The Building of A Strong Moral Foundation: Honesty
Lying: To make an untrue statement with intent to deceive. The trait of deceit is naturally undesirable, it has been shunned in many religions, faiths and believes. Generations of cultures and civilizations heeded their young about the vices that follow deceit in their stories and folklore. Islam viewed lying as the seventeenth greater sin, as said by prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him and his progeny) “ Beware I inform you regarding the greatest of the mortal sins: Associating anything with Allah(God), disobeying parents and lying!”. The act of lying no matter how small can lead to cracks in the foundation of a human’s morality.
Quran [ 16:105]
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
إِنَّمَا يَفْتَرِي الْكَذِبَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
Only those fabricate lies who do not believe in the signs of Allah, and it is they who are the liars.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
إِنَّمَا يَفْتَرِي الْكَذِبَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
Only those fabricate lies who do not believe in the signs of Allah, and it is they who are the liars.
The religion of Islam is a way of life, it is a flexible and forgiving mold for both the soul and the physical being. It allows the human no matter from what background to easily enter that mold and shape up to their best version. Part of that mold is morality, it sets the basics, that ideally everyone must posses to insure a safe and functioning society. The trait of honesty is so important that it was manifested and personified in the holy Prophet ( peace be upon him and his progeny) where he was known even before the revelation of the holy religion of Islam, as the honest and trustworthy. The trait of honesty must also be dealt with grace, being honest does not mean that one is allowed to be rude, disrespectful and hurtful in the words they say to others. Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him and his progeny) and the twelve imams that proceeded him all made it clear that liars do not represent nor have a place in Islam. Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him and his progeny), said “Avoid speaking falsehood, because it is a kind of evil and transgression.” Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said, “Certainly Allah has created the lock for every evil and the key to all these locks is drinking wine. But lying is worse than drinking.” Imam Al-Sajad (peace be upon him) used to say to his son,“Keep away from little and big lies whether you are serious or kidding! Whoever tells lies in childhood, will do so in adulthood. Do you not know that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) has said: ‘A servant may keep on speaking truthfully until God records him as a very truthful one, and a servant may keep on telling lies until God records him as a very lying one.’
The act of lying can be a gateway towards greater evils, once a person becomes comfortable with falsehood it starts to integrate itself in the soul causing corruption. This has been viewed in history how an act of deceit can wreak havoc upon the lives of many. Such as the people who would claim that they are alongside the prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him and his progeny) but turned their backs on him when he was on his deathbed and dared to utter the words “ this man is not sane..”. These words said by that dishonest man lead to the great divide in Islam, where the rightful God chosen calif, imam Ali, was betrayed and denied his godly right by a couple of deceitful disbelievers. Honesty is trait that should be carefully nurtured, it naturally leads to trust and personal growth with others. When one is able to fully transparent with themselves and those around them, it strengthens their relationship was God. The creation is brought closer to the creator once the embody one of His holy and heavenly traits. The Only situation in which lying is permissible is when a life is at threat, or for protective purposes. The path of honesty may at times be difficult but the reward obtained is God's pleasure and guidance which will in turn make every path no matter how rough, easy to get through. A believers greatest strength is his relationship with his Lord, and his greatest blessing is a loving God that will always aid this relationship to flourish.
Sources:
Figure 1: 'The Truth' by Artist Shivani Goel https://indianartideas.in/artwork/the-truth/8958
Figure 2: ' Lengua Detractora' by Artist Edwin Alverio https://pixels.com/featured/lengua-detractora-edwin-alverio.html
Figure 3: Artist Sr Mary Stephen https://www.mccrimmons.com/shop/mindfulness/prayer-posters-a3/
https://www.al-islam.org/god-and-god-science-syed-hasan-raza-jafri/chapter-5-gods-knowledge-and-his-acts
https://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-2-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi/seventeenth-greater-sin-lying
https://www.al-islam.org/taqwa-piety-advice-ahl-al-bayt-sayyed-hussain-sheikh-al-islami-tooyserkani/33-telling-lies
https://www.al-islam.org/taqwa-piety-advice-ahl-al-bayt-sayyed-hussain-sheikh-al-islami-tooyserkani/33-telling-lies
Figure 2: ' Lengua Detractora' by Artist Edwin Alverio https://pixels.com/featured/lengua-detractora-edwin-alverio.html
Figure 3: Artist Sr Mary Stephen https://www.mccrimmons.com/shop/mindfulness/prayer-posters-a3/
https://www.al-islam.org/god-and-god-science-syed-hasan-raza-jafri/chapter-5-gods-knowledge-and-his-acts
https://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-2-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi/seventeenth-greater-sin-lying
https://www.al-islam.org/taqwa-piety-advice-ahl-al-bayt-sayyed-hussain-sheikh-al-islami-tooyserkani/33-telling-lies
https://www.al-islam.org/taqwa-piety-advice-ahl-al-bayt-sayyed-hussain-sheikh-al-islami-tooyserkani/33-telling-lies
