O You Who Believe

54)

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with those who are true."

[At-Taubah Ayah 9:119]

The Ayah says, adhere to and always say the truth so that you become among its people and be saved from destruction. Allah will make a way for you out of your concerns and a refuge.

Imam Ahmad recorded that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said that the Messenger of Allah said,

"Hold on to truth, for being truthful leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. Verily, a man will keep saying the truth and striving for truth, until he is written before Allah as very truthful (Siddiq). Beware of lying, for lying leads to sin, and sin leads to the Fire. Verily, the man will keep lying and striving for falsehood until he is written before Allah as a great liar."

(Sahih Bukhari)

Fearing Allah and speaking the truth are two interconnected concepts. If a person truly fears Allah, he can bring himself to utter a lie and hence remains truthful. Hence the strength of his Taqwa further enhances his ability to speak the truth

Conversely, if a person speaks the truth, he indirectly polishes the fear he has for Allah in his heart. In this way, the more a person is truthful, the more Taqwa he'll have.

A person often lies when he is afraid of speaking the truth or when speaking the truth will lead him to some kind of trouble. It means he fears the consequences of speaking the truth and hence lies.

Allah, the Sovereign, the Almighty reminds him that He is more worthy to be feared than the temporary world. Allah is worthy to be spoken truth for. Because the world cannot harm us unless Allah wills and the the world cannot protect us unless Allah wills.

This is reason enough to always be truthful.

In the next life, the people who will reach Jannah will be addressed by Allah by no other name but 'The Truthful Believers'.

Taqwa is a vital factor which attributes to being truthful. Similarly, truthful people are often those who develop strong Taqwa.

Being in the company of those who are true believers can improve a believer in many ways. Hence, being God-fearing and being in company of those who are true regardless of the situation is the command Allah reveals to the Believers.

Things we learnt:

> Speaking truth increases our taqwa. Having taqwa increases our faith and truth in Allah and hence we don't fear the consequences or the situation and speak the truth.

> A person's righteousness depends on his truthfulness. Both of these can be increased by being with righteous and truthful people.

> Taqwa is a strong pillar of Islam. It is a vital component which connects a Believer to the Creator. Taqwa is the colour of a Believer. A human is superior to another human only in regards of Taqwa. Allah advises us to have Taqwa many times in the Qur'an.

May Allah guide us to the right path.
Ameen.
Wama alayna illal balaghul mubeen.