The words إيمان (faith) and أمانة (trust) among others are all derived from the word أَمْن which is security & safety as Allaah `azza wa jall says,

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُم فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً

“Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them. And He will surely give them a safe security (amn) after their fear…” [al-Noor: 55]

But what is interesting to note is the word that He subhaanahu wa ta’aala chose in Soorah Aal-‘Imran when describing the security that descended upon the companions as they fought in ghazwatul-Uhud. He says,

ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاساً يَغْشَى طَآئِفَةً مِّنكُمْ

“Then after the distress, He sent down security (amana) for you. Slumber overtook a party of you…” [Aal-‘Imran: 154]

So what is the difference between أمن and أمنة ?

Well, they say that with regards to Amn, it is:

الأمن هو الطمأنينة بعد زوال سبب الخوف

Meaning that it’s the safety and security felt after the cause of the fear is gone (e.g. Seeing a lion in front you suddenly, can place fear into your heart, but only after it goes away do you feel amn – security). And this why Allaah `azza wa jall uses this form of the word in the first ayah “And He will surely give them a safe security after their fear…”  

Amana (with a taa al-marboota) on the other hand is said to be:

أما الأمنة فهي الطمأنينة مع وجود سبب الخوف

It is to feel safe and secure in the presence of whatever has caused you fear.

Subhanallah, this just puts a whole new meaning to the ayah in Aal-‘Imran, “He sent down security for you…”  – It illustrates the fact that even though the Sahabah were still facing the horrors of battle and their enemies were close, Allaah gave them this particular type of security which is felt only when the cause of fear is still present. This amana was such that it even allowed them to sleep and rest for a while by the Mercy of Allaah. Wallaahu ta’aala a’lam

Tabarakallaah! 😀

[May Allah reward my good friend and sister from Thikraa blog who shared this information with me, whilst I was heedless of it! Ahsanallaahu ilayki sis]