Islam and Honesty
Islam orders the Muslim to be honest to himself 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.
Implication of Honesty
Honesty in words implies telling the truth in all cases and under all
conditions. Honesty also implies fulfilling the promise, whether
written or given orally, in text and spirit. Honesty also implies
giving the right advice to the one who asks for it.
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
favouritism 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 favouritism, and the opposite
of deceit.
External and Internal Honesty
By external honesty, I mean honesty, which is judged by other people.
By internal honesty, I mean honesty which is judged by the person
himself alone.
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.
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.
Internal Honesty: Thus honesty is a factor in the psychological health
of the honest person himself and the health of other persons whom he
deals with. However, Islam emphasises internal honesty, i.e., honesty
which is judged by the person himself and cannot be seen by other
people.
It often happens that a person acts privately. Sometimes we act with
nobody seeing us. A believer in Allah feels that although no person is
watching him, Allah is watching. This continuous watch of Allah
develops the concept of internal honesty or conscience in the
believer. This means that internal honesty becomes an overall strategy
of the believer.
The Muslim is 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 behaviour, and of his words and deeds. Honesty makes the person
feel that he trusts others and is trusted by others.
This mutual confidence makes the believer feel self-satisfied and
socially secure.
Honesty implies unity of behaviour, unity of standards, and integrity
of personality. Honesty implies being away from internal conflicts,
social conflicts and self-contradiction.
Building Honesty
The important question, however, is this: how does Islam build honesty
in the Muslim? Islam builds ethical qualities in general and honesty
in particular in several ways:
1. Instructions. Allah orders the Muslim to be honest in all cases, in
all deeds and words, to himself and others.
2. Reason. Allah shows the Muslim rationally that honesty is the best
policy, even on utilitarian bases.
3. Reward. Allah promises the honest person generous rewards in the
first life and in the second life.
4. Punishment. Allah threatens the dishonest person with severe
punishment for his dishonest behaviour.
5. Practice. Allah develops the habit of honesty in the Muslim through
actual practice, i.e., through fasting and prayer.
Thus Islam builds the habit of honesty in the Muslim through direct
instructions, through rational arguments, through the reward and
punishment principles, and through practice.
The Practice of Honesty
Taking fasting as an example, when a Muslim fasts, he should abstain
from any kind of food or drink from dawn until sunset. This means that
a fasting Muslim should not eat or drink for several continuous hours,
including not engaging in sexual intercourse with his wife or her
husband.
The important thing here is that a fasting Muslim does not allow a
drop of water to go into his mouth from dawn until sunset in spite of
his thirst, because he has learned to be honest, i.e., internally
honest. The only observer of a fasting person is Allah and the person
himself. Here is an actual and real practice of honesty exercised
during the whole month of Ramadan.
Of course, one of the components of honesty is refusing to submit to
temptations and impulses. In Ramadan, the Muslim is thirsty, but he
does not drink; he is hungry, but he does not eat. In Ramadan, water
is spatially near but psychologically far from the Muslim; water is
near to the Muslim but far from his desire. This is a practical
exercise of self-control and internal honesty.
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 and Honesty 
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