Rules of Trust (Amanat)

2432. When a person gives his property to another person, and tells him that it is deposited in trust, and the latter accepts it, or without uttering a word, by a simple conduct, the depositor and the receiver both understand and accept the intention, then they must follow the rules of Amanat as will be explained later.

2433. If one accepts a trust, he/she must not neglect in its keeping and whenever the owner requests, he/she must deliver it.

2434. Both the trustee and the depositor should be Baligh and sane, and should not have been forced by anyone. Therefore, if a person deposits some property with an insane person, or a minor, of if an insane or a minor course, it is permissible of a discerning child to deposit his property with parent’s consent. Also, it is in order to deposit something with a discerning child with the parent’s consent.

2435. If a person accepts a deposit from a child without the permission of its owner, he should return it to its owner. And if that deposit belongs to the child himself, it is necessary that it is delivered to his guardian; and if it gets lost or destroyed before the delivery, the person who accepted the deposit must compensate for it.
But if he had secured it from the child with the intention of delivering it to the guardian, and if he had not been careless in its safekeeping, he will not be responsible for a loss or a damage. The same rule will apply in the case of an insane depositor.

2436. If a person cannot look after the deposit, he should decline to accept the deposit. But if owner of property is worse than him and there is not a better person at hand, this precaution is not necessary.

2437. If a person tells the owner of the property that he is not prepared to look after his property, and does not accept it, yet the owner leaves it there and goes away, and then the property perishes, the person who has declined to accept the deposit will not be responsible for it. However, the recommended precaution is that, if possible, he should look after that property.

2438. A person who gives something to another person as a deposit, can abrogate the arrangement as and when he likes, and similarly, one who accepts the deposit can do the same as and when he likes, and return the deposited property to its owner.

2439. If a person renounces the custody of the property deposited with him and abrogates the arrangement, he should deliver the property to its owner or to the agent or guardian of its owner, as quickly as possible, or inform them that he is not prepared to continue as a custodian. But if he does not, without any justifiable excuse, deliver the property to them and also does not inform them, and if the property perishes, he should give its substitute.

2440. If a person who accepts a deposit does not have a suitable place for its safe keeping, he should acquire such a place, and should take care of the deposit in a manner that he would not be accused of negligence. But if he acts carelessly in this regard, and the property is lost or damaged, he will have to compensate for it.

2441. If a person who accepts a deposit has not been negligent in looking after it, nor has he gone beyond moderation, and then the property unexpectedly perishes, he will not be responsible for it. But if he has been careless about its security, say, by keeping it at a place which is vulnerable to theft, and then the deposited property is lost or damaged, he should pay the owner its compensation, unless he had no better place or no other person who could it in a better way.

2442. If the owner of a property specifies a place for its safe keeping, telling the person who has accepted the deposit: “You will secure the property here, and even if you suspect that it might get lost here, you must not take it elsewhere,” in such case, he can transfer it to another place, if he thinks the property will be lost in that place and the owner has chosen that place only for the safety of concerned articles, and then if he does this transfer, he is responsible. But if he does not know the reason of owner for keeping those articles there, then there are tow positions: a) another place is safer in view of trustee than the one chosen by depositor, in this case, if he transfers, he is not responsible; b) another place is in the same level or worse than the one chosen by depositor, in this case, if he transfers the articles, he is responsible for compensation.

2443. If the owner of a property has chosen a place for a deposit and the trustee knows that the reason for choosing that place is security precautions, he may transfer it to a better or equal place and if the property is lost there, he is not responsible.

2444. If the owner of a deposit becomes insane or unconscious, the deposit is automatically abrogated, and the person, who had the deposit as trust, should return it immediately to his guardian, or inform him. And if he does not deliver the property to his guardian without a justifiable excuse, and is also negligent in informing him, and the property perishes, he should give him its substitute

2445. If the owner of the deposit dies, the trustee should deliver the deposit to the heirs, or inform them about it. And if he fails to do so, without any justifiable excuse, he will be responsible for its loss or damage. However, if he delayed to investigate whether the claimants were the right heirs or not, or whether there were other heirs besides them, and showed no negligence on his part in parting with the deposit or informing the heirs, he will not be responsible for any loss or damage.

2446. If the owner of the deposit dies, and it devolves upon his heirs, the trustee of the deposit should give the property to all the heirs, or to the person who has been authorized by all of them to receive the property. Hence, if he gives the entire property to one heir without the consent of others, he will be responsible for the shares of the remaining heirs.

2447. If the trustee of the deposit dies, or becomes insane, his heir or guardian should inform the depositor of the property, or deliver the property to him as quickly as possible.

2448. If a person with whom a property has been deposited, observes in himself the signs of approaching death, he should, if possible, deliver the deposit entrusted to him to its owner, or his agent. And if it is not possible to do so, he should give to a fully competent Mujtahid and if such a Mujtahid is not available, make such arrangement which would satisfy him that the deposit would reach its rightful owner after his death. He should make a will about it, attested by witnesses, and give the name of the depositor to the executor of his will and to the witness, describing fully the nature of the deposit, and the place where it is kept.

2449. If a person with whom a property has been deposited, sees in himself the signs of approaching death, and does not act according to his obligation as mentioned in the foregoing rule, and the property suffers loss or damage, he will be responsible for the deposit, and should make amends for it. Even if he has not neglected in its keeping and even if he recovers from his illness, or after some time repents and acts according to his obligations.