Become a trustworthy muslim

Today I want to touch on a complementary topic. Trusting Allah is one thing. Becoming a trustworthy person is another. The two go hand in hand. We cannot be good Muslims simply by saying we believe and we trust in Allah [in other words, we have tawakkul] but we do as we please and we misbehave as we please. We also have to become trustworthy. We must earn the trust of others. This means that we must keep our promises. We must be honest, truthful, sincere and reliable in all our transactions: in business, in family life, in our workplace and in our sport, recreation and social relationships.

As a young man, long before Muhammad sws became the last Prophet, the last teacher and educator of mankind, he was already known as ‘Al Ameen’ the Trustworthy. This reputation was earned by honesty, reliability and integrity of character. We who claim to follow his example, should also earn the trust of all those around us.

Being trustworthy is a vital part of a Muslim’s character. To be the opposite is to be a hypocrite, a munaafiq.  In a well known Hadith in Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari: Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (SAW) said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks he lies; whenever he is entrusted he betrays that trust; whenever he promises he breaks his promise.“

My dear brothers, as you can see from this Hadith, being trustworthy is no small matter. Telling lies, behaving dishonestly and breaking promises are a complete opposite of our Prophetic Sunnah. In Sura Al Baqara (2:6-20), Allah describes the hypocrites as

“those in whose hearts there is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease; Allah will give them rope in their trespass; deaf, dumb and blind, they will wander to and fro”

I pray that Allah will protect you and me from the disease of hypocrisy. May Allah help us to cultivate good character. Help us to become truthful and trustworthy in all our day to day dealings. Say Ameen!

Now, let’s take a few practical examples.

When we buy and sell fruit, do we put the rotten apples under the good ones? When we sell our car, do we mention that the gears are faulty and the brake pads are worn? When we sell a house, do we cover up the damp walls and crumbling brickwork and we don’t tell the new buyer? When we write our exams, do we cheat? Do we claim someone else’s hard work as our own? Do we bribe examiners or do buy our degrees and qualifications from dodgy institutions? Dear Brothers, halaal isn’t only about the food we eat. Halaal is also about how we do business, and how we earn our livelihood.

As truthful and upright Muslims, we should remove the bad apples and discount the slightly bruised ones. We should tell the person buying our car about the problems and reduce the price. We should tell the new home-buyer that we haven’t fixed the walls or the dampness, but we’ll reduce the price because of that. Study hard, obey the rules, submit your own work in exams. Be truthful. Be trustworthy. Allah will love you for it. People will also respect you for it.

Let’s consider one or two good examples from history. When Abu Ubayda was the commander of the Muslim armies in Syria, the Emperor of Byzantium set out with a large army to recapture Hims.  Abu ‘Ubaida decided to evacuate the city because he had only a handful of soldiers.  He gathered the people of Hims in the middle of the city and announced, “We collected the protection tax (jizyah) from you because we planned to defend you.  Now we are too weak.  In this case, we return the tax we collected.”  All the taxes collected were returned to the non-Muslim people of Hims.  Such was the depth of feeling and understanding displayed by the early Muslims.  They were constantly aware of their obligations towards Allah, towards their brothers and sisters and those who were under the protection of the Muslim armies.

Let’s take another example:

The Muslims ruled Spain for nearly 800 years. Many attempts were made to remove them. King Ferdinand and Isabella sent spies in to see when would be the best time to attack. At first, the spies would report that in the markets they hear traders saying to their customers: “Thank you, I’ve earned enough money for today. But my neighbour’s shop over there has been rather quiet. Please go and buy from him. I have enough for now.” Then the King would say, “Don’t attack! Not yet! The Muslims are still too strong. Let’s wait.” A few years later the same spies would report that the mood in the marketplace has changed. Now the Muslim traders are all shouting. “Come to my shop! Come buy from me! I have the best!” Then the King would say: “Now is the time to attack! Now the Muslims are weak! They no longer care for their neighbours! They are no longer trustworthy!”

Dear Brothers. This is how Muslims lost Spain after 800 years. As one scholar put it, “We liberated Spain as Muslims, and we were kicked out as Arabs. With Salahuddin Ayyubi, we liberated Jerusalem as Muslims, and again we were kicked out as Arabs.” (Shaykh Fadlallah Haeri) As soon as we forget to be the truthful and trustworthy Ummah of Muhammad sws we lose it all.

I pray that Allah will help us once again to become trustworthy, sincere and truth loving in all our relationships. Ameen.

Ramadan is just round the corner, and insha-Allah, in  two months’ time it will be Lailatul Bara’ah, also known as Lailatul nisf Sha’baan. This great and auspicious night in the middle of Sha’baan is the night during which Allah assigns the Rizq, the provision, to every human soul for the coming year. This is very important to remember and internalise. Your and my provision is fixed. It cannot be changed. This is Allah’s decree. Nothing we do can earn us a penny more nor a penny less.

So, what’s the point of lying, cheating, trying to ‘catch someone out’? What’s the point of deception? When we lie, when we cheat, when we steal or try to deceive others, we only deceive ourselves. WE are the real fools. Allah will take what’s left of our good deeds and He will assign it to those we have wronged. And if we haven’t got any good deeds left, Allah will take from their bad deeds and He will assign that to our account as well. Is that a good bargain? I don’t think so.

Dear brothers, let’s not fool ourselves. Let’s try to be reliable and trustworthy like our noble Prophet Muhammad pbuh was. Even his enemies knew that he would never lie. He would never break a promise. He would never be unjust to anyone. Let us work hard to follow his good example.

Nowadays there’s so much prejudice against Muslims. We must change that perception and win the trust of our neighbours.That’s the challenge we face today.  It’s not difficult. Allah blesses the smallest efforts we make.

I pray that Allah will help us all to become as trustworthy and truthful as our noble Prophet pbuh and his illustrious Companions. I pray that Allah will help us win the trust, the respect and love of our neighbours throughout. Anything is possible for Allah. I pray that Allah will illuminate our Islam, strengthen our Iman and radiate our Ihsaan. Say, Ameen!