( لَا تَخُونُوا ) (do not betray): Betrayal is the opposite of trust. The Prophet (saws) said about trust:

“There is no faith for one who has no trust.”[1]

Allah (swt) says:

  إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

(Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.) (Al-Ahzaab: 71)

This trust that mankind has undertaken represents a commitment to a certain ethical path and involves choices. Unquestionably, there exist private actions which precede the type of explicitly criminal behaviors that troubles society. In fact, crimes do not happen out of nothing; they stem from internal maladies such as hatred, envy, backbiting, lies, and gossip. Indeed, the eye of the law does not penetrate through the hidden crimes, but with regard of the eye of religion, it guides a person’s depth towards righteousness. Consequently, ethics and religion are intimately connected as ethics originate in the heart. The Prophet (saws) said:

“There is no faith for one who has no trust.”

Trust, being an internal commitment, does not require documentation or witnesses; it is a matter of personal conscience. This spiritual guardian is crucial to deal with internal behaviors that could lead to outward crimes which constitute a betrayal of the Allah’s (swt) guidance and the path of His Messenger (saws) because of two reasons: Firstly, because committing crimes is deviation from the path of guidance, and secondly, it is betrayal of people’s trust. If trust is lost among people, rights, ethics, and values are lost.

( وَتَخُونُوا أَمَانَاتِكُمْ ) (or betray your trusts): Meaning. do not betray each other.

( وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ) (while you know [the consequence]): However, if someone betrays what he was entrusted unknowingly, or unintentionally, then in that case, he could be forgiven.

[1] al-Mu’jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani, Hadith No. 7988.