Prophet Muhammad (SAW): “When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour”
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has explicitly said in the above hadith that we should we weary of ourselves when we seem to have lost the pride and honour in telling the truth, for verily, it is a clear sign of the hour. A lot of people don’t care about saying the truth any more, especially if it does not play in their favour or hurts an innocent person. They should be mindful because Allah is All-Seeing and All-Hearing.
Prophet Muhammad said :“ Let he who believes in God and the last Day either speak the truth or keep silent” (Saheeh Muslim)
Honesty means choosing not to lie, steal, cheat, manipulative or be deceitful in any form. With honesty, we can build the strength of our characters that will enable us to be of total service of Allah and all of humanity. It is our primary aim in this dunya to seek for Jannah in the akhira. The only way to achieve this is to be of total service to Allah.
Once a man came to the Prophet and said: O Holy Prophet (SAW) of Allah, I have many bad habits. The Prophet said : “give up telling lies and always speak the truth.” The man promised to do so ans went on his way home. The man was about to go and rob at night. Before he went, he remembered his promise to the Prophet (SAW) and thought, if the Prophet asks me during the day where I‘ve been, can I say that I went out stealing nor shall I lie . If I tell the truth, the people will hate me and label me a thief and then I would be punished. the man cancelled his theft plan that night. The next day he was about to go drink alcohol. Before he went again, he remembered his promise to the Prophet (SAW) and thought, if the Prophet asks me during the day where I‘ve been, can I say that I went out drinking nor shall I lie . If I tell the truth, the people will shun me, because a Muslim isn‘t permitted to drink wine. And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine. This way, whenever the man thought of doing something evil, he remembered his promise to the Prophet to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a better Muslim.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was reported to have said: “Say the truth even if it is bitter”.
This hadith shows the importance of honesty because the truth has to be said at all times even when it does not benefit us or puts one in pain to admit it.
In Qu‘ran 19 verse 119, Allah the exalted says “O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are true(in words and deeds).“
Telling lies is the root of most problems in any relationship. It brews a sense of betrayal in the heart of the person being lied to. Being economical with the truth or withholding it is also lying. Being with those who are truthful will influence us to also be truthful in our words and actions. One of the reasons why Riba (interest) is haram is because it is built on the foundation of lies; cheating.
