Gardens of the Righteous: Class 16 The Garden of Truthfulness - Part 1 28 th September 2014 4 Zul Hajj, 1435 A.H.
The Garden of Truthfulness Today we will start the study of the Garden of Truthfulness. We like people around us to be truthful. All human beings want the truth. If people are not truthful then there is chaos and we will not be in peace as we cannot trust a person since he can lie to us at anytime. The truthfulness is like a garden in the Duniya. PAGE 1
Truthfulness: Definition Truthfulness means the news should be exactly the same as the reality. If something is not the same as the reality then it is lying. Generally people lie for their benefit. It is because they are thinking only about themselves. Islam teaches us to be honest and truthful not only because of ourselves but for the benefit of the whole society. It is the desire that makes us to lie. Islam is our religion and it teaches us to be a free person and not to be chained. It does not allow us to lie. Desire is our biggest enemy as it like a trap that is controlling us. When we follow our desire blindly, it indicates we are a slave to it. Being truthful makes a person free. PAGE 2
Truthfulness: Category Truthfulness is of two types: 1. Truthfulness in Speech. 2. Truthfulness in Actions Lying is equal to deceiving a person. Sometimes we lie due to our desire and sometimes due to the desire of the other person. This is not honest Truthfulness in Speech We need to be truthful with our tongue. We need to be cautious about whatever we are saying. We should not say anything that is not true because of our desire. Another type of speech that is considered lying is making jokes based on lie. The Prophet SAW said, Woe for a person who is lying in order to make people laugh. Another Hadith of the Prophet SAW that, If a person stops lying even while joking then he is guaranteed a place for us in Paradise. This is a big reward. This is PAGE 3
because we take lying for the purpose of jokes as very lightly. So even our jokes should be based on reality and not on jokes. Truthfulness in Actions Truthfulness in action means that if I am doing something it should be inline with what I belief. When I believe that no one deserves the worship but Allah, it should show on my outside actions. I cannot say I love Allah in my heart and there is no application on the outside. When our inside is different than outside then it means we are lying. The Prophet SAW said there are people who have a double face. When they come to the righteous people they pretend to be righteous and when they are with evil people, they are evil. They are lying with themselves. They are not honest and not truthful because they are changing depending on who they meet. It is also mentioned in the Quran that when the hypocrites are with the believers, they say we are with you. They will do what the believers do. And when they are with the Shayateen they say we are with you and we are just mocking at the believers. If a person has a heart, he will be disturbed when he lies. One lies because of his desire or other people s desire. We don t need to follow our desire or other people s desire. We cannot base our life on other people s desire. Whatever I am doing should be a reflection of what is in my heart. We need to be truthful with ourselves on the inside. We will be very relaxed when are truthful with ourselves. It is said that Truthfulness is the characteristics of the believers and lying is the characteristics of the hypocrites. The Prophet SAW said that one of the characteristics of the hypocrite is that whenever he speaks, he lies. Sometimes people are desperate to lie even when there is no reason to lie. PAGE 4
Unacceptable Lie: The lie said by a person who is in a higher position to someone in a lower position is not acceptable. This is because there is no excuse for the person having the upper hand e.g. the leader or manager does not need to lie as everyone will listen to him. Surah Ankaboot Ayah 2, 3 These two Ayah in tell us that all the people are divided in two groups; they are either truthful or liars. PAGE 5
Here we are told that we need to be truthful with Allah. We cannot lie at Allah. How can someone lie at Allah? There are people who say they believe, though the believe is in the heart. Allah knows if we are a believer or not. But if I am claiming that I belief then we will be tested to see if we are lying or we are truthful. Allah is telling us in this Ayah that, Do the people think that they will be left without a test. How will it show if we are truthful? This is through the trials and the tests. v For example I say that Allah is the most merciful and that Allah is Qadir over everything. Then there will be situation with tests and trials to check if we are truthful or not. v For everything we claim; we will be in a situation to assess if we are truthful or not. We need to be truthful with ourselves and with Allah. v As soon as we claim to be grateful to Allah we will go through a test to see if we are grateful or not. In the next Ayah 3, we are told Allah will test us and after the test there will be two groups of people. 1. People who are Truthful 2. People who are Liars In the Quran Allah said there are people who are poor; they will say in their hearts if I will give so much money in charity. Though Allah knows all of this. These people who are saying this, it is as if they are giving promise to Allah. Therefore we need to be truthful with Allah PAGE 6
Sometimes we are more careful and truthful with people than we are with Allah. We should not deal with Allah as abstract; as if he is not hearing or seeing us. Allah is closer than anyone. v When we think in our mind if we have time we will do this, then Allah will give us time to test if we are truthful. Therefore we need to be truthful with even our thoughts. v We need to be watch what we are saying and promising to Allah. v We should not lie to Allah as it is one of the biggest crime. v We need to be truthful with our selves and with Allah. Surah Ta uba Ayah 119 Here Allah is addressing the believers to be cautious (about our actions, speech and thoughts.) We need to guard ourselves. Taqwa is like a checkpoint. We should not put even one foot on the ground till we ask ourselves if it will make Allah happy or not. We need to analyze before we act. PAGE 7
If something is 100% good then we say or do it. If it is not good then we keep it on hold. Taqwa means that we don t say anything we want to say to people. We need to always check to see if what we say will hurt the other person. Sometimes we feel something in our heart that may cause us to insult or hurt the other person. This is why Taqwa is mentioned before the truthfulness. Taqwa is needed because without Taqwa we can hurt the other people. Allah is also telling the believers to be among the truthful people. This is due to the influence. If we are with the liars then we will also lie. Here we are told to be with good companions. Good companions will advise you; they want the good for you therefore they will advise you. 1. Belief is required: There is no use if someone is truthful but does not belief in Allah. If someone does not believe in Allah and he worships someone other than Allah, then he is a big liar. Disbelief is the biggest lie. Any disbeliever is the biggest liar as he is lying about his creator.. 2. Taqwa is required: We need to be cautious before we speak or do, if what we are saying or doing is a good or not. PAGE 8
Surah Muhammed, Ayah 21 In this Ayah, it is said that obedience to Allah and using good words (were better for them). This is because there is no use if someone is saying the truth but not using good words. We need to deal with Allah with truthfulness. Before we think about being truthful to people, we need to think if we are truthful to Allah or not as that is more important. If we are truthful with Allah despite not seeing Him, then it will be good for us. The relationship between Allah and us has no boundaries. Allah never misunderstands us. He knows everything about us so why should we lie at Allah. This is why Allah gave so much reward to those who are truthful with Allah. PAGE 9
Surah Ahza ab, Ayah 24 Here in this Ayah we are told about the consequence of truthfulness. Allah will reward the Sadiqeen (The Truthful one) because of their truthfulness. We should not think we are not getting the reward. When a person is truthful with others, he may or maybe be rewarded by the people but Allah will reward him for sure.. When a person lies, then one lies drags another lie and it goes on. The other group is the Munafiqeen, for whom Allah said he will punish them or he will pardon them. Allah wants us to be truthful, as we will benefit from it. Here we are told that Allah is Forgiving and the Most Merciful PAGE 10
Story of Ka b ibn Maalik Saheeh al Bukhaaree Volume 5, Book 59, Number 702 Narrated Abdullah ibn Kab bin Malik: Who, from among Kab s sons, was the guide of Kab when he became blind: I heard Kab bin Malik narrating the story of (the Ghazwa of) Tabuk in which he failed to take part. Kab said, I did not remain behind Allah s Apostle in any Ghazwa that he fought except the Ghazwa of Tabuk, and I failed to take part in the Ghazwa of Badr, but Allah did not admonish anyone who had not participated in it, for in fact, Allah s Apostle had gone out in search of the caravan of Quraish till Allah made them (i.e. the Muslims) and their enemy meet without any appointment. I witnessed the night of Al- Aqaba (pledge) with Allah s Apostle when we pledged for Islam, and I would not exchange it for the Badr battle although the Badr battle is more popular amongst the people than it (i.e. Al- Aqaba pledge). As for my news (in this battle of Tabuk), I had never been stronger or wealthier than I was when I remained behind the Prophet in that Ghazwa. By Allah, never had I two she- camels before, but I had then at the time of this Ghazwa. Whenever Allah s Apostle wanted to make a Ghazwa, he used to hide his intention by apparently referring to different Ghazwa till it was the time of that Ghazwa (of Tabuk) which Allah s Apostle fought in severe heat, facing, a long journey, desert, and the great number of enemy. So the Prophet announced to the Muslims clearly (their destination) so that they might get prepared for their Ghazwa. So he informed them clearly of the destination he was going to. Allah s Apostle was accompanied by a large number of Muslims who could not be listed in a book namely, a register. Ka b added, Any man who intended to be absent would think that the matter would remain hidden unless Allah revealed it through Divine Revelation. So Allah s Apostle fought that Ghazwa at the time when the fruits had ripened and the shade looked pleasant. Allah s Apostle and his companions prepared for the battle and I started to go out in order to get myself ready along with them, but I returned without doing anything. I would say to myself, I can do that. So I kept on delaying it every now and then till the people got ready and Allah s Apostle and the PAGE 11
Muslims along with him departed, and I had not prepared anything for my departure, and I said, I will prepare myself (for departure) one or two days after him, and then join them. In the morning following their departure, I went out to get myself ready but returned having done nothing. Then again in the next morning, I went out to get ready but returned without doing anything. Such was the case with me till they hurried away and the battle was missed (by me). Even then I intended to depart to take them over. I wish I had done so! But it was not in my luck. So, after the departure of Allah s Apostle, whenever I went out and walked amongst the people (i.e, the remaining persons), it grieved me that I could see none around me, but one accused of hypocrisy or one of those weak men whom Allah had excused. Allah s Apostle did not remember me till he reached Tabuk. So while he was sitting amongst the people in Tabuk, he said, What did Ka b do? A man from Banu Salama said, O Allah s Apostle! He has been stopped by his two Burdas (i.e. garments) and his looking at his own flanks with pride. Then Mu adh bin Jabal said, What a bad thing you have said! By Allah! O Allahs Apostle! We know nothing about him but good. Allah s Apostle kept silent. Kab bin Malik added, When I heard that he (i.e. the Prophet ) was on his way back to Medina. I got dipped in my concern, and began to think of false excuses, saying to myself, How can I avoid his anger tomorrow? And I took the advice of wise member of my family in this matter. When it was said that Allah s Apostle, had come near all the evil false excuses abandoned from my mind and I knew well that I could never come out of this problem by forging a false statement. Then I decided firmly to speak the truth. So Allah s Apostle arrived in the morning, and whenever he returned from a journey., he used to visit the Mosque first of all and offer a two- Rak at prayer therein and then sit for the people. So when he had done all that (this time), those who had failed to join the battle (of Tabuk) came and started offering (false) excuses and taking oaths before him. They were something over eighty men; Allah s Apostle accepted the excuses they had expressed, took their pledge of allegiance asked for Allah s Forgiveness for them, and left the secrets of their hearts for Allah to judge. Then I came to him, and when I greeted him, he smiled a smile of an angry person and then said, Come on. So I came walking till I sat before him. He said to me, PAGE 12
What stopped you from joining us. Had you not purchased an animal for carrying you? I answered, Yes, O Allah s Apostle! But by Allah, if I were sitting before any person from among the people of the world other than you, I would have avoided his anger with an excuse. By Allah, I have been bestowed with the power of speaking fluently and eloquently, but by Allah, I knew well that if today I tell you a lie to seek your favour, Allah would surely make you angry with me in the near future, but if I tell you the truth, though you will get angry because of it, I hope for Allah s Forgiveness. Really, by Allah, there was no excuse for me. By Allah, I had never been stronger or wealthier than I was when I remained behind you. Then Allah s Apostle said, As regards this man, he has surely told the truth. So get up till Allah decides your case. I got up, and many men of Banu Salama followed me and said to me. By Allah, we never witnessed you doing any sin before this. Surely, you failed to offer excuse to Allah s Apostle as the others who did not join him, have offered. The prayer of Allah s Apostle to Allah to forgive you would have been sufficient for you. By Allah, they continued blaming me so much that I intended to return (to the Prophet) and accuse myself of having told a lie, but I said to them, Is there anybody else who has met the same fate as I have? They replied, Yes, there are two men who have said the same thing as you have, and to both of them was given the same order as given to you. I said, Who are they? They replied, Murara bin Ar- Rabi Al- Amri and Hilal bin Umaiya Al- Waqifi. By that they mentioned to me two pious men who had attended the Ghazwa (Battle) of Badr, and in whom there was an example for me. So I did not change my mind when they mentioned them to me. Allah s Apostle forbade all the Muslims to talk to us, the three aforesaid persons out of all those who had remained behind in that Ghazwa. So we kept away from the people and they changed their attitude towards us till the very land (where I lived) appeared strange to me as if I did not know it. We remained in that condition for fifty nights. As regards my two fellows, they remained in their houses and kept on weeping, but I was the youngest of them and the firmest of them, so I used to go out and witness the prayers along with the Muslims and roam about in the markets, but none would talk to me, and I would come to Allah s Apostle and greet him while he was sitting In his gathering after the prayer, and I would wonder whether the Prophet did move his lips in return to my PAGE 13
greetings or not. Then I would offer my prayer near to him and look at him stealthily. When I was busy with my prayer, he would turn his face towards me, but when I turned my face to him, he would turn his face away from me. When this harsh attitude of the people lasted long, I walked till I scaled the wall of the garden of Abu Qatada who was my cousin and dearest person to me, and I offered my greetings to him. By Allah, he did not return my greetings. I said, O Abu Qatada! I beseech you by Allah! Do you know that I love Allah and His Apostle? He kept quiet. I asked him again, beseeching him by Allah, but he remained silent. Then I asked him again in the Name of Allah. He said, Allah and His Apostle know it better. Thereupon my eyes flowed with tears and I returned and jumped over the wall. Ka b added, While I was walking in the market of Medina, suddenly I saw a Nabati (i.e. a Christian farmer) from the Nabatis of Sham who came to sell his grains in Medina, saying, Who will lead me to Kab bin Malik? The people began to point (me) out for him till he came to me and handed me a letter from the king of Ghassan in which the following was written: To proceed, I have been informed that your friend (i.e. the Prophet ) has treated you harshly. Anyhow, Allah does not let you live at a place where you feel inferior and your right is lost. So join us, and we will console you. When I read it, I said to myself, This is also a sort of a test. Then I took the letter to the oven and made a fire therein by burning it. When fourty out of the fifty nights elapsed, behold! There came to me the messenger of Allah s Apostle and said, Allah s Apostle orders you to keep away from your wife, I said, Should I divorce her; or else! what should I do? He said, No, only keep aloof from her and do not cohabit her. The Prophet sent the same message to my two fellows. Then I said to my wife. Go to your parents and remain with them till Allah gives His Verdict in this matter. Kab added, The wife of Hilal bin Umaiya came to Apostle and said, O Allah s Apostle! Hilal bin Umaiya is a helpless old man who has no servant to attend on him. Do you dislike that I should serve him? He said, No (you can serve him) but he PAGE 14
should not come near you. She said, By Allah, he has no desire for anything. By, Allah, he has never ceased weeping till his case began till this day of his. On that, some of my family members said to me, Will you also ask Allah s Apostle to permit your wife (to serve you) as he has permitted the wife of Hilal bin Umaiya to serve him? I said, By Allah, I will not ask the permission of Allah s Apostle regarding her, for I do not know What Allah s Apostle would say if I asked him to permit her (to serve me) while I am a young man. Then I remained in that state for ten more nights after that till the period of fifty nights was completed starting from the time when Allah s Apostle prohibited the people from talking to us. When I had offered the Fajr prayer on the 50th morning on the roof of one of our houses and while I was sitting in the condition which Allah described (in the Qur an) i.e. my very soul seemed straitened to me and even the earth seemed narrow to me for all its spaciousness, there I heard the voice of one who had ascended the mountain of Sala calling with his loudest voice, O Kab bin Malik! Be happy (by receiving good tidings). I fell down in prostration before Allah, realizing that relief has come. Allah s Apostle had announced the acceptance of our repentance by Allah when he had offered the Fajr prayer. The people then went out to congratulate us. Some bringers of good tidings went out to my two fellows, and a horseman came to me in haste, and a man of Banu Aslam came running and ascended the mountain and his voice was swifter than the horse. When he (i.e. the man) whose voice I had heard, came to me conveying the good tidings, I took off my garments and dressed him with them; and by Allah, I owned no other garments than them on that day. Then I borrowed two garments and wore them and went to Allah s Apostle. The people started receiving me in batches, congratulating me on Allah s Acceptance of my repentance, saying, We congratulate you on Allah s Acceptance of your repentance. Kab further said, When I entered the Mosque. I saw Allah s Apostle sitting with the people around him. Talha bin Ubaidullah swiftly came to me, shook hands with me and congratulated me. By Allah, none of the Muhajirin (i.e. Emigrants) got up for me except him (i.e. Talha), and I will never forget this for Talha. PAGE 15
Kab added, When I greeted Allah s Apostle he, his face being bright with joy, said Be happy with the best day that you have got ever since your mother delivered you. Kab added, I said to the Prophet Is this forgiveness from you or from Allah? He said, No, it is from Allah. Whenever Allah s Apostle became happy, his face would shine as if it were a piece of moon, and we all knew that characteristic of him. When I sat before him, I said, O Allah s Apostle! Because of the acceptance of my repentance I will give up all my wealth as alms for the Sake of Allah and His Apostle. Allah s Apostle said, Keep some of your wealth, as it will be better for you. I said, So I will keep my share from Khaibar with me, and added, O Allah s Apostle! Allah has saved me for telling the truth; so it is a part of my repentance not to tell but the truth as long as I am alive. By Allah, I do not know anyone of the Muslims whom Allah has helped fortelling the truth more than me. Since I have mentioned that truth to Allah s Apostle till today, I have never intended to tell a lie. I hope that Allah will also save me (from telling lies) the rest of my life. So Allah revealed to His Apostle the Verse: Verily, Allah has forgiven the Prophet, the Muhajirin (i.e. Emigrants (up to His Saying) And be with those who are true (in word and deed). (9.117-119) By Allah, Allah has never bestowed upon me, apart from His guiding me to Islam, a Greater blessing than the fact that I did not tell a lie to Allah s Apostle which would have caused me to perish as those who have told a lie perished, for Allah described those who told lies with the worst description He ever attributed to anybody else. Allah said: They (i.e. the hypocrites) will swear by Allah to you when you return to them (up to His Saying) Certainly Allah is not pleased with the rebellious people (9.95-96) Kab added, We, the three persons, differed altogether from those whose excuses Allah s Apostle accepted when they swore to him. He took their pledge of allegiance and asked Allah to forgive them, but Allah s Apostle left our case pending till Allah gave His Judgment about it. As for that Allah said): And to the three (He did forgive also) who remained behind. (9.118) What Allah said (in this Verse) does not indicate our failure to take part in the Ghazwa, but it refers to the deferment of making a decision by the Prophet about our case in contrast to the case of those who had taken an oath before him and he excused them by accepting their excuses. PAGE 16
Surah Tauba, Ayah 118 Sahih International And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind [and regretted their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. Allah mentions the three people who stayed back in the here that the earth became too might tight for them. And also it became very tight within themselves. There is goodness in truthfulness. It may seem difficult in the beginning but very easy afterwards.it got to a point where they thought there was no way to get out of the problem other than to go to Allah. Therefore they repented PAGE 17
Hadith of the Prophet. In the hadith, we are told that we need to be truthful because if we are truthful it will guide us to all the goodness. Goodness is different types of good deeds i.e. prayer, charity etc. The head of all goodness is truthfulness. Truthfulness will guide us to all the goodness. This is the beginning of goodness. This is why truthfulness comes before the sincerity. The key of all the doors of goodness is truth. And the goodness guides you to Paradise. The person who speaks the truth will make sure to say all that is truthful. He will not say anything that is not the truth despite his desire. Infact a truthful person will not say anything that even has a little doubt. If we are always trying to be truthful and we are training ourselves to be truthful then we will be titled with Allah as As Siddiq. This is for a person who is intensely truthful. His degree and level is below the messenger. A truthful person is higher than the martyr and is one degree below the messenger. PAGE 18
If one is truthful inside and outside, and he is titled as As Siddiq with Allah, then there are no questions in the grave. The questions in the grave are for everyone except for the Messengers and the Siddiqeen. The other advantage of being truthful is that if we live our life in the Duniya as truthful and we are truthful at all the times and with everyone, then we don t need to answer the questions in the grave, Now lets look at the opposite. Lying leads to transgression. The head of all wickedness is lying. Wickedness leads to Hellfire. If a person always lies then he will have the title of liar with Allah. Therefore we learn form this that we Be honest and truthful in actions, words with Allah and with the people and the Gates of goodness will open for you. Hadith no 2 Abi Mohammed, Hasan bin Ali Bin Ali Talib said that he memorized one hadith from the Prophet SAW. The Hadith is that for any matter in which there is doubt, we should leave it for something that has no doubt. PAGE 19
We need to remove ourselves from doubt to assurance. When we doubt we have something bad in our heart. We need to leave that which there is doubt, instead of doubting we talk to the person and clarify the doubt. We need to remove any matter of the doubt. We should not live in doubt. Whether the doubt is in the matter is about worship or relationship with people. Living in doubt will make us to think bad about the person therefore we should clear any doubts. You have the peace of mind when you say the truth and you don t regret speaking the truth. The doubt is lie, the one who is lying will always have the discomfort,. Hadith no 3 Abu Thabit from Sahl bin Hunaif (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (PBUH) 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". This Hadith tells us that we need to be truthful in our wishes and in our Dua. If one is making dua to Allah and asking for Martyrdom with truthfulness; then Allah will title him as a martyr even if he dies on his bed. This is because of the truthfulness. PAGE 20