A wise man once says “The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing”. A life devoid of honesty is a loss, as honesty resembles a light at the end of the road and a unique treasure for those who own it. Moreover, it is the first step to gain wisdom.
Honesty or Amana (Arabic) is, according to Mu’jam Al Jam’a, defined as integrity, honesty, keeping one’s word, faithfulness. Its antonym is dishonesty that may mean taking and misusing one’s money or property. Al-mu’jam al-waseet defines (Amana) or honesty as faithfulness; a faithful person is he who keeps his promise, walks uprightly and speaks the truth.
Honesty is a key virtue in all religions. It is one of God’s traits as the Bible mentions “Because of the LORD that is faithful” and the Lord is “the Holy One who is faithful.” “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.” God’s faithfulness is unlimited, eternal and unchangeable. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
In Islam it is mentioned at Surat An-nisa’ “The Women” that man should keep being honest “Surely Allah commands you to pay deposits back to their qualified family (i.e. the owners) and, when you judge among mankind, that you judge with justice.” And the Hadith shows that honesty is a sign of man’s righteousness and faith; that unfaithful are faithless and a vow breaker cannot deemed a religious person. There are several things you can do to demonstrate honesty; be honest in word and action, keep your promises and the secrets of others. Be true to God, yourself and others.
You can be true to God by keeping his commandments and abhor wrongdoings. Joseph the Righteous is a great example on that. He refused to sin and commit adultery with his master’s wife.
“And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” “
Joseph refused to be unfaithful to God and his master who entrusted him on his wife, house, and all his possessions. He bore pain and injustice for his faithfulness for the woman’s false witnessing against him. However, God, who sees each man’s actions and rewards them accordingly, not merely made Joseph a minster, a ruler over all Egypt, but also its save from a great starvation.
An honest man should be true to himself. He should be aware of his weaknesses, try to overcome them, and never gives false justifications to defend them. He would also polish his talents up and use them for the good of himself and others. Furthermore, he will avoid bad habits that lead to his harm like, smoking, addiction, ..etc
As for being true to others; it involves many aspects…to be continued
Principles – Honesty 1 – Joseph the Righteous – 8/3/2014
