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wa-ʾin kuntum ʿalā safarin wa-lam tajidū kātiban fa-rihānun maqbūḍatun fa-ʾin ʾamina baʿḍukum baʿḍan fa-l-yuʾaddi lladhī ʾtumina ʾamānatahū wa-l-yattaqi llāha rabbahū wa-lā taktumū sh-shahādata wa-man yaktumhā fa-ʾinnahū ʾāthimun qalbuhū wa-llāhu bi-mā taʿmalūna ʿalīmun
If you are on a journey and cannot find a writer, then a retained pledge [shall suffice]. And if one of you entrusts [an asset] to another, let him who is trusted deliver his trust, and let him be wary of Allah, his Lord. And do not conceal your testimony; anyone who conceals it, his heart will indeed be sinful, and Allah knows well what you do.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 283
283. "And if you are on a journey and you do not find a scribe, then take a pledge with possession. But if one of you entrusts to another, then he who is trusted should pay back his trust; and let him be in awe of Allah, his Lord. And do not conceal testimony, and whoever conceals it, then surely his heart is sinful; and Allah is all-Knowing of what you do."
With stating some more ordinances upon the problem of commercial documents here, this verse, in fact, can be a complement to the previous one. The ordinances are as follows: 1.
Of course, when the matter happens at home and there is not any scribe available either, sufficing to pledge is allowed.
2. The pledge should certainly be taken in possession of the creditor so that there can be felt an authority of confidence. It says:
3. Then, as an exception for the ordinances stated in the earlier verses, it says:
It is interesting that the claim of the creditor is stated as a deposit wherein treachery is a great sin.
4. Then, addressing all people, the Qur'an ordains an inclusive instruction upon bearing witness. It says:
Thus, those who are cognizant of the rights of others have a duty to attend to bear witness when they are summoned and they should not conceal it. Since concealing testimony and refraining from bearing witness is done by mind and heart, it is introduced by the Qur'an as a sin of heart, and it says he who does it his heart is sinful. Then, at the end of the verse, to emphasize and to attract the attentions better to the protection of deposits, delivering the rights of others, and stopping the concealment of testimony, the Qur'an warns by saying:
People may not know which person is able to bear witness and who is not. Or, people may not know who the creditor is and who the debtor is in the case where there is not any pledge. But Allah knows everything and rewards everyone according to his / her own deeds.