9:119 (Y. Ali) O ye who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are true (in word and deed).
15:64 (Y. Ali) “We have brought to thee that which is inevitably due, and assuredly we tell the truth.
23:62 (Y. Ali) On no soul do We place a burden greater than it can bear: before Us is a record which clearly shows the truth: they will never be wronged.
3:94 (Y. Ali) If any, after this, invent a lie and attribute it to Allah, they are indeed unjust wrong-doers.
Prophet(SAW) says:”A person who believes in Allah and the Hereafter should speak about good things or else should keep quiet.”(Bukhari)
Hadrat ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: ‘A true action leads to the path of virtue and good deeds, and virtue paves the way of a person to Paradise, and the said person continues to speak the truth till in the sight of Allah (The Glorified and The Exalted) he is named Siddiq (Truthful). Lying leads to vice, and vice leads to indecent acts and if a person goes on lying, in the sight of Allah (The Glorified and The Exalted) he is named a liar. (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet (SAW) said:”The man who has these three habits is a hypocrite even if he observes fast, offers prayers, performs umra (pilgrimage), and calls himself a Muslim: when he talks he speaks untruth, when he makes a promise he does not keep it, and when he is given something in trust, he commits dishonesty.” ( Muslim ).
The Prophet teaches: “The best of crusades is to speak the truth before a tyrant ruler. ‘Speak the truth no matter how bitter it may be.’ Keep away from ill thinking because ill thinking is the greatest falsehood.”
Action Plan
1. Find out what is causing dishonesty in your life. For the next week watch yourself and see where you telling lies to yourself and others and dig deep to find out why you doing this.
2.Reflect on your life and see if you are being honest to yourself. If you are feeling a little anxious, stressed, depressed you are not accepting something and might be dishonest to yourself.
3. Be more conscious. Truth raises consciousness and lies decrease it. Be present to your thoughts, actions and feelings.
4. Be courageous and accept the truth about your life. Face your fears.
5. Make an intention to live with honesty and integrity.Integrity is consistency between one’s words and one’s actions. When a person behaves according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold, they are said to have integrity. Live with integrity
6. Learn to be more assertive. Assertiveness is the ability to express one’s feelings and assert one’s rights while respecting the feelings and rights of others. Assertive communication is appropriately direct, open and honest, and clarifies one’s needs to the other person.
Tags: be truthful, good character be honest, Islam hadith quran honesty speak truth