Islam commands the Muslims to be honest to himself and to others. This order recurrently comes in the Noble Qur’an and the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). Islam orders the Muslim to tell the truth even if it is against the ones own interest. Islam orders him not to cheat or betray other people. A Muslim is ordered by Allah to be truthful in his words and deeds, privately and publicly alike.
Honesty in words implies telling the truth in all situations and under all circumstances. Honesty also implies fulfilling the promises, whether written or given verbally, in text and spirit. Honesty also implies giving an honest opinion and the right advice to the one who asks for it.
Honesty also implies doing one’s work as sincerely and as flawlessly as possible. Honesty also implies carrying out the duties as fully and completely as possible whether the person under supervision or not. Honesty means giving every person his due and deserved rights without his asking for these rights.
Honesty will be doing the right thing in the right way at the right time.
Honesty means objectivity in judgment, objectivity in assessment, and objectivity in decisions of all types. Honesty implies the right selection of people and the right promotion of personnel, i.e., selection by merit and promotion by merit, not by temper or favoritism or personal relationships.
We now proceed to examine some of the relevant Quranic verses and traditions. A short verse of the Quran says:
“Oh ye who believe! Eat not up each other’s property by unfair and dishonest means.” (4:29)
A severe warning is given in the following verse to traders who cheat in weighing:
“Woe to those that deal in fraud, – those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think that they will be called to account- on a Mighty Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds.” (133: 1-6)
In the same way, the under mentioned verse exhorts Muslims to be very particular about their trusts and about other people’s rights.
“Allah doth command you to render back your trust, to those to whom they are due.”(4:58)
At two places in the Quran a chief distinguishing feature of Muslims is said to be that they are:
“Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants.”(24:8)
It is prohibited to lie, except when making up between two people, or lying to an opponent in war, or to one’s wife. It is also unlawful to praise or blame another with a falsehood. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Lying is wrong, except in three things: the lie of a man to his wife to make her content with him; a lie in war, for war is deception; or a lie to settle trouble between people” (Ahmad, 6.459. H).
Ibn Jawzi has said, “The criterion for it is that every praiseworthy objective in Sacred Law that cannot be brought about without lying is permissible to lie for if the objective is permissible, and obligatory to lie for if the objective is obligatory.”
When lying is the single way to get one’s right, one may lie about oneself or another, if it does not harm the other. And it is mandatory to lie to if necessary to protect a Muslim from being murdered. But whenever one can achieve the objective by words that merely give a misleading impression with actually being untrue, it is unlawful to tell an absolute lie, because it is needless.
