Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:282

"If you contract a debt..." If some of you lend to others. It is said, "I lent the man" (dāyantu al-rajul) when you deal with him by way of a debt (dayn), whether giving or taking, just as you say "I traded with him" (bāya‘tuhu) when you sell to him or he sells to you. Ru’bah said: "I lent Arwa, and debts are repaid; she delayed some and paid some."

The meaning is: If you deal with each other by way of a deferred debt, then write it down. If you ask: "Why was it not said 'If you contract a debt to a specified term' (idha tadāyantum ilā ajalin musammā), and what is the need to mention 'debt' (al-dayn)—just as he said 'I lent Arwa' without saying 'with a debt'?" I say: It was mentioned so that the pronoun in His saying "write it down" (faktubūhu) could refer back to it. If it were not mentioned, one would have to say "write down the debt," and the structure would not be as elegant. Furthermore, it is clearer for distinguishing between deferred debt and immediate debt.

If you ask: "What is the benefit of the word 'specified' (musammā)?" I say: So that it is known that the term must be defined, such as timing it by years, months, or days. If he said "until the harvest," "the threshing," or "the return of the pilgrims," it would not be valid due to the lack of specification. The command to write the debt is because it is more reliable, safer from forgetfulness, and further from denial. The command is for recommendation (nadb).

Ibn Abbas stated that this refers to Salam (forward sale). He said: "When Allah forbade usury, He permitted Salam." He also said: "I bear witness that Allah permitted in His Book the Salam guaranteed to a known term, and revealed the longest verse regarding it."

"With justice" (bi-l-‘adl) This relates to the "scribe" as an attribute for him. It means: a scribe who is trustworthy regarding what he writes, writing with equity and caution, neither adding to what must be written nor subtracting from it. This implies that the scribe must be a jurist (faqīh) knowledgeable of the conditions so that his writing conforms to the Sharia. It is a command to the contracting parties to choose the scribe carefully and not to employ anyone but a jurist who is religious.

"And let no scribe refuse" No one among the scribes should refuse. This is the meaning of the indefinite "scribe."

"To write as Allah has taught him" Just as Allah taught him to write documents, he should not alter or change them. It is also said: It is like His saying, "And do good as Allah has done good to you" (28:77)—meaning, benefit people with his writing just as Allah benefited him by teaching it to him. Al-Sha‘bi said: It is a communal obligation (farḍ kifāyah). "As Allah has taught him" can relate to "to write" or to "let him write." If you relate it to "to write," then he is forbidden from refusing the specific writing, then told "let him write"—meaning, let him write that specific document and not deviate from it, for emphasis. If you relate it to "let him write," then he is forbidden from refusing to write in an absolute sense, then commanded to do so specifically.

"And let the one who owes the debt dictate" The dictator should only be the one upon whom the right is due, because he is the one whose acknowledgment of the debt is being witnessed and established as a liability upon him. "Dictation" (imlā’) and "dictating" (imlāl) are two dialects, both of which the Quran has used (cf. 25:5).

"And let him not diminish from it anything" Bakhs means reduction. It is also recited as shayan (dropping the hamza) and shayyan (with shadda).

"A fool" (safīhan) One under interdiction due to his squandering and ignorance of how to manage affairs.

"Or weak" A child or an elderly person who is mentally impaired.

"Or unable to dictate himself" Unable to dictate due to a speech impediment or muteness.

"Then let his guardian dictate" The one who manages his affairs, whether a trustee if he is a fool or a child, or an agent if he is unable, or an interpreter who dictates on his behalf while he confirms it. His saying "to dictate himself" implies he is unable to do it personally, but does so through another—the one who interprets for him.

"And bring to witness two witnesses" Seek that two witnesses testify for you regarding the debt.

"From among your men" From the believing men. Freedom and adulthood are conditions along with Islam according to the majority of scholars. Ali (ra) said: "The testimony of a slave is not valid in anything." Shurayh, Ibn Sirin, and Uthman al-Batti said it is valid. According to Abu Hanifa, the testimony of disbelievers against one another is valid, regardless of their differing religions.

"If there are not two men, then a man and two women" Let a man and two women testify. The testimony of women alongside men is accepted by Abu Hanifa in matters other than Hudud (prescribed punishments) and Qisas (retaliation).

"From those you approve" From those whose integrity you know.

"That one of them may err" That one of them might not be guided to the testimony, meaning she forgets it. It is derived from "straying from the path" when one is not guided to it. Its accusative case is as a maf‘ūl lahu (reason for the action), meaning: "out of fear that one might err." If you ask: "How can her error be intended by Allah?" I say: Since the error is the cause for the reminder, and the reminder is the result of the error, and they treat the cause and effect as interchangeable due to their connection, the intention of the error (which causes the reminder) is the intention of the reminder. It is as if it were said: "Intending that one of them reminds the other if she errs."

"If they are called" To establish the testimony. It is said: "If they are called to witness." It is also said: They are called "witnesses" before they actually bear witness, treating the imminent as if it were already present.

"And do not be weary to write it" The pronoun in "write it" refers to the debt or the right.

"Small or large" Regardless of the state of the right, whether small or large. It is also possible the pronoun refers to the document, meaning: write it down, whether briefly or in detail, and do not be negligent in writing it.

"To its term" To the time the two parties agreed to specify.

"That is more equitable" More just.

"And more upright for testimony" More helpful in establishing the testimony.

"And more likely that you will not doubt" Closer to the negation of doubt.

"A present trade" Whether the transaction is by debt or by goods, it is a "trade." The meaning of "circulating it among you" is the exchanging of it hand-to-hand. The meaning is: Unless you are trading in a spot transaction, hand-to-hand, then there is no harm if you do not write it down, because the doubts associated with debt do not apply here.

"And call to witness when you trade" A command to call witnesses for trading in general, whether spot or deferred, because it is more cautious and further from the disagreement that might occur.

"And let no scribe or witness be harmed" This can be read in the active or passive voice. It is a prohibition against the scribe or witness refusing to respond to what is requested of them, or against them distorting, adding, or subtracting. Or, it is a prohibition against harming them by rushing them in their affairs, or not paying the scribe his fee, or burdening the witness with the cost of traveling from his land.

"If you do that" If you cause harm.

"It is indeed disobedience in you"

"On a journey" While traveling.

"Then pledges" That which is used for security is a pledge (rahn).

"If some of you trust others" If some creditors trust some debtors due to their good opinion of them.

"Then let the one who is entrusted fulfill his trust" An urging for the debtor to live up to the creditor's good opinion of him, and to fulfill the right he was entrusted with when the creditor did not take a pledge from him.

"And let him fear Allah, his Lord" "And do not conceal testimony, for whoever conceals it, his heart is sinful" If you ask: "Why was it not limited to 'for he is sinful,' and what is the benefit of mentioning the heart, when the whole person is the sinner, not just the heart?" I say: Concealing testimony is to harbor it in the heart without speaking it. Since it is a sin committed by the heart, it is attributed to it, because attributing an action to the limb that performs it is more eloquent. Just as you say, "This is what my eye saw, my ear heard, and my heart knew." Also, the heart is the leader of the limbs; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. It is as if it were said: "Sin has taken hold in the root of his soul and possessed the most noble place within him." This is also to ensure it is not thought that concealing testimony is only a sin of the tongue, and to know that the heart is the origin of the sin and the mine where it is committed, while the tongue is merely its translator.