---
title: "What is Amanah (trust)? | IslamicOpenFinance™"
description: "Holding someone else's property as a trust: the holder is not liable for its loss unless it was caused by misconduct or negligence."
url: https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/amanah/
lang: en-GB
source: "IslamicOpenFinance"
---

[Glossary](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/) / [Shariah fundamentals](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/#fundamentals)

Shariah fundamentals

# Amanah (trust)

Holding someone else's property as a trust: the holder is not liable for its loss unless it was caused by misconduct or negligence.

Amanah describes possession of another person's property as a trust rather than as a liability. AAOIFI's standard on possession explains that a trustee, such as a custodian, an agent, a mudarib or a partner, does not bear the loss of the property as long as it did not commit a tort or act negligently in keeping it. The opposite category is possession with liability (daman), where the holder must make good any loss. Whether a contract creates amanah or daman decides who carries the risk of an asset, so it is one of the first questions asked about any Islamic contract.

## Sources

- [AAOIFI Shari'ah Standards, English edition (full text, PDF): Shari'ah Standard No. 18, Possession (Qabd), Appendix C, possession creating a trust](https://aaoifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Shariaa-Standards-ENG.pdf)

This entry explains a term; it is not a Shariah ruling. Approving a product is for each institution's own Shariah board and regulator.

## Related terms

[**Daman (liability for loss)** Possession or obligation that makes the holder answerable for an asset's loss, whatever the cause.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/daman/) [**Wadiah yad amanah** Safekeeping on trust: the custodian holds the asset without using it and is liable only for negligence or misconduct.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/wadiah-yad-amanah/) [**Mudarib** The manager in a mudarabah, who runs the venture and earns a share of profit rather than a guaranteed fee.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/mudarib/) [**Wakalah** Agency: one party appoints another to act on its behalf, with or without a fee.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/wakalah/) [**Ta'addi and taqsir (misconduct and negligence)** Misconduct and negligence: the two grounds that make a trustee, agent or mudarib liable for a loss it would otherwise not bear.](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/taaddi-and-taqsir/)

**Shariah fundamentals**

1. [Riba](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba/)
2. [Gharar](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/gharar/)
3. [Maysir](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maysir/)
4. [Shariah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/shariah/)
5. [Fiqh al-muamalat](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/fiqh-al-muamalat/)
6. [Maqasid al-Shariah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/maqasid-al-shariah/)
7. [Riba al-nasiah](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-nasiah/)
8. [Riba al-fadl](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/riba-al-fadl/)

[All 221 terms](https://islamicopenfinance.com/glossary/)