Riyadh al-Salihin
From the words of the Master of the Messengers
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
Chapter on Truthfulness
Allah the Almighty said
“O ye who believe! Be careful of your duty to Allah, and be with the truthful.” (9:119)
And He, the Almighty, said
"And the truthful men and the truthful women"
And He, the Almighty, said
“Obedience and a civil word. Then, when the matter is determined, if they are loyal to Allah it will be well for them.” (47:21)
On the authority of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him
On the authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said
"Indeed, truthfulness leads to righteousness
And righteousness leads to Paradise
A man continues to speak the truth until he is recorded with Allah as a truthful person
Indeed, lying leads to wickedness
And wickedness leads to the Fire
A man continues to lie until he is recorded with Allah as a liar"
Agreed upon
Righteousness is a comprehensive term for all good deeds
"Leads to" means it guides and brings one to
"Wickedness" means evil deeds
From the benefits of the hadith
Encouragement toward truthfulness, as it is the cause of all good
Warning against lying and taking it lightly
Because it is the cause of all evil
Whoever pursues truthfulness, it becomes his natural disposition
And whoever intends to lie, it becomes his character
Whoever is known for something, it is correct to describe him by it
Virtuous morals are acquired through practice and pursuit
For the soul is influenced by engaging in the causes of good, and its nature changes
And the opposite is likewise true
The final abode of righteous deeds is in the Gardens of Bliss
And the place for evil deeds is the Fire of Hell
Truthfulness is in speech that conforms to reality
And in action by performing it in the best possible way
And on the authority of Abu Muhammad
Al-Hasan Ibn 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said
I memorized from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
"Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt
For truthfulness is tranquility, and lying is doubt"
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi
His saying "makes you doubt"
Means: leave what you are uncertain about regarding its permissibility
And turn to what you have no doubt about
From the benefits of the hadith
It is part of piety to stop at doubtful and ambiguous matters
For pure, lawful things do not cause doubt in the heart of a believer
Whoever avoids doubtful matters has sought to protect his religion and his honor
Scrupulousness in refraining from doubtful matters
Is only appropriate for one whose conditions are upright
And whose deeds are consistent in piety and fear of Allah
As for one who refrains from all manifest prohibitions
And is scrupulous about minute doubtful matters
This is cold piety and excessive hesitation
It is recommended to keep away from doubtful matters
And to proceed with what is clearly lawful
Because whoever avoids doubtful matters has sought to protect his religion and his honor
Truthfulness instills tranquility in the heart of its possessor
As well as courage and self-respect
And the trust of people in him
While lying instills doubt and hesitation in the heart of its possessor
As well as fear, humiliation, disgrace, and insignificance
And a lack of trust among people
Returning to the heart when in doubt
For that which the heart finds peace in and the chest feels open to
Is righteousness and lawful
And that which is contrary to that
Is sin and unlawful
On the authority of Abu Sufyan Sakhr Ibn Harb, may Allah be pleased with him
In his long hadith regarding his story with Heraclius
Heraclius said
"What does he command you?" meaning the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
Abu Sufyan said
I said
He says
"Worship Allah alone and do not associate anything with Him
And abandon what your forefathers say
And he commands us to pray, to be truthful, to be chaste, and to maintain ties of kinship"
Agreed upon
Heraclius was the King of Rome
And his title was Caesar
Chastity
Means refraining from forbidden things and matters that undermine one's honor
Maintaining ties
Means maintaining ties of kinship
And everything that Allah has commanded to be joined
This is done through kindness, generosity, and good care
"What your forefathers say"
Means everything they were upon during the days of ignorance
As for noble character
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came to perfect it
The story of Heraclius
Meaning his story when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wrote to him inviting him to Islam
And that was in the sixth year of the Hijrah
From the benefits of the hadith
The Messenger's, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, adherence to truthfulness
His fame for it, and his commanding it
And the testimony of his enemies to that effect
The foundation of this religion is Tawhid (monotheism)
Because it is the source of all virtues
All the messengers were sent to clarify the true Tawhid
And to uproot and remove polytheism
Allah, the Glorified, commands everything that benefits humanity and brings them good in this world and the Hereafter
Discouragement from blind imitation of forefathers
Or masters and leaders
Especially in matters of religion
The hadith indicates in its generality the comprehensiveness of the message of Islam
For it mentioned Tawhid, faith, rulings, and morals
And these are the pillars of the life of the servants
On the authority of Abu Thabit
And it is said Abu Sa'id
And it is said Abu al-Walid Sahl Ibn Hunayf
And he was a veteran of Badr, may Allah be pleased with him
That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said
"Whoever asks Allah the Almighty for martyrdom sincerely
Allah will grant him the ranks of the martyrs
Even if he dies in his bed"
Narrated by Muslim
"Veteran of Badr" means he witnessed the Battle of Badr
"Ranks of the martyrs"
Meaning their degrees with Allah
From the benefits of the hadith
Sincerity of the heart is a cause for attaining one's goal
And that whoever intends a righteous deed
Is rewarded for it even if he is unable to perform it
Or if he began it but did not complete it
It is recommended to seek martyrdom and to be sincere in that
For the servant attains its rank
If he wishes for it sincerely
The generosity of Allah toward this Ummah
For He gives them, with little effort
The highest degrees in Paradise
Sincerity in martyrdom
Is that it be for the sake of raising the word of Allah the Almighty
And attaining His pleasure
Not for any other purpose
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said
"A prophet from among the prophets—
May the prayers and peace of Allah be upon them—
Said to his people
'No man who has married a woman
And wishes to consummate the marriage with her
But has not yet done so, should follow me
Nor anyone who has built houses but has not raised their roofs
Nor anyone who has bought sheep or pregnant camels
And is waiting for their offspring, should follow me'
So he went on a military expedition
And when he approached the village at the time of the Asr prayer
Or near that time
He said to the sun
'You are commanded, and I am commanded
O Allah, hold it back for us'
So it was held back until Allah granted him victory
Then he gathered the spoils
And the fire came—meaning the fire—
To consume them
But it did not consume them
So he said, 'There is embezzlement among you
So let one man from every tribe pledge allegiance to me'
Then the hand of a man stuck to his hand
He said, 'The embezzlement is among you
So let your tribe pledge allegiance to me'
Then the hands of two or three men stuck to his hand
He said, 'The embezzlement is among you'
So they brought a head like the head of a cow made of gold
And he placed it
Then the fire came and consumed it
Spoils were not lawful for anyone before us
Then Allah made the spoils lawful for us
When He saw our weakness and inability
He made them lawful for us"
Agreed upon
And "pregnant camels"
Is the plural of "khalfah"
Which is a pregnant she-camel
"A prophet"
Is Yusha' Ibn Nun (Joshua)
According to the saying of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
In the authentic hadith
"The sun was not held back for any human
Except for Yusha'
On the nights he marched to Jerusalem"
"Consummate"
Refers to the private parts, marriage, and intercourse
"Consummate the marriage with her"
Meaning to have intercourse with her
"Did not consume them"
Meaning it did not taste them
"Embezzlement"
Is treachery regarding the spoils of war
From the benefits of the hadith
Worldly desires call the soul to panic and the love of remaining
That is why Yusha' forbade his people from following him in any of these states
Because those who possess them have their souls attached to these worldly causes
So their resolve weakens
And their desire for Jihad and martyrdom wanes
Important matters should not have their policy entrusted
Except to someone resolute and free of distraction
This is why the Prophet’s intention was
to free them from distractions and worldly preoccupations,
so that they might devote themselves to jihad with sincere intention and firm resolve.
It is necessary to provide for the needs of the mujahidin in worldly matters,
so that they may dedicate themselves to jihad with sincerity.
The establishment of miracles for the prophets, peace and blessings be upon them.
One of the signs of the acceptance of war spoils, and the absence of misappropriation (ghulul) within them,
was that a fire would descend from the sky and consume them.
This was the case in the past,
but in Islam,
Allah the Exalted permitted the spoils of war for the Ummah of Muhammad, peace be upon him.
This was one of his specific characteristics, peace be upon him.
Allah has veiled this Ummah and shown it mercy,
unlike previous nations,
for whoever committed misappropriation or disobedience among them,
Allah would expose him.
The punishment of the community for the actions of its foolish ones.
Therefore, it was among the supplications of the believers:
"And do not hold us accountable for what the foolish among us have done."
On the authority of Abu Khalid Hakim Ibn Hizam, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"The two parties to a transaction have the option (to rescind) as long as they have not separated."
"If they are truthful and disclose (the defects),"
"their transaction will be blessed."
"But if they conceal and lie,"
"the blessing of their transaction will be wiped out."
Agreed upon.
"The two parties to a transaction," meaning the seller and the buyer.
"Have the option,"
a noun derived from choosing and having the right to choose,
which is the request for the better of two options: rescinding or finalizing the contract.
This is what is called the "option of the session" (khiyar al-majlis).
"If they are truthful,"
meaning in what they inform each other of,
the seller regarding the item being sold,
and the buyer regarding the price.
"And disclose,"
meaning the seller and the buyer make clear
what is in the item being sold and the price,
such as defects and the like.
"Their transaction will be blessed,"
meaning in their buying and selling,
which occurs through an abundance of goodness and blessing,
and the facilitation of means leading to increased profit.
"If they conceal,"
meaning if they hide the defects in the goods or the price.
"The blessing of their transaction will be wiped out,"
meaning it will be removed,
and they will gain nothing but mere exhaustion.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The establishment of the "option of the session" for those engaged in a transaction.
The obligation to disclose defects in goods and the prohibition of concealing them.
If a defect appears,
one has the option to rescind the sale.
What is with Allah cannot be attained
except through righteous deeds.
The ill-omen of sins upon those who commit them,
for they cause the loss of the good of this world and the Hereafter.
Truthfulness in trade is a lofty requirement,
which only those with great fortune can maintain.
It is the source of blessing and growth.
Riyad al-Salihin.