On Falsehood and Breach of Trust

What it denotes is that Faith and the shameless habit of lying cannot co-exist. A true Muslim may have any other weakness, but he can never be a habitual liar and a false-hearted and untrustworthy person. Should, however, an evil like that be present in a Believer, it will show that the reality of Islam has not yet dawned upon him and he must cure himself of the vicious habit if he is not to rest content with the state of imperfection in Faith.

Just as material things give out a pleasant or foul odour, good or evil words or deeds, too, have their own smell, though, generally, it is felt by the Angels alone. Sometimes, however, spiritually evolved men, also, can perceive it in this world.

Lying is a sin, in any case, and a very grave one, indeed, but, in certain circumstances, its seriousness becomes even greater. One of these is that a person trusts you and regards you a truthful man, but you take advantage of his confidence and tell his a lie and play false by him.

Bearing false witness and swearing a false oath

To bear false witness in a court of law and take a false oath are among the worst kinds of falsehood and stern warnings of punishment in the life to come have been given on them.

Disguised or imperceptible falsehood

We have seen a few major and more serious forms of falsehood in the preceding sections. But there are some kinds of untruth which many people do not regard a lie. The sacred Prophet has enjoined upon us to abstain from them as well.

The moral of it is that a lie should not be uttered even to coax or cajole a child, for a Muslim’s tongue must always be free from the filthiness of falsehood. Another wisdom of it is that if parents will tell lies before their children, even to please them or make them do something, they, too, will develop the habit of lying.

It shows that it is forbidden to tell a lie even for entertainment.

It tells that to spread a report among the people, without confirmation, also, is a form of falsehood, and as a person with the habit of telling a deliberate lie is, commonly, treated as unreliable, in the same way, such a man, too, will not be worthy of trust.

This remark was made by the Prophet when AbulHaisam had sought his advice on something. What it signifies is that when a person is consulted in a matter, he should realise that the man who had sought his advice had placed his confidence in him and it was his duty to prove worthy of the trust and give the best advice he could, and keep the whole thing to himself, otherwise he will, to an extent, be guilty of breach of faith.

It shows that if a person tells us something and does not ask, in so many words, to keep it a secret, but byhis behaviour, it appears that he does not want others toknow it, it becomes a trust and should be guarded in that spirit.Nevertheless, in another Tradition, it is candidly stated that if a plot to kill anyone or to swindle or defraud him or cause him financial loss in any other way or injure his reputation comes to our knowledge, we should not keep it a secret, but inform the person concerned in due time and manner.

The three conditions indicated above should be taken as an example. The object of the Tradition is to show that if some persons collect together with the purpose of committing an offence, and we, too, are present there, our duty will lie not in keeping it a secret, but in foiling it and informing whom it may be necessary to inform.

Sometimes it happens that there is a great deal of ill-will between two persons or groups which may even lead to bloodshed. When passions are aroused, each party, in fact, considers itself justified in causing as much loss and suffering to the other as possible. If, in these circumstances, someone strives to bring about reconciliation between them, and, with that object, conveys things of friendliness and amity from one party to another which it may not have, actually, said or done then this act of his will not amount to false hood.

While commenting on an almost identical Tradition, related on the authority of Abdullah bin Omar, we have, already, indicated, at length, what is actually meant by these acts or habits being the signs of a Hypocrite. These practices, as we said, bear a close relationship with Hypocrisy and a sincere Believer should stay clear of them. Whoever possesses these habits is a Hypocrite, if not in the sphere of faith, at least in the sphere of conduct. In another version of the same Tradition, reproduced in Sahih Muslim, it is added that though such a person may be observing Salah andSawm, and he may, also, be professing to be a Muslim, he is a Hypocrite, all the same, owing to these habits.

It denotes that if a person promises to give anything to anyone or do him some other favour or enters into an arrangement with him, he should fulfil it, as a matter of duty. Nevertheless, should the promise be relating to a thing which is forbidden by the Shariat or involves the violation of the rights of anyone, it will not be binding. The duty will, then, lie in ignoring it and there will be no sin on its non-fulfilment, but reward for compliance with the holy law.

The emphasis in it is on intention. If the man really meant to fulfil the engagement, but could not do so on account of one thing or another, he will not be a defaulter in the sight of God. But if the intention was not there and it was only a deception then he would, doubtlessly, be called to account.