Trustworthiness is a praiseworthy trait that every polite Muslim who adheres to the teachings of his merciful religion should be characterized by. In its simple concept, trustworthiness means to return every person their right, and to preserve what they own, just as we preserve what we own, for this is one of the foundations of Islam.
Trustworthiness was mentioned in the Book of God Almighty, when the Lord of Glory mentioned that trustworthiness must be returned to its people, and the Noble Lord made it a burden for the heavens and the earth, but they refused to carry it, so man carried it. Our master Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the best example for us and a clear evidence of how to return trustworthiness and also preserve it, so we must be adorned with his morals.
We find that God Almighty entrusted His noble Messenger with carrying the message of the religion of Islam and spreading it, so the trustworthy Prophet was a strong example of how to do that, where he called people to Islam, and fought many battles and conquests for the sake of his call, so God’s victory came to him as a reward for his trustworthiness, so he was nicknamed the Trustworthy and Truthful. Everyone would resort to him in disputes, and we do not forget that the noble Prophet obtained the money of Lady Khadija, so he traded with it and his trade expanded before he married her, and he granted her what he earned of doubled profits, with complete trustworthiness and returned her rights to her.
In our story here, we see how the true Muslim follows the example of our noble Messenger in his morals and trustworthiness.
The narrator says that he was sitting with one of the sheikhs in his private shop, and they were reading the Holy Quran, so one of the people passed by them selling some perfume in a bowl he was carrying. The sheikh stopped his recitation, looked at the man, then requested some perfume from him, so the man sold him some of it. While the man was moving to leave the place, the bowl carrying the perfume fell from him, so the man sat next to his bowl crying severely, so the sheikh’s heart was moved towards him, and he stood up to console him.
He said to him do not cry, for the fate of the world is lighter than that. The poor seller raised his head to him and said to him that he was not crying for his perfume that was lost, and that he had been a rich man, but he went out with his family in a caravan and lost from him a chest containing four thousand dinars, and with it, rubies estimated at the same price, but he did not grieve when what happened happened, because he owned others besides it.
As for now, he had come a child, and was forced to go out himself to sell what he could, so that he could provide for his wife and his child Walid what was sufficient for their needs, and he had nothing else to sell except this perfume.
A soldier was sitting next to the narrator and the sheikh, listening to the conversation from its beginning, so he requested from the sheikh to bring this man to the soldier’s house without telling them what he wanted. They all went with the soldier, not knowing his motive, but they all thought that he would help him with something surplus to his need.
After everyone reached the soldier’s house, the latter asked the seller about the departure date of the caravan he mentioned, and what was its route, and requested him to describe the chest for him, so the seller answered all his questions in detail. Then the trustworthy soldier brought out the chest, and as soon as the man saw it, his face beamed with joy, and he swore that this chest was indeed his, and requested to give the soldier a share of the money in the chest, so the soldier refused to obtain anything, for he sees that trustworthiness is a good trait, and a Muslim should not receive a reward for it. The seller returned to his family, happy and reassured by God’s mercy upon him.