Truthfulness: The Soul Of A Believer

[nurul3eyn]

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A true believing Muslim has many characteristics by which he can be identified. The most outstanding one should be honesty of character and truthfulness of speech. Honesty should be at the core of a Muslim's character, to himself, his Lord and to those around him. It is through honesty in the simple everyday actions that a person gains the trust of his friends and foes alike.

Prophet Muhammad (saws) was an exemplary example of honesty of character. So much so that even before he gained Prophethood he had been given the title 'Al Ameen' (the trustworthy) by the pagans of Quraish. After he had received the Prophethood, his sworn enemies from among the pagan Quraish and the Jews would still entrust him with their goods, as related in the Seerah.

Many Sahaba, such as Abu Bakr As Siddiq (ra), came to Islam due to the honesty and righteousness of Muhammad (saws).

Honesty in speech and character is not the domain of the Prophets alone, but is incumbent also on us, the followers of the Prophets.

Speaking the truth should not be seen as a separate component of a Muslim's character, but as the doorway to righteousness. Ibn Mas'ud is related by Imam Malik to have said (in the meaning), "You must tell the truth. Truthfulness leads to right action. Right action leads to the Paradise. Beware of lying.

Lying leads to corruption and corruption leads to the fire." We should inculcate truthfulness in our everyday actions whether it be speaking to our children, our parents, our colleagues at work or even the ticket collector on our local bus. There is no virtue in lying to the ticket collector on the true length of your journey!

Remember Allah is constantly aware of our actions, "Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)" [50:17].

We are encouraged to tell the truth to the extent that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said (in the meaning), "I guarantee a house in the surroundings of Paradise for a man who avoids quarrelling even if he were in the right, a house in the middle of Paradise for a man who avoids lying even if he were joking, and a house in the upper part of Paradise for a man who made his character good." [Abu Dawood].

Speech is a gift and a trust from Allah (swt) to mankind. Therefore, we should guard our tongues from falsehood and deceit. How often has our tongue led us into actions that are deceitful and dishonest? Warnings, from Allah (swt), against lying and slander are many.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) relates (in the meaning), "Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of them will have one characteristic of hypocrisy until he gives it up: Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays. Whenever he speaks, he lies. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner." [Bukhari].

The Prophet (saws) during the night journey (Al Israa Wal Mi'raaj) saw a man lying down and above him a man with a hooked iron bar was ripping from his mouth to his neck, then from his nostril to his neck and then from his eye to his neck. He would then do the same thing to the man's other side. By the time he had finished the second side, the first would have healed and he would repeat these actions. The Prophet's (saws) companion (Jibreel) told him this was the punishment up to the Day of Judgement of those who broadcast lies.
For those among the Muslims who fear Allah and wish to be of the truthful, the Prophet (saws) has taught us a simple rule to keep us pure; "Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day either speak good or keep silent, " [Muslim].

..Subhan'Allah..May Allah(swt) allow us to worship him with immense sincerity..Ameen..

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