The honesty of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him

And he who says the truth and those who confirm it —

those are the people who are God-fearing Surah Al-
Zumar: 33.

Quraish testified to the truthfulness of Prophet Muhammad

(peace be upon him)

Three years after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon

him) was sent as a Prophet, Allah ordered him to call
people to Islam in public. Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) climbed to the top of Safa mountain and called,

“Oh tribe of so-and-so, and such-and-such,” calling them

by their different names in order for the tribes to gather. All
of them went to him, and if a person was not able to go,
he sent a messenger instead.

Why do you think they all replied to him?

This is because the call came from one who was truthful
and trustworthy. In such a way, all of these people testified
to the truthfulness of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him), and they wanted to learn why he had called them all
and what he had to say to them.

After they had all gathered, Prophet Muhammad (peace

be upon him) said,

If I told you that behind this mountain is cavalry who wish

to attack you, would you believe me? related by Al-
Bukhari and Muslim.

The people declared openly, “We have never heard you

lie, even once.”
Allah is the Greatest… Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) made them establish the truth by their own
words, as the people testified, acknowledging with their
own tongues, that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) was truthful and not a liar. They had lived with him for
forty years before he was sent as a Prophet, calling him
by the nickname Al-Ameen (the truthful and trustworthy
one); they never heard him lie or be treacherous, or saw
him act badly.

At that point, Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)

proceeded to do what he was ordered to do with regards
to spreading the Message in public, so he said,

“I am a warner to you of a very severe torture (if you do

not hold the proper belief).” In reply, Abu Lahab replied,
cursing Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by
saying, “May you be cut off! Is this why you called us
all?! related by Muslim.

The unbelievers of Quraish knew that Prophet Muhammed

(peace be upon him) was truthful

This was truly the case as the unbelievers of Quraish

knew, deep within themselves, that Prophet Muhammed
(peace be upon him) was truthful. In fact, they
acknowledged that he was so, but they did not believe in
him for their own personal interests and desires

Bertley Heller

A German orientalist

Think deeply about this situation. Even after Prophet

Muhammed (peace be upon him) told them that he was a
Prophet, Abu Lahib’s reply was, “May you be cut off,” and
he unashamedly denied what Prophet Muhammed (peace
be upon him) said! But the unbelievers of Quraish knew
deep down that Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)
was truthful, in fact they acknowledged this, but they did
not believe in him for fear of their own personal interests
and desires.

In general, no praiseworthy quality can be mentioned but it

can be attributed to Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon
him). The biography of the Prophet is full of incidents that
indicate that he was truthful. These include:

The Lord of the worlds testifying that Prophet Muhammed

(peace be upon him) was truthful

Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) was very

truthful. Those near and far from him have testified to this,
but the testimony of his Lord praising him is enough. He
(Glorified is He) says:

And the one who has brought the truth and [they who]
believed in it - those are the righteous. Surah Al-Zumar:
33.

And Allah told the truth when He says about the Prophet
Muhammed (peace be upon him):

Rather, he has brought the truth and confirmed the

Messengers Surah As-Saffat: 37.

And says:

Your companion is neither astray or misguided, nor does

he say [anything] from [his own] desires. It is no less than
inspiration sent down to him) Surah An-Najm: 2-4.
Nothing is more beneficial for the slave than being truthful
to his Lord in all his affairs as well as being truly
determined. Consequently, his truthfulness and
determination is recognized, as Allah (Glorified is He)
says:

Once the matter [of fighting in Allah’s cause] is resolved

upon, being true to Allah would be better for them Surah
Muhammed: 21.

He attains happiness because of being truly determined

and honest. And who is truthful to Allah in all his affairs,
He will arrange for him better than what He arranges for
others.

How can you lay down steps in order to be truthful in all

circumstances in your life?

Modern science testifies to the Prophet’s truthfulness

Proof of this can be found in the hadith narrated by

Abdullah ibn Masoud, who said that Prophet Muhammed
(peace be upon him), who is the truthful and the one who
was truly inspired, said,

(As regards your creation), every one of you is collected in

the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he
becomes a clot for another forty days, and then a piece of
flesh for another forty days. Then Allah sends an angel to
write four items: He writes his deeds, time of his death,
means of his livelihood, and whether he will be wretched
or blessed (in the religion). Then the soul is breathed into
his body. Consequently, So a man may do deeds
characteristic of the people of the hell-fire, so much so that
there is only the distance of a cubit between him and it,
and then what has been written (by the angel) surpasses
him, and so he starts doing deeds characteristic of the
people of Paradise and enters Paradise until the end of
the hadith. related by Al-Bukhari.

When Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)

mentioned this hadith, it was very strange, as there was
no proof at all to support it. But now it contains well-known
facts of modern science. So who taught him such
knowledge?!

Similarly, concerning the hadith:

If a dog drinks from the container of any one of you, wash

it [the container] seven times, the first time being with
dust> related by Muslim.

modern science has proven that this is the correct way to

clean such a container.

Prophet Muhammed’s enemies testify to his truthfulness

The testimony of Abu Sufyan

The best testimony about this is the conversation of Abu

Sufyan—before he entered Islam—with Hercules, the
Roman leader. The hadith states what Hercules asked
Abu Sufyan,

“Did you use to accuse him of lying before he started to

say what he now says [that he has a Message from
Allah]?” He (Abu Sufyan) replied, “No.” And at the end of
the story, Hercules said to Abu Sufyan, “I asked you if you
used to accuse him of lying before he started to say what
he now says, and you said, ‘No.’ Consequently, I knew
that he did not lie to the people, so he would not lie about
Allah.”
Fath Al-Bari

What Abu Sufyan said and testified about Prophet

Muhammed (peace be upon him) is clear proof that the
Prophet was truthful about his claim of prophethood; Abu
Sufyan had seen how the Prophet conversed with others
with his own eyes, and lived with him so he understood
how Prophet Muhammed thought and how he dealt with
others.

He had ‘felt’ the Prophet’s truthfulness; truthfulness has a

fragrance that is not smelt by the nose, but is ‘felt’ by the
heart!!

Abu Jahl’s testimony

Abu Sufyan ibn Harib’s testimony was not the only

testimony of Prophet Muhammed’s truthfulness from one
of Prophet Muhammed’s enemies who lived at his time. In
fact, there is a testimony from one who was a stronger
enemy of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him); that
is Abu Jahl. He testified to Prophet Muhammed’s
truthfulness and his claim to prophethood; his nephew, Al-
Miswar ibn Makhramah, asked about Prophet Muhammed
(peace be upon him), saying, “My uncle, did you used to
accuse Muhammed of lying before he said what he is now
claiming?”

Abu Jahl replied, “My nephew, by Allah, since the time

Muhammed lived with us in his youth, we used to call him
by the nickname Al-Ameen (the trustworthy one). We
never accused him of lying at all.” Al-Miswar then asked,
“Oh uncle, then why do you not follow him?”

Abu Jahl replied, “My nephew, we (Bani ‘Abd Shams) and

Bani Hashim have competed with each other for
honour.They fed the poor, and we did too. They supplied
the pilgrims with water, and we did too. They gave the
right of protection (to refugees), and we did too (and so
on) until we were almost equal as two race horses. Then
they said, ‘A Prophet has appeared from among us.’ How
could we ever achieve anything like this?”

The Prophet’s Biography by Ibn Hesham.

On the day of the battle of Badr, Al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq

said to Abu Jahl, “Oh Abul-Hakam! Tell me about
Muhammad; whether he is truthful or a liar. There is no
one from the Quraish who will hear what we say other
than you and I.”

Abu Jahl said, “Woe to you! Verily, Muhammad is truthful,

and he has never told a lie. But even so, should the
offspring of Qusayy take away the flag (of leadership), the
care of the Kabah, the duty of giving water to the pilgrims
and prophethood, what will be left for the rest of Quraish?”

Hidayat Al-Hayara by Ibn Qayyim.

People testified to his truthfulness, even the enemies. And

what the enemies say about a person, if it is not in their
favour, has to be the truth.

The above is a conclusive acknowledgement and a clear

proof of the truthfulness of Prophet Muhammed’s claim of
prophethood. And who gave such a testimony? Abu Jahl,
the strongest enemy of the Islamic call! And there is no
doubt that a testimony of an enemy about the truthfulness
of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) is very
weighty; it indicates the great level of truthfulness that the
people in general described him (peace be upon him)
with.
The truthfulness of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon
him) at times of seriousness and times of humour

We have learnt about the Prophet’s truthfulness on

important occasions, but at times of humour Prophet
Muhammed (peace be upon him) used to joke with his
Companions. However, he never said anything but the
truth. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated
that Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said,

I do not joke orby say anything but the truth related by At-
Tabarani.

Examples of his truthfulness while joking:

A man came to Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)

and said, ‘“Oh Messenger of Allah, give me a means to
transport things.’” Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon
him) said, ‘“A baby camel will be given to you.’” The
person said, ‘“What shall I do with a baby camel, O
Messenger of Allah? (I want one to transport things).’” The
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied, ‘“Every
camel is always a ‘baby’ of another camel’ related by Abu
Dawood.

In fact, Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) warned

the people against lying when joking, saying,

Woe to those who lie when telling tales to make people

laugh, woe to him related by Ahmed and Abu Dawood.

The words of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)

are words of truth coming from an unknown world

We do not consider Muhammed a false liar, one who was

deceitful or a fraud, one who desired to be a king or ruler,
or one who ran after his own personal wishes. The
Message he gave us is nothing but the clear truth, and his
word is nothing but the sound of truth coming from an
unknown world. Truly, Muhammed (peace be upon him)
was not a liar or one who blows his own horn. He was a
unique person that appeared in this world to be a shooting
star that lit all the globe.

Thomas Carlyle

Scottish writer, satirical critic and historian.

Do you think it is acceptable to lie when joking?

The truthfulness of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon

him) when angry and calm

Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both)

said,

I used to write down everything I heard from the

Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as I wanted to
preserve it, but the people of Quraish discouraged me
from doing this. They said, ‘You write down everything and
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is a human
who speaks when angry and when calm?!’ Consequently,
I stopped writing down such things and told the
Messenger of Allah about what had happened. He (peace
be upon him) pointed with his finger to his [own] mouth
and said, ‘Write, as I swear by the One Who holds my life
in His Hands that I say nothing but the truth. related by
Ahmed.

The truthfulness of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon

him) during peace and war
Even during war, when lying and tricking the enemy is
allowed, Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) was
truthful. Ibn Katheer stated in his biography of the Prophet,
“The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) left [the
Companions] with Abu Bakr to learn news about Quraish.
They met an old Arab, and the Messenger of Allah asked
him about Quraish, Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon
him) and his Companions, and what he had heard about
them. The old man said, “I will not tell you anything until
you tell me who you are.” Prophet Muhammed (peace be
upon him) said, “If you tell us we will tell you.” The old man
said, “I heard that Muhammed and his Companions left
[Medina] on such-and-such a day. And if what I heard is
true, they will be in such-and-such a place—the place
where the Messenger of Allah was at that time--today.
And I heard that Quraish left on such-and-such a day. And
if what I heard was true, they will be in such-and-such a
place—the place where Quraish were.” After he had told
them the news, he said, “Where are you from?” The
Messenger of Allah replied, “We are from water.” Allah
(Glorified is He) says:

We have made every living thing from water Surah Al-

Anbiya: 30

This is what Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)

meant by his words, “We are from water.” In this way he
was truthful with the man; if Prophet Muhammed (peace
be upon him) had told the old man the truth about his
identity, it would have been a danger for the Muslims.
Despite this, Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) did
not resort to lying, but he relied on the use of ambiguous
words. Using words with two meanings is better than lying.
As such, he remained truthful in what he said without
harming others, that is, for the benefit of all.
Is there a difference between lying and relying on
ambiguity? Explain your answer referring to incidents in
the Prophet’s life.

What would you say to a person who thought that a white

lie is permissible as long as it does not harm anyone?
What is the ruling about April fool’s day?

Mention three incidents you liked in the biography of

Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) that indicate his
truthfulness.

How can you take Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon

him) as an example to follow?

1. Be particular to be always truthful in whatever you say

or do, and remain truthful and be close to those who are
truthful.

O believers! Be mindful of Allah and be with those who are

the truthful Surah At-Tawba: 119 .

2. If you are in a situation when you want to justify how

you have acted, do not rely on anything but the truth; it is
the way out of difficulties for whoever is truthful.

3. Be truthful in all circumstances, while joking and while

being serious. Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him)
said,

Woe to those who lie when they speak in order to make

people laugh; woe to him, woe to him

related by Ahmed
4. Be truthful when you speak, at your work, and with
regards to your intentions and commitments. Allah
(Gorified is He) says:

And when a matter is resolved upon, if they were true to

Allah it would be best for them Surah Muhammed: 21 .

5. Follow the example of Prophet Muhammed (peace be

upon him) and be truthful to receive the reward of the
truthful, to respect yourself, and for the people to respect
you.