Amr Khaled, Truthfulness

Amr Khaled (عمرو خالد) and Truthfulness Part 1

Amr Khaled (عمرو خالد) is a Muslim preacher who has been described as combining “the trendiness of Egyptian pop singer Amr Diab with the down-home missionary appeal of Western televangelist Billy Graham, and the self-help wisdom of popular American TV psychologist Dr. Phil” (Lindsay Wise, “Words from the Heart“).  Amr Khaled has been listed by the Jordanian Royal Islamic Studies Centre as the 15th most influential Muslim in the world out of its list of 500 people.

In this lecture, Amr Khaled is teaching about the Hadiths, traditions of Muhammad.  The goal of Amr Khaled is to learn from the Hadiths so that Muslims learn morals and follow them.  At the end of my notes, I give five reasons why Prophet Muhammad was not truthful.

Amr Khaled introduces the topic of truthfulness

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Amr Khaled on the cover of “The 500 Most Influential Muslims”

In the name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds.  Peace be upon Prophet Muhammad.  We are still talking about morals.  Actually, we do not aim at just talking about morals.  But what is even more important is carrying them out, trying to follow them along the week.  It is not because what I am saying is important but because they are the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.  What I am trying to do is just to gather you a number of Hadiths and to tell you what you should do in order to follow them.

This is why I want you to apply.  What I will be discussing today is the moral of Prophets.  The characteristic was inherent in all prophets sent by Allah.  Even Quran stresses this characteristic.  Whenever a prophet is mentioned, he is described with it.

Also mention in the Book (the story of) Abraham: He was a man of Truth, a prophet.  Also mention in the Book (the story of) Isma’il: He was (strictly) true to what he promised, and he was an apostle (and) a prophet.  Also mention in the Book the case of Idris.  He was a man of truth (and sincerity), (and) a prophet.

Today, we shall be talking about truthfulness.  It was a main characteristic in Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) of which he was known.  He was known by it even before Islam, that people called him, the honest and the truthful.  If you want to know how truthful he was, consider what he did on Al Safa mountain when Allah told him “expound openly what thou art commanded, and turn away from those who join false gods with Allah.”

Amr Khaled discusses Arabic words dervived from truthfulness

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Allah is always truthful to us.  Allah created the whole world with this truthfulness.  God ordered the whole world to be truthful.  Why would we lie then?

A lot of words were derived from the Arabic equivalent of truthfulness.  For example, the word friend.  Your friend is someone who is always truthful to you and who would never betray you. ¹The Bible speaks about betrayal (Psalm 41:9; 55:12-13,20).  King David was betrayed (2 Samuel 15:12), Jesus was betrayed by a friend (Luke 22:21).  Husbands betray their wife in adultery and wives sometimes betray their husbands through unfaithfulness. Also the word, charity, because it proves how truthful you are with Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’la).

Amr Khaled discusses the importance of truthfulness and the seriousness of lying

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Let’s get to know how important truthfulness is and how grave lying is.  May Allah keep it away from us.  Let us also hear the Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in this respect.  Prophet Muhammad says, “Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise.  And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person.  Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar.” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 116)

Look at the word that Truthfulness leads to righteousness.  If you are truthful, you will walk on a paved road right to Heaven.  Prophet Muhammad also says that falsehood leads to Al-Fajur.  Do you know why he said Al-Fajur?  It is because this specific word binds all kinds of evil.  As if getting used to lying would make me immoral.  Yes, the consequences will guide you this way.  And morality would guide to Heaven.

Look at the word “keeps on telling the truth.”  As if man would be looking for a way out to be truthful and “keeps on telling lies” as if he would be searching fora lie that would be suitable to the situation.  See how different those two are?  Then Prophet said that this man “is written before Allah, a liar.”

Imagine how you would feel if Allah wrote in His book that you are a liar.  Finding a way out of an embarrassing situation is nothing in comparison to being registered as a liar in Allah’s book.

Allah would call on those who are truthful to rise up on the Day of Resurrection….

Amr Khaled discusses a hadith about honesty and Paradise

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Listen to the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad saying, “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity) of what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him.” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 481)

Who is the guarantor?  It is Prophet Muhammad.  He guarantees you that you will go to Heaven as long as you keep the chastity of your tongue by not telling lies and by not slandering others.

Amr Khaled discusses a hadith about truth and calmness versus lying and suspicion

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Listen to one more Hadith of Prophet Muhammad in which he says that Truthfulness is calmness and lying is suspicion.

What does suspicion mean?  It means hesitation, worry, and confusion.  This is actually how we feel when we are truthful we feel you are strong and calm, but if you lie you feel that you are a bad person.  You feel that you are hesitant, that you are weak, and that people around you doubt you.

What Prophet Muhammad says should encourage us not to resort to lying whatever happens.

Prophet Muhammad also says that the worst kind of all treacheries is when you tell your brother of something and he believes you though you are lying to him.  Especially if you see on his face signs of believing you, while your heart is full of deceit towards him.

Amr Khaled discusses a hadith about lying and angels

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Prophet Muhammad says in a Hadith narrated by Imam Termethey [Tirmidhi] that if one lies, angels would go a mile away from him becaues what he says stinks.

Angels are harmed by what we say just like human beings are.  Angels are harmed by bad qualities.  The worst of it all, is telling lies.  Whenever you lie, angels would stay away from you, because this harms them.

What is even stranger is what the companions of Prophet Muhammad said about him.  They said that if anyone lies to Prophet Muhammad, this would show on his face.  They say that Prophet Muhammad hated nothing in this world more than telling lies.

Prophet Muhammad used to feel uneasy with those who lie to him until he knows that he repented.  This means that we can purify our souls from being untruthful by repentance.  If you have been lying for years, just repent to Allah and He will forgive you.  This also tells us something that is of prime importance.  What if Prophet Muhamad saw that you were lying and became angry at you?  Does this make a difference to you or not?  Angels would walk away from you and Prophet Muhammad would be angry at you.

Telling lies is hateful to Allah, His Messenger, and His angels.  By being truthful you guarantee that Allah would be pleased with you.

Islamic scholars say that those used to telling lies are knocking the door of the biggest sins.  This is because his lies lead him to commit the biggest sins.  Today, he is lying, but one day this lie would lead him to theft, to committing adultery, to usurping the right of others.  And you would go on in this way that you started with just one lie.  So truthfulness will hold you back from committing the biggest sins because you say nothing but the truth and  thus you would not even approach the path of the biggest sins.

Amr Khaled discusses motives for lying

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Let’s try to know the motives of people that make them lie.  Who knows?  We may stop lying if we answered this question and were convinced of this answer.

One of the very famous reasons for lying is saving oneself from an embarrassing situation.  A student who fails in an exam and is afraid to tell his parents about it.  An employee who made a mistake and does not want to tell his employer about it.  A wife whose husband told her to do something and she did not and so she lies so he may not be angry with her.  Actually all those are fake reasons.  You’d rather admit your faults than hide.  It would be much better than being written before Allah as a liar.

Five reasons why Prophet Muhammad was not truthful

Both Christianity and Islam emphasize the importance of telling the truth.  Where we differ has to do with whether Muhammad’s revelation was truthful.

1. Was Prophet Muhammad really truthful?

Amr Khaled says that Muhammad was known for truthfulness.  As a Christian, this is hard for me to believe because Muhammad did not speak the truth concerning Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  In fact, Muhammad’s revelation has, in effect, discarded previous revelation.  The Muslims scriptures do not include the Torah, Psalms, or Gospels.  Muhammad effectively treated previous revelation as untruthful.  This is dishonest.

Let me explain further.  The Qur’an requires four witnesses when a woman is accused of adultery (Al-Maeda 4:15; Al-Noor 24:4).  To be sure, adultery is a serious charge and witnesses should be required.  And yet, Muhammad’s treatment of God’s previous revelation as adulterated is an even more serious charge.  What truthful testimony/witnesses did Muhammad give to support his allegation that the Christian Scriptures are adulterated?   An honest witness must provide such testimony.  Muhammad lacks such honest testimony.

2. Why follow the words of a dead prophet when they contradicted another Who has risen from the dead?

Muhammad taught that if a person is truthful, he will walk on a paved road right to Heaven.  Prophet Muhammad also said that falsehood leads to Al-Fajur.  Look at the path where Prophet Muhammad now lays.  He is dead and buried.  Jesus is alive in heaven.  It’s foolish to follow the words of a dead man that contradicted the words of Jesus Who rose again from the dead and has authority over death.

3. Muhammad’s guarantee of Paradise

Amr Khaled talked about the hadith, “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity) of what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him.” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 481).

When I compare what Jesus taught about chastity with Muhammad’s marriages, the conclusion I have come to is that Muhammad was not chaste.  He was guilty of adultery. (See my earlier post about Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Zaynab)

4. Muhammad contradicted/did not affirm the sworn testimony Jesus gave before the highest court in Judaism.

Jesus gave the following sworn testimony before the highest court in Judaism (the Sanhedrin),

The high priest said to him [Jesus], I charge you under oath by the living God; Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”  “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.  “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Do you believe Jesus’ testimony?

5. Amr Khaled said, “By being truthful you guarantee that Allah would be pleased with you.”

How can Islam be truthful when its Prophet Muhammad did not affirm the truth about Jesus?  How can Muslims be truthful when they call God’s previous revelation corrupt and untruthful?

• Amr Khaled, Truthfulness Part II

• Trinity, Tawheed, and Monotheism

• التوحيد وعقيدة الثالوث الأقدس

• Do Muslims believe the same things Jesus believed?