Encouraging truthfulness and warning against lying

Rajab 11, 1422 (September 28, 2001)

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.

Fellow Muslims! Fear Allah by abiding by His commandments and abstaining from all that He forbids, for fear of Allah is the gateway to all good while disobedience and sin is the gateway to all evil. Be aware that one’s position with his Lord depends on his faith and conduct and that man’s value before Allah and His slaves depends on his faith and good deeds; and not on his wealth and strength. Allah says:

“And it is not your wealth, not your children that bring you nearer to Us, but only he who believes and does righteous deeds; as for such there will be twofold reward for what they did and they will reside in the high dwellings (Paradise) in peace and security.”(Saba 34: 37)

Good deeds are superior to one another in reward, so do commendable characters outweigh in reward and degree in accordance with their general usefulness to their owner and to mankind. Equally, evil deeds and deplorable characters increase their owners in punishment and torment according to their harm. Allah says,

“And for all these there will be degrees according to that which they did, that He may recompense them in full for their deeds. And they will not be wronged.” (Al-Ahqaaf 46:19)

Truthfulness is a noble character that can only be possessed by people of sound hearts. Allah enjoins it in His Book when He says,

“O you who believe, be afraid of Allah and be with those who are true (in words and deeds)”(At-Tawbah 9: 19)

Truthfulness reveals man’s upbringing, pure mind and good nature while lying reveals man’s filthy mind and bad conduct. Truth saves while lying destroys. Truth is loveable intellectually and naturally. The Prophet enjoined saying the truth when he said,

“ ‘Be truthful for truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. If a man tells the truth and nothing but the truth, he will be registered with Allah as the truthful one. Beware of lying, for lying leads to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to Hell. If a man tells a lie and nothing but a lie, he will be registered with Allah as a liar.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Allah promises a great reward for truthfulness in this world and the next. In this world, Allah provides for the truthful good name and love of Allah and His creatures. His words will be valued, people will feel safe with him and from his evil deeds and he will do good to himself and others. He will also be saved from evils and calamities that afflict the liars. He will have peace of mind, no fear and worries. Hasan ibn Alee narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying,

“ “Leave that which is ambiguous to you and take that which you are sure of. Truthfulness is tranquillity while lying is ambiguity.” (At-Tirmidhee)

The end of the truthful one is always good in his life as was indicated in the hadeeth of Ka’b ibn Maalik when he was absent from the Battle at TAbuk. He said

“ : I told the Prophet, ‘O Messenger of Allah, if I were to be in front of any other person with the power of this world, I would have escaped from his wrath with an excuse for I am an expert in argument but, by Allah, I know that if I tell you a lie today in order to win your pleasure, Allah might cause you to be angry with me; and if I tell you the truth and you become angry with me, my hope is that Allah will commend me at last (as a result of my truthfulness).” (Bukharee and Muslim)

As for the reward of truthfulness in the hereafter, it is the pleasure of Allah and high degree in Paradise in which there are pleasures which no eyes have seen, no ears have heard and no heart has thought of. In the Qur’aan Allah says,

“Allah will say: This is a day on which the truthful will profit from their truth; theirs are gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) – they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is great success.” (Al-Maa’idah 5: 119)

Brother in faith! What is essence of this truthfulness on which Allah promises the best reward and salvation from torment? Truthfulness means to be sincere in sayings and deeds. It also means conveying the Word of Allah or that of His Prophet to mankind, to enjoin truthfulness, forbid falsehood and saying what is concordant with reality. Allah says,

“And he who has brought the truth and believes therein, those are the pious and righteous ones.” (39: 33)

The Prophet said,

“ “The true believer is the one who when he speaks, he speaks the truth and when he is informed, he believes.”

Truthfulness in deeds is to worship Allah with sincere intention, honesty, love and certainty; and to relate with sincerity, compassion and honesty. Allah says,

“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayer); righteousness (is the quality) of the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Book, the Prophet and gives wealth in spite of love for it to the kinsfolk, to the orphans and to the poor and to the wayfarer, to those who ask and to set slaves free, performs As-Salaat and gives Zakaat and who fulfils their convenant when they make it and who are patient in extreme poverty and ailment and at the time of fighting (during battles). Such are the people of the truth and they are the pious.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 177)

Further, the origin of Iman is truthfulness and belief. We can rightly say then that truthfulness can be in sayings and deeds. Our righteous predecessors used to be the most adhering to truth of all people in their relationship with their Lord and fellow mankind. Ka’ab ibn Maalik said:

“ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Allah saved me through truthfulness and it is part of my repentance that I will never lie during the rest of my life.’ I swear by Allah that I have never seen anyone tested by Allah through truthfulness in sayings since I said what I said to the Messenger of Allah more than me. By Allah, I have never intentionally told a lie since that day and I hope that Allah will protect me from lying for the rest of my life. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Allah also described the early immigrants to Madeenah with truthfulness when He said,

“And for the poor emigrants, who were expelled from their homes and their properties, seeking bounties from Allah and to please Him and helping Allah (i.e. helping His religion) and His Messenger. Such are indeed the truthful.” (Al-Hashr 59: 8)

Brothers in Islaam! Fear Allah, obey Him and seek nearness to Him with what pleases Him.Fellow Muslims! Truth is a conduct that Allah and His Messenger love. It is a character whose virtues the reasonable and wise people recognise. The Prophet of mercy called onto it along with his call to the worship of Allah at the beginning of his mission. Abu Sufyaan narrated that the Heracleus (the Roman Emperor of that time) asked him about the Messenger of Allah

“ , ‘What does he command you to do?’ I said, ‘He says: Worship Allah alone, and associate nothing with Him, keep off from what your forefathers were saying. He also commanded us to pray, give charity, remain chaste and be kind to the kith and kin.’ (Al-Bukhari)

Allah says,

“Verily the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, the men and women who are truthful (in their speech and deeds), the men and women who are patient, the men and women who are humble (before their Lord), the men and women who give charity, the men and women who observe fasting, the men and women who guard their chastity and the men and women who remember Allah much (with their hearts and tongues), Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (i.e. Paradise).” (Al-Ahzaab 33:35)

Therefore, endeavour to be among the truthful in your speech and deeds for truthfulness is one of the gateways to Paradise. Truthfulness does not bring early death, nor prevent wealth or one’s interest.

Brothers in faith! It is part of truthfulness to keep away from treachery and deceit and the gravest act of lying is to lie about Allah. Also, of the greatest act of lying is to lie about Islaam by ascribing to it what it is innocent of, like aggression and injustice. Islaam is the religion of mercy and compassion. Allah says,

“We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as a mercy to mankind.” Islaam is the religion of justice and kindness. Allah says, “Verily, Allah enjoins justice, kindness, giving help to the kith and kin; and forbids all evil deeds, all that is prohibited by Islaamic law and all kinds of oppression.” (An-Nahl 12: 90)

Islaam is a religion of trustworthiness and sincerity. Allah says,

“Verily, Allah commands that you should render back the trusts to whom they are due and that when you judge between men, you judge with justice.” (An-Nisaa 4: 58)

However, it is saddening that Islaam is now afflicted with those who invent so many lies and attribute them to Islaam. In this age, terrorism, aggression, oppression and vandalism are wrongly and mischievously attributed to Islaam while Islaam with its pure teachings, noble laws and mercifully perfect injunctions fights, condemns and prevents aggression, injustice, mischief and terrorism that are aimed at innocent people whether Muslims or non-Muslims. Allah says,

“And transgress not the limits. Truly, Allah likes not the transgressors.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 190)

Therefore, Islaam is the religion of truth that enjoins all that is good for mankind and forbids all that is evil and all that is harmful to mankind.

(NOTE: If you want to build a strong and powerful relationship with Allah, check out Islamia TV, where you can watch Islamic speakers from across the globe deliver inspiring and motivational courses. Learn more at www.islamia.tv.)