Never Lie!
Abdullah bin Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Once when the beloved prophet (peace be upon him) visited us my mother told me “Come here! I will give you something”. The beloved prophet asked my mom “ What do you wish to give him?” , to which my mom replied “ I wish to give him dates”. The beloved prophet continued “If you cheat the little boy out of giving something that you had invited him to had, it will be noted as a lie on your scroll of deeds”.
Speaking truthfully has become rare. Bernard Shaw said “There’s nothing hilarious than speaking the truth”
This hilarious story is a good example. Once there lived a Sufi saint- a man of truth and religious discipline. Living an affluent life, he lost his wealth because of a sudden business loss, due to which he even lacked proper food. One day a hen from a neighbor's place strayed into his house accidentally. The Sufi’s wife who missed many a good meal for days desired to have the hen. So, without a second thought she slaughtered the hen herself and made a curry with it. At that moment the Sufi came home hungry. He asked his wife “Is there anything to eat?” His wife replied “Please have a seat. I will serve you “and served him the chicken curry. The surprised Sufi asked his wife “We don’t have the money to buy chicken. how did you buy this chicken? The wife replied, while serving him the chicken curry “This is the neighbor's chicken. it strayed into our house. I slaughtered it and cooked it”
The Sufi got angry and reprimanded his wife “How could you cook a chicken stolen from your neighbor? Is this not wrong? Is this not despised by God?”
The wife who became afraid tried to remove the chicken and the gravy from the meal. The Sufi now revised himself and commented “The gravy need not be removed... only the pieces of chicken pieces need to be returned” As he was eating his meal, he inquired his wife “Did the hen stray on
Its own? Or did you get it?”
When the wife replied it strayed and as the Sufi was relishing the gravy he justified “In that case, the chicken can be eaten because it strayed on its own and wasn’t stolen” This story tells us what it means when they say hunger removes all honesty.
It’s not appropriate when men change the truth depending on the situation, according to their convenience. On the contrary, men must adhere to the absolute truth at all times which would certainly elevate us.
A child breaks a toy. When the child tells us the toy broke at the play area, we scold the child. As a result, the next time, the child may lie the toy is lost. So, when the child tells us the truth about the toy being broken as parents, we must encourage the child to be more careful while playing with the toy. Such interaction promotes truthfulness.
A student is late to a class. When the teacher asks him “Why are you late?”, he replies “I had a punctured tyre in my bicycle “. The teacher accepts his excuse and admits him in. The other students laugh at this. When the teacher inquiries about the sudden burst of laughter the students reply that the boy who came late doesn’t have a bicycle. The teacher gets angry and asks the boy “Why did you lie to me?”. The boy replies “If I told you the truth you would have punished me and made me wait outside the classroom. You let me in because of my lie (excuse)”
The teacher understands his error in judgment.
If anyone makes a mistake and tells the truth about it, we must not reprimand them for the truth they say. Instead, we must advise them kindly not to repeat the mistake.
Understanding that we must exercise discretion, love and patience, instead of anger in correcting a spouse or children who make mistakes, is a rung in gaining respect from them for our words.
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