Honesty

Honesty is a very important value. Honesty is obviously the act of telling the truth and is a state of mind. It is an attitude...a code. Today in our modern materialistic society we really need the trait and quality of honesty. But first of all we must learn what the word honesty means? Different people have different opinions about honesty as:

• Honesty is telling the truth.
• Honesty is straightforward conduct.
• Honesty is being truthful, trustworthy, honorable, fair, genuine, and loyal with integrity.
• Honesty simply means free from fraud or deception, truthful: genuine, real: humble, plain, reputable, respectable, good, worthy, creditable, praiseworthy, marked by integrity marked by sincere expression, innocent, simple.

To me honesty is the name of sincerity; it’s the purity of heart and also the reverence for GOD.

We are leaving in an age of machines, competition, bombs blasts, darkness, bloodshed and disaster also. Man’s greed, stubborn and harsh attitude, selfishness, ego, envy, craze and lust for power, immorality and superiority, hopelessness, arrogance and ignorance of right path, of divine orders, of religious orders has robbed him of his noblest characters and moral values.

But a man should avoid the darkness of his heart which leads him to commit all above acts of disaster, and catastrophe Because a man is judged by his manner so he should learn how to behave rightly in all circumstances.

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.

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 a group of persons or to the whole nation, in some cases.

Islam is a permanent code of life and teaches The Muslim 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.

ALLAH promises the honest person generous rewards in the first life and in the second life and threatens the dishonest person with severe punishment for his dishonest behavior. So, Islam instructs the Muslim to be honest and trains him to be so. The outcome is a healthy self and a healthy social atmosphere that leads to the happiness of both the individual and the group.

Islam orders the Muslim to be honest to him and others. This order repeatedly comes in the Noble Qur'an and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). Islam orders the Muslim to tell the truth even if it is against the teller's interest. Orders him not to cheat or deceive other people. A Muslim is ordered by Allah to be honest in his words and deeds, privately and publicly alike.

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.

The reward of external honesty comes from Allah, from people, and from the psychological satisfaction the honest person feels. When you are honest, you 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, honesty is something you give and something you take: others enjoy your honesty and you enjoy their honesty.

Honesty implies unity of behavior, unity of standards, and integrity of personality.

Prophet Muhammad warned us of the dangers inherent in dishonesty, and the benefits of living in an honest way. He said:

“Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. In addition, a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to wickedness and evil-doing, and wickedness leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before God, as a liar”.
(Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

And said:

“Honesty descended from the Heavens and settled in the roots of the hearts of men (faithful believers), and then the Quran was revealed and the people read the Quran, (and learnt it from it) and also learnt from the sayings and traditions. Both the Quran and the traditions strengthened their honesty."

(Saheeh Al-Bukhari)