In Islam, one very important teaching is to tell the truth. It is a very blessed thing to do, which instils confidence in people. But these days, there is a lack of trust in our leadership, and we are constantly being fed ‘fake news’. Those who are given a position of responsibility, it is important that they are truthful, whether they are leaders of a country, in management or parents etc. otherwise, it filters down and corruption develops. Allah, the One God, has stressed on truthfulness. There is a very beautiful verse of the Holy Quran, Chapter 4, verse 136:
O ye who believe! Be strict in observing justice, and be witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or against parents and kindred. Whether he be rich or poor, Allah is more regardful of them both than you are. Therefore, follow not your low desires that you may be able to act equitably. And if you hide the truth or evade it, then know that Allah is Well-Aware of what you do.
As we can see, it is very important to tell the truth, even going as far as that if it means that you or your parents will be punished through you telling the truth, still tell the truth! No matter who the person is, what position he is holding, whether he is well respected or a person who is struggling, it doesn’t matter what the consequences will be, first and foremost, you must tell the truth or keep quiet.
As a Muslim we must try to develop honesty in our character. We must follow the most excellent exemplar – the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who was known by the Meccans as As-Sadiq – The Truthful One and Al-Amin – The Trustworthy One. He was famed in Mecca for his truthfulness and honesty.
It is this quality of always telling the truth, which will make you stand out. If people see that you are honest and trustworthy, then they will take note. The truthful people will desire your company, as they know that from this one quality – others have to be there. The dishonest people will be aware of your honesty, as it will go against their works, so they will avoid your company.
Truthfulness is one of the main teachings of Islam. From telling the truth, your whole character will change. There is a lovely saying of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. One day a man came to him and told him that he was suffering from three evils and didn’t know how he could get rid of them. These evils were falsehood, indulgence in strong drink and fornication.
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
“if you promise to give up one, then that will get rid of other remaining two.”
The man asked, “Which one?” and was told “Falsehood.”
Sometime later the man was about to indulge in liquor when he remembered his promise. He became worried that what would I say if my friends ask me whether I have been drinking alcohol? I would have no choice but to admit it. Then I would get an evil reputation among them! Therefore, he decided to postpone drinking until later.
A bit later on, he was about to commit Fornication, but the same thought came to his mind and once again he didn’t want to lose esteem by admitting his sin, and so he again decided to postpone it until later. As he struggled to fulfil his promise not to lie and give in to his desires, he continued to keep postponing these desires and eventually he lost all inclination to do these evils.
These days, sadly it has become a common disease to get involved in backbiting, gossiping, etc. One of the main reasons for this is the T.V. and now social media, which have a big influence over people. When you watch the soaps, then they are constantly talking about each other’s lives, gossiping, etc. Thereby projecting these evils to be okay. But what maybe just a storyline, actually is encouraging you to lie, to talk about others, look for weaknesses and hurt one another. Sadly, nearly every programme is same.
Even police and lawyer programmes encourage lying, gossiping, and backbiting. We rarely see good moral programmes on TV. Instead, the programmes feed you a message that it is okay to lie, it is okay to gossip, it is okay to backbite – once you accept this message, then it feeds you many more messages of greed, hate and lust. But we must strive to be known for our honesty.
Again, there is another lovely saying of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
Truth guides to virtue and virtue to Paradise. A person persists in telling the truth till in the sight of Allah he is named Truthful. Lying leads to vice and vice leads to the Fire; a person goes on lying till in the sight of Allah he is named a liar.
People should look at us and see a difference; we should raise people to a higher state so we must be truthful. By telling the truth, yes you may suffer the consequences, but in the long run, you can only benefit from telling the truth. Sometimes we might say something to please others and not lose face, but really you are just cheating yourselves. From one lie, you might have to tell another to back it up and then another, until you will be known as a liar!
Likewise, you may feel that you are only telling a small lie or a white lie.
A lie is a lie, no matter what colour you paint it.
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has said:
Leave alone that which involves thee in doubt and adhere to that which is free from doubt, for truth is comforting and falsehood is disturbing.
Whenever we lie, whether it is a big lie or a small one, you are still deceiving someone; therefore, you should not feel good about it. If we do feel good about it, then you have a serious problem, which you need to address.
Whenever we tell the truth, even if it causes problems for us and others, still you are able to look yourself in the mirror and know that you did the right thing. In the short term, there may be consequences, but in the long term you can only benefit from telling the truth, because even if man does not appreciate it, certainly Allah does.
So, try to always tell the truth and get a reputation for being truthful and trustworthy. If you achieve that, then people will know, whether they accept it or not, they will know that you have told the truth.