A Reflection on the Concept of Trust-based Contract (ʿaqd-i amānī) and A Critique of the Applicability of the Proofs for the Lack of Liability (Ẓamān) of the Trustee (Amīn) in Non-benevolent Trust-based Contracts

فقه و اصول (Fiqh va uṣūl)

Article 3, Volume 57, Issue 2 - Serial Number 141, August 2025, Pages 61-85   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/jfiqh.2022.74887.1279

Authors

Mansooreh Bokaee¹; Mohammad Taghi Fakhlaei^{* 2}; Sayyed MohmmadHadi Ghabooli Dorafshan²

¹PhD Graduate, Islamic Jurisprudence and Foundation of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

²Associate Professor, Islamic Jurisprudence and Foundation of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

In jurisprudence, the terms “trust” (amānat) and “trustee” (amīn) are among the concepts surrounded by ambiguity due to a lack of consensus among jurists in some areas and rulings. Some jurists have expanded the concept of “trust” and generalized it to include all individuals authorized to handle property, and argue their exemption from liability by invoking the legal rule that says “the trustee is not liable” (ʿadam-i żamān-i amīn). The present article questions this generalization and aims to prove that legal justifications for considering all authorized possession as trust-based does not include all cases of permission. This is done in order to remove ambiguity and delimit the concepts of trust and trustee, and through an analysis and evaluation of the evidence cited by the proponents of generalization. The study is conducted through a descriptive-analytical method, and concludes that the jurists’ widespread interpretation of the terms “trust” and “trustee” does not truly correspond with their lexical and customary meanings. In addition, considering every authorized individual as a trustee is not in accordance with the requirements of justice and fairness. It should rather be stated that lenient rulings granted to the entrusted person only apply in trust-based contracts in the specific meanings (ʿuqūd-i amānī bil-maʿnā al-akhaṣṣ) like the contract of safekeeping (ʿaqd-i wadīʿah) and other contracts where possession of the property is done according to the willingness of the owner.

Keywords

trust; authorization; trust-based contract; benevolent contract; non-liability of the trustee

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