred to by this title because it is the designated way of informing and compelling him to perform. (His trust), meaning his debt. The pronoun refers to the creditor, or to the debtor in the sense that it is incumbent upon him. "Trust" (amanah) is an infinitive applied to the debt that is a liability. It is called "trust" because it is a guaranteed obligation, based on the trust [granted to him] by refraining from requiring a pledge for it.

It was recited alladhi utumina by turning the hamza into a ya. From Asim, it is reported that he recited alladh-tumina by assimilating the ya into the ta. It is said that this is a mistake, because [a letter] changed from a hamza is treated as a hamza and should not be assimilated. It was refuted by saying that it is heard in the speech of the Arabs. Ibn Malik reported its permissibility, saying it is restricted to what is heard (sama'). Among this is the recitation of Ibn Muhaysin: atumina. Al-Saghani reported that the view of its permissibility is the doctrine of the Kufans. A similar instance occurred in the speech of the Mother of the Believers, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who is among those recognized for eloquent speech. In al-Bukhari, it is recorded from her: "The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to command me, so I would gird myself (fa-attazir)." Thus, the one who errs is [simply] one who errs.

(And let him fear Allah, his Lord) regarding treachery and the denial of rights. In the combination of the title of Divinity and the attribute of Lordship, there is a degree of emphasis and warning that is evident. Allah, Glory be to Him, commanded piety at the time of fulfillment just as He commanded it at the time of acknowledgment, to magnify the rights of people and warn against what causes the spread of corruption.

(And do not conceal testimony), meaning: do not hide it by refraining from performing it when you are called to do so. This is an address to the believing witnesses, as narrated by Sa'id ibn Jubayr and others. Making it an address to the debtors—meaning "do not conceal your testimony" by admitting to the truth during the transaction, or do not resort to tricks to invalidate the witnesses against you by discrediting them and the like—is contrary to the apparent meaning transmitted from the Pious Predecessors. It was recited as yaktumu (in the third person).

(And whoever conceals it, then indeed his heart is sinful). The pronoun in "his" (innahu) refers back to "whoever" (man), which is the apparent meaning. It is said that it is the pronoun of "the matter" (al-sha'n), and the sentence following it explains it. (Sinful) is the predicate of inna, and (his heart) is the agent [of the adjective "sinful"] because it is supported by it. This does not hold according to the view that the pronoun is for "the matter," because it is only explained by a sentence, and a description with its subject is not a sentence according to the Basrans (though the Kufans permit it). It is also said that (sinful) is a fronted predicate, (his heart) is a delayed subject, and the sentence [as a whole] is the predicate of inna. According to this, it is permissible for the pronoun to be for "the matter" or for "whoever." It is also said that (sinful) is the predicate of inna, it contains a pronoun returning to what the pronoun in innahu returns to, and (his heart) is a substitute (badal) for that pronoun—a partial-for-total substitution. It is also said that (sinful) is the subject, (his heart) is the agent that acts as a substitute for the predicate, and the sentence is the predicate of inna; this is permissible according to al-Farra' of the Kufans and al-Akhfash of the Basrans, though the majority of grammarians do not allow it.

He attributed the sin to the heart, even though if it were said "for he is sinful," the meaning would be achieved with brevity. This is because the sin of concealment is something that occurs in the heart, and attributing an action to the limb that performs it is more expressive. Do you not see that if you want to emphasize, you say: "This is what my eyes have seen, what my ears have heard, and what my heart has known"? Furthermore, although sin is attributed to the person as a whole, attributing it to this specific part is a metaphorical reference to the whole, because it is the noblest part and its leader, and its action is greater than the actions of other limbs. Thus, the speech contains an alert that concealment is among the greatest of sins. It is said that the sin was attributed to the heart so that one would not think that concealing testimony is a sin relating only to the tongue, and so that one might know that the heart is the origin of its connection and the mine of its commission. It is also said that this is to indicate that the effect of concealment appears in his heart, as it came in the Hadith: "If a servant commits a sin, a black spot appears in his heart; if he sins more, it increases until the heart is completely blacked." Or [it is to indicate] that it corrupts his heart and thereby corrupts his entire body, as it has been related: "There is in the body a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt—it is the heart." The entirety of the argument is naught, as is obvious. It was recited qalbu-hu (in the accusative) by analogy to the object. (Sinful) is an intensive adjective (sifah mushabbahah). Abu Hayyan permitted it being a substitute for the noun of inna (partial-for-total), and some considered it a specifier (tamyiz), which Abu al-Baqa' regarded as far-fetched. Ibn Abi 'Ablah recited: (athima qalbahu), meaning: He made his heart sinful. (And Allah is All-Knowing) of what you do, regarding the concealment of testimony, its fulfillment, and otherwise.