Ramadān - Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada

16obeyed; or that he lied and wasinvolved in sin?’’’ (Al-Mu’attaLil Imam Malik, Kitab-ul-Jami‘,Babū ma ja’a fis-sidqi walkadhib)Then there is a hadīth in MusnadAhmad bin Hanbal:Hadrat Abū Hurairah ra relatesthat the Holy Prophet sa said,‘Whoever invited a young childto give him something and didnot do so, it would be countedas a lie.’ (Musnad Ahmad binHanbal, vol. 2, pg. 452, printed inBeirut)This point is very important formoral training. Keep in mind thatfor the moral training of childrenyou should not say such things evenby way of jest. Otherwise, childrenwill pick up the habit of telling liesin daily conversation, and lyingwould become a firm habit later intheir lives. Gradually they will loseall feelings and inhibitions againsttelling lies.Hadrat Ibn-e-Mas‘ud ra has relatedthat the Holy Prophet sa said,‘Truth guides to virtue, andvirtue guides to Paradise. Aperson keeps telling the truthtill in the sight of Allāh he isnamed truthful. Lying leads tovice, and vice leads to the Fire;and a person keeps lying till inthe sight of Allāh he is named aliar.’ (Sahīh Al-Bukharī, KitAbūl-Adabi, Babū Qaulillahe Ittaqullahawa kunu ma‘as Sadiqin)Hadrat ‘Abdullah Bin ‘Amr Bin al-‘As ra narrates that,‘A man came to the HolyProphet sa and said, ‘O Prophetof Allāh, what are the deedsthat lead to Paradise?’ The HolyProphet sa replied, ‘Speaking thetruth. When a servant of Allāhspeaks the truth, he becomes anobedient servant, and when hebecomes an obedient servant,he becomes a true believer, anda true believer finally entersParadise.’ The man askedagain, ‘O Prophet of Allāh,what is the action that leadsto Hell?’ The Holy Prophet sareplied, ‘Falsehood. Whensomeone tells a lie, he becomesdisobedient, and disobedienceis kufr [disbelief], and someonewho is established on disbelieffinally enters Hell.’ (MusnadAhmada bin Hanbal, vol. 2, pg.176, printed in Beirut)The Promised Messiah as says:The Holy Qur’ān has regardedthe uttering of falsehood to bean abomination as Allāh says:Shun therefore the abominationof idols, and shun false speech.(al-Hajj, 22:31)Here the words falsehood andidolatry have been used inconjunction. Indeed, falsehoodis an idol because otherwiseno one would leave the truth.Just as an idol has nothingbut artificial polish, so too,falsehood has no reality behindit. Those who tell lies lose theircredibility so much that evenwhen they speak the truth onethinks that perhaps there is anelement of falsehood in it. Ifthose who are given to tellinglies want to cut down theirhabits, they will not find it easy;they have to struggle for a longtime before they get used tospeaking the truth. (Malfūzāt,vol. 3, pg. 350)The Promised Messiah as also says:Of all the natural conditions ofman, one that is an essential partof his nature is truthfulness.Normally, unless a person ismoved by some selfish motive,he does not wish to tell alie. He is naturally averse tofalsehood and is reluctant tohave recourse to it. That is whyhe dislikes a person whom heknows to be a liar and looksupon him with disdain. Butthis natural condition by itselfcannot be considered moral.Even children and the insaneexhibit this quality. The factis that so long as a persondoes not renounce the selfishmotives which prevent himfrom telling the truth, hecannot be considered truthful.If a person tells the truth onlywhen he stands to lose nothing,but tells a lie when his honour,property or life are threatened,how can he be considered betterthan children and the insane?Do minors and the insane notspeak this kind of truth? Thereis hardly anyone in the worldwho would tell a lie withoutany motive. Therefore, the truththat is forsaken when facedwith possible loss can neverform part of true morals. Thereal occasion of telling the truthis when one apprehends loss oflife or property or honour. Inthis context, the divine teachingis:• Keep away from idol worshipand lying because falsehoodtoo is an idol; one who reliesupon it ceases to rely upon God.Hence, by telling lies, one losesGod. (al-Hajj, 22:31)• When you are summoned totestify to the truth, do not refuseto do so. (al-Baqarah, 2:283)• Do not conceal true testimony;and he who conceals it, his heartis certainly sinful. (al-Baqarah,2:284)• And when you speak, speakonly what is absolutely trueand fair, even when you testifyagainst a close relative. (al-An‘am, 6:153)Introduction to Bai‘at - Part III