Professional Documents
Culture Documents
:Types of truthfulness
:Truthfulness of intention
Truthfulness of intention is devoting
one’s deeds to Allah alone, without
asking for a reward other than Allah’s
satisfaction. For instance, one would
study just to pass, or just because one
must. However, if one studies with the
intention to pleasing of Allah and one's
parents by being an excellent Muslim
student, a regular task would be turned
into a form of worship, gaining by that
the heavenly reward of Allah. Likewise,
those who wish to be rich should wish for
it intending to please Allah, spread his
religion, and to set a good example of
rich Muslims, so as to gain Allah’s reward
for the intention. Getting married with
the intention of creating an exemplary
Muslim family secures the reward of the
deed more than marrying simply
because everybody gets married at a
.certain age
Truthfulness of speech
Truthfulness in testimony:
Testimony is a huge responsibility
that should be taken seriously. The
Messenger of Allah (SAWS) said that
the gravest of the major sins was to
join partners in worship with Allah,
and to be undutiful to one's parents.
He also warned against giving a
.forged statement and false witness
Truthfulness in marriage: In -
marriage, everything should be clear
from the beginning. One should
reveal one’s marital status and
health conditions among other things
to the prospective spouse before any
legal proceedings. Lying in such
.matters is by no means allowable
Truthfulness to children: There -
is a whole chapter in every book
of Sunnah (the Prophet's
traditions) solely to warn against
lying to children. This is obviously
because children tend to take after
their parents. In such a family, lying
would become similar to hereditary
diseases. Parents who ask their
children to lie for them actually train
them to become professional liars
without knowing it! The Prophet
(SAWS) once heard a companion’s
wife tell her son that if he comes to
her she would give him
“something.” The Prophet (SAWS)
asked her what she was going to give
him and the woman said that she
was going to give him some dates.
Relieved, the Prophet (SAWS) told
her that had she not really intended
to give her son something as she
promised, she was going to be
punished for her petty lie in the
.hereafter
Truthfulness of jokes, (a -
concept) which takes us by surprise.
The Prophet (SAWS) joked with his
companions, but he never had to lie.
We can joke too, but we should avoid
gaining sins by imagining that these
lies are trivial. The Prophet (SAWS)
guarantees a house on the sides of
Paradise for a man who avoids
dispute even if he were 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
.perfects his character
Truthfulness in inconsequent -
matters: The Prophet also warns us
from the so-called “white lies” some
of us unfortunately tell on a daily
.basis
:Truthfulness of action