By Dr. Ali Al-Halawani

If a man continues to speak the truth and makes truth his object, he will be recorded in Allah’s presence as eminently truthful

One of the best ethics and morals a true and real Muslim should have and enjoy is truthfulness. As is stated in many hadiths by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him), truthfulness leads to guidance and good deeds and lying leads to mischief, debauchery and bad deeds. This truthfulness in the life of a Muslim can have several good outcomes and fruits in both this present life and the hereafter; foremost among these are what follows:

Clarity of conscience and comfort of the soul

Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Truthfulness is comfort (and serenity).” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi)

Blessing and increase of gains

The Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Both parties in a business transaction have the right to annul it so long as they have not separated; and if they speak the truth and make everything clear they will be blessed in their transaction; but if they tell a lie and conceal anything the blessing on their transaction will be blotted out.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Safety from harm

Ibn Mas’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Adhere (you people) to truth, for truth leads to good deeds and good deeds lead to Paradise, and if a man continues to speak the truth and makes truth his object he will be recorded as truthful before Allah. Avoid (you people) falsehood, for falsehood leads to wickedness and wickedness leads to Hell, and if a man continues to speak falsehood and makes falsehood his object he will be recorded as a liar before Allah.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

It was narrated from Awsat (bin Isma’il) Al-Bajali that he heard Abu Bakr, when the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) had passed away, saying: “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) stood in this place where I am standing, last year.” Then Abu Bakr wept, then he said: “You must adhere to the truth, for with it comes righteousness and they both lead to Paradise. And you must beware of lying for with it comes immorality, and they both lead to Hell. Ask Allah for Al-Mu’afah, for no one is given anything after certainty that is better than Mu’afah. Do not envy one another, do not hate one another, do not sever ties with one another, do not turn your backs on one another and be, O slaves of Allah, brothers.”

Obtaining the position of martyrs in Paradise

The Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who asks Allah for martyrdom, Allah will raise him to the high status of the martyrs, even if he dies on his bed.” (Narrated by Muslim)

Being with the blessed ones in the highest stations in Paradise

Allah the Almighty says in His Ever-Glorious Qur’an what may mean,

“Whoso obeyeth Allah and the messenger, they are with those unto whom Allah hath shown favor, of the Prophets and the saints and the martyrs and the righteous. The best of company are they!” (An-Nisa’ 4:69)

The truthful ones obtain the status of the Eminently Truthful

‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: “Avoid falsehood, for falsehood leads to wickedness, and wickedness to hell; and if a man continues to speak falsehood and makes falsehood his object, he will be recorded in Allah’s presence as a great liar. And adhere to truth, for truth leads to good deeds, and good deeds lead to paradise. If a man continues to speak the truth and makes truth his object, he will be recorded in Allah’s presence as eminently truthful.” (Sunan Abi Dawud)

Thereupon, a sane Muslim should always observe truthfulness in all cases. However, there are three cases only in which lying can be regarded as permissible just to achieve a higher interest or to protect from a higher harm that may befall a human being, Muslim or non-Muslim alike. These cases are explained in the following hadiths.

Umm Kulthum bint ‘Uqbah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The person who (lies) in order to conciliate between people is not a liar, when he conveys good or says (something) good.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

The narration in Sahih Muslim added: She said, “I never heard him (she meant the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him)) giving permission of lying in anything except in three (things): war, conciliating between people and the conversation of man with his wife and the conversation of a woman with her husband.”

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Dr. Ali Al-Halawani is Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Translation, Kulliyyah of Languages and Management (KLM), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was Assistant Professor and worked for a number of international universities in Malaysia and Egypt such as Al-Madinah International University, Shah Alam, Malaysia (Mediu) and Misr University for Science & Technology (MUST), Egypt; Former Editor-in-Chief of the Electronic Da`wah Committee (EDC), Kuwait; Former Deputy Chief Editor and Managing Editor of the Living Shari`ah Department, www.islamOnline.net; Member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS); and member of the World Association of Arab Translators & Linguists (Wata). He is a published writer, translator and researcher. You can reach him at [email protected].