Islam
and Honesty
Islam
orders the Muslim to be honest to himself and others. This order repeatedly comes in the Holy Quran and the sayings
of Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him). Islam orders the Muslim to tell the
truth even if it is against the teller's interest. Islam orders the Muslim not to cheat or deceive other people.
A Muslim is ordered by God, i.e., Allah, to be honest in his words and
deeds, privately and publicly alike.
Implication
of Honesty:
Honesty
in words implies telling the truth in all cases and under all conditions.
Honesty also implies fulfilling the promise, whether written or given
orally, in text and spirit. Honesty also implies giving the right advice to the one who
asks for it. Honesty also implies
doing one's work as sincerely and as perfectly as possible. Honesty also implies carrying out duties as fully as possible
whether the person is supervised or not. Honesty means giving every person his
due rights without his asking for these rights. Honesty means doing the right thing in the right way at the
right time. Honesty means objectivity in judgment, objectivity in evaluation,
and objectivity in decisions of all types. Honesty implies the right selection
of personnel and the right promotion of personnel, i.e., selection by merit and
promotion by merit, not by temper or favoritism
or personal relations.
Honesty
is a blanket term that covers a wide range of traits. It covers telling the truth, sincerity in work, carrying out
duties, fulfilling one's word, objective judgments, and objective decisions.
Honesty is the opposite of lying, the opposite of bluffing, the opposite
of hypocrisy, the opposite of favoritism, and the opposite of deceit.
External
and Internal Honesty:
I
would like here to classify honesty into external honesty and internal honesty.
By external honestly, I mean honesty which is judged by other people.
By internal honesty, I mean honesty which is judged by the person himself
alone.
External
Honesty:
The
reward of external honesty comes from God, people, and from he psychological
satisfaction the honest person feels. When
you are honest, your are liked by God and people whom you deal with.
Your honesty gives you the social approval you need and here comes the
social value of honesty. Further,
when everybody is honest, a great deal of human problems disappear including
lying, cheating , bluffing, stealing, forgery, and many other social diseases. In other words, honestly is something you give and something
you take: others enjoy your honesty and you enjoy their honesty.
In
the absence of honesty, many social diseases appear. If a person is dishonest, he is ready to tell lies, to bribe,
to be bribed, to distort the truth, to cheat, to forge, to deceive others, and
to break his promises. A dishonest
person is a totality of diseases. He
is ready to misbehave at any time. Each
time he misbehaves, he causes a great disturbance or harm to one person or to
group of persons or to the whole nation, in some cases.
Internal
Honesty:
Thus
honesty is a factor in the psychological health of the honest person himself and
the health of other persons whom he deals with. However, Islam emphasizes internal honesty, i.e., honesty
which is judged by the person himself and cannot be seen by other people.
It
often happens that a person acts privately.
Sometimes we act with nobody seeing us.
A believer in Allah feels that although no person is watching him, Allah
is watching. This continuous watch
of Allah develops the concept of internal honesty or conscience in the believer.
This means that internal honesty becomes an overall strategy of the
believer.
The
Muslim is to be honest, internally and externally, privately and publicly,
whether observed by other people or not, whether he acts or speaks.
This overall honesty makes the Muslim confident of himself, of his
behavior, and of his words and deeds.
Honesty makes the person feel that he trusts others and is trusted by
others.
This
mutual confidence makes the believer feel self-satisfied and socially secure.
Honestly
implies unity of behavior, unity of standards, and integrity of personality.
Honestly implies being away from internal conflicts, away from social
conflicts, and away from self contradiction.
Building
Honesty:
The
important question, however, is this: how does Islam build honesty in the
Muslim? Islam builds ethical
qualities in general and honesty in particular in several ways:
1-
Instructions.
Allah orders the Muslim to be honest in all cases, in all deeds and
words, to himself an others.
2-
Reason.
Allah shows the Muslim rationally that honesty is the best policy, even
on utilitarian bases.
3-
Reward.
Allah promises the honest person generous rewards in the first life and
in the second life.
4-
Punishment.
Allah threatens the dishonest person with severe punishment for his
dishonest behavior.
5-
Practice.
Allah develops the habit of honesty in the Muslim through actual practice, i.e.,
through fasting and prayer.
The
Practice of Honesty
Taking
fasting as an example, when a Muslim fasts, he should abstain from any kind of
food or drink from dawn until sunset. This
means that a fasting Muslim should not eat or drink for about fifteen continuous
hours, including not engaging in sexual intercourse with his wife or her
husband.
The
important thing here is that a fasting Muslim does not allow a drop of water to
go into his mouth from dawn until sunset in spite of his thirst, because he has
learned to be honest, i.e., internally honest.
The only observer of a fasting person is Allah and the person himself.
Here is an actual and real practice of honesty exercised during the whole
month of Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islam.
So in Ramadan, a Muslim is practically trained to be honest.
Of course, one of the components of honesty is refusing to submit to
temptations and impulses. In
Ramadan, the Muslim is thirsty, but he does not drink; he is hungry, but he does
not eat. In Ramadan, the fasting month in Islam, water is but is spatially near
but psychologically far from the Muslim; water is near to the Muslim but far
from his desire. This is a
practical exercise of self-control and internal honesty.
Therefore,
Islam instructs the Muslim to be honest and trains him to be so.
The outcome is healthy self and a healthy social atmosphere that leads to
the happiness of both the individual and the group.
-
Muhammmad Ali alkhuli