The Quran

283

۞ وَإِن كُنتُم عَلىٰ سَفَرٍ وَلَم تَجِدوا كاتِبًا فَرِهانٌ مَقبوضَةٌ ۖ فَإِن أَمِنَ بَعضُكُم بَعضًا فَليُؤَدِّ الَّذِي اؤتُمِنَ أَمانَتَهُ وَليَتَّقِ اللَّهَ رَبَّهُ ۗ وَلا تَكتُمُوا الشَّهادَةَ ۚ وَمَن يَكتُمها فَإِنَّهُ آثِمٌ قَلبُهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِما تَعمَلونَ عَليمٌ

Muhammad Asad

And if you are on a journey and cannot find a scribe, pledges [may be taken] in hand: but if you trust one another, then let him who is trusted fulfil his trust, and let him be conscious of God, his Sustainer. And do not conceal what you have witnessed¹ - for, verily, he who conceals it is sinful at heart; and God has full knowledge of all that you do.

Lit., "do not conceal testimony". This relates not only to those who have witnessed a business transaction, but also to a debtor who has been given a loan on trust - without a written agreement and without witnesses - and subsequently denies all knowledge of his indebtedness.