truthfulness

all prayers and blessings of allah be upon our master, the most noble prophet muhammad. we praise allah, thank him, seek his help, guidance and forgiveness. we seek refuge in allah from the evil in our souls and the sinfulness of our deeds.  “whomever allah guides, then he is right-guided, and whomever he leads away into error, then you will never find for him a right-minded patron” (al-kahf: 18:17).

there is no doubt that the greatest quality to have in the life of any person after belief is truthfulness. truthfulness is the foundation of faith while lying is the foundation of hypocrisy. when lying and faith are in one place, then they would be in conflict cause, they can’t coexist. the believer can never be a liar. truthfulness is a superior trait that islam teaches us.

what is truthfulness?

truthfulness semantically means that what the tongue utters agrees with the truth. generally, it means that the visible is identical with the invisible. the truthful honest person with allah and with people has an appearance that agrees with his innerness.

the status of truthfulness:

* truthfulness is connected with faith. the companions asked the prophet (peace be upon him) once: ‘oh apostle of allah, can the believer be a coward?’ he said, ‘yes.’ they said: ‘can he be a stingy?’ he said: ‘yes.’ they said: ‘can he be a liar?’ he said: ‘no’. [classified as good hadith]

* truthfulness is the trait of all prophets (peace be upon them), it was also the main and most distinctive quality of allah’s apostle (peace be upon him). before the time of his prophethood, people called him as-sadiq (the truthful) and al-amin (the honest).

* truthfulness is a rescue, the consequence of saying the truth is righteousness and salvation even if the person who is telling the truth is expecting badness, yet it will only bring goodness. almighty allah says: “obedience and beneficent saying. then, when the command is resolved, then if they were sincere to allah, indeed it would be more charitable (i.e., better) for them.” (muhammad: 21)

* truthfulness is tranquility and serenity as the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) said in a hadith: “leave what causes you doubt and turn to what does not cause you doubt. truth is tranquility, but falsehood is doubt." (ahmad, tirmidhi and nasai)

kinds of truthfulness:

1- truthfulness with almighty allah by having an honest intention of doing good deeds only for the sake of allah.

2- truthfulness with people by adhering to the truth while talking with people and never to utter a lie.

3- truthfulness with the self as the honest muslim admits his faults and flops to correct them.

when is it permitted to lie?

there are three cases in which it is permitted for the muslim to lie and allah will not punish him if he does. on the contrary, he will be rewarded for not telling the truth in these following cases:

1- reconciling between opponents.

2- lying on enemies in wars.

3- in marriage: it is not from the manners of islam that the husband tells his wife she is ugly, even if it is the truth. the husband has to tell his wife a good word, even if he does not believe it is actually in her

dispraised truthfulness:

some kinds of truth are as bad and disgracing as lying such as:

a- gossip: it is to say something about your brother that he does not want to be said or known to people. something that would make him/her looks bad.

b- backbiting: it is to tell something that would cause hard feelings and hatred between two persons or more, usually by a two-faced individual.

the fruits of truthfulness:

1- the least thing that a truthful person achieves in life is having strong logic and respectful presence.

2- winning the fruits of taqwa (piety) in the present life and the hereafter.

3- gaining a strong belief as truthfulness is the basis of faith.

4- the truthful person gains the trust of people around him.

how to gain the quality of truthfulness:

1- remembering the reward of the truthful people and their high status.

2- sitting and befriending the truthful individuals because dealing with them makes us want to be like them and earn the same high manners.

3- praying and supplicating to allah to give us this great quality because supplication is the best mean to reach the best of manners and character.

may allah give you such great quality! may he grant his servants the highest reward of truthfulness in paradise!