3 hadiths on truth and lies
Telling the truth, keeping commitments and avoiding slander: three hadiths explained to make your word more reliable.
Inventing an excuse to hide an oversight, promising too quickly, presenting a suspicion as a fact: lies sometimes enter conversations through sentences that seem convenient at the time. Yet the problem is not limited to false information. Another person may make a decision, wait for help or judge someone on the basis of what they are told.
These three hadiths address truthfulness as a habit, the trust attached to promises and the difference between backbiting and slander. They invite us to make our word reliable without confusing frankness with permission to hurt.
Article contents
Truth and lies become habits
The context of the narration
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud transmits a saying of the Prophet ﷺ about the paths to which truthfulness and lying lead. The text describes repeated conduct:“Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man keeps telling the truth until he becomes truthful. Lying leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Fire. A man keeps lying until he is recorded with Allah as a liar.”
Read the Arabic text
إِنَّ الصِّدْقَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْبِرِّ، وَإِنَّ الْبِرَّ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَصْدُقُ حَتَّى يَكُونَ صِدِّيقًا، وَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ، وَإِنَّ الْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَكْذِبُ، حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ كَذَّابًا
Understanding this hadith
Repetition is central to the teaching. A lie intended to save appearances may require further lies to maintain it. Conversely, acknowledging an embarrassing fact teaches you not to depend on these inventions. Truthfulness is therefore also practised in ordinary conversations, not only when giving solemn testimony.
Saying “I forgot” is more accurate than claiming a message never arrived. Saying “I do not know” preserves trust better than improvising an answer to seem informed. These sentences do not make the mistake pleasant, but they allow the real problem to be corrected rather than discussing an invented cause.
The hadith announces a grave consequence of lying; it does not close off the possibility of changing your conduct. If you have given false information, correct it with those who received it. A clear correction should distinguish what was false from what is now established.
Also read: repairing an injustice committed against someone.
Your word also involves others’ trust
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports that the Prophet ﷺ named three signs of a hypocrite. Lying speech is linked with a broken promise and betrayal of what has been entrusted:“The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he promises, he breaks his promise; when entrusted with something, he betrays the trust.”
Read the Arabic text
آيَةُ الْمُنَافِقِ ثَلاَثٌ إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا اؤْتُمِنَ خَانَ
Understanding this hadith
These three behaviours have a shared effect: another person can no longer rely on what has been said or entrusted. Promising to be present, to respond or to help can lead someone to organise an entire day. A promise made to dismiss a request is therefore not without consequences.
Before answering “yes, I will do it”, check what you can actually take on. If you first need to consult your diary or ask permission, say so. A precise, conditional answer is more honest than a firm commitment made without intending to honour it.
An obstacle arising after a sincere commitment is not the same situation as a promise made knowing you will betray it. In practice, giving prompt notice, explaining what has changed and seeking a solution avoid leaving the other person waiting on a false assurance.
The warning concerns traits to resist in ourselves. It does not permit us to claim knowledge of someone’s inward faith after a disappointment. You can recognise that a promise was broken, ask for redress and adjust your trust without passing verdicts on hearts.
Distinguishing backbiting from slander
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports that the Prophet ﷺ asked his companions whether they knew what backbiting was. He defined it as mentioning your brother in a way he dislikes. Someone then asked what if the fault mentioned was actually present. He answered:“If what you say about him is in him, you have backbitten him; if it is not in him, you have slandered him.”
Read the Arabic text
إِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا تَقُولُ فَقَدِ اغْتَبْتَهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِ فَقَدْ بَهَتَّهُ
Understanding this hadith
The truth of a statement is not enough to justify every conversation. The hadith removes the excuse “but it is true” when you needlessly expose a fault the person dislikes. When the fact is false, an additional injustice appears: attributing to them something they did not do.
In a group chat, an incomplete screenshot, a sentence recalled from memory or an anonymous message do not necessarily establish the facts. Do not turn “I was told” into “I know”. If you have no useful reason to pass on the information, you can stop its circulation rather than sharing it with a reservation that will soon be forgotten.
This restraint does not forbid recounting an injustice to seek help or stop harm. You should then keep to the necessary facts and address someone who can intervene. Protecting a reputation must not be used to silence a victim.
When you need to report an incident, distinguish what you saw from what someone told you. Say “I do not know” if asked to attribute an intention you cannot know.
Also read: understanding what counts as backbiting.
In practice
- You invented an excuseCorrect it with the person concerned and offer to address the actual delay or oversight.Reread the hadith on truthfulness
- You are asked for a commitmentCheck what you can do before promising; clearly state what remains uncertain.Examine your promises
- An accusation arrives in a groupDo not forward it as an established fact. Distinguish what is verified from what is assumed.Distinguish backbiting from slander
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 6094Truth and lies become habits
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 33Your word also involves others’ trust
- Sahih Muslim · 2589Distinguishing backbiting from slander