SIDQ –صدق
Literally: Truth. Veracity. Reality. Correctness. Inward honesty. The truthfulness of heart.
Conformity to haqiqah. One of the particular attributes of the Prophets.
“Sidq is the basis of Islam and a characteristic of îmân; indeed, îmân is sidq and its main sort. Sidq is the bond of all perfections; and the life of high morals; and the root binding things to haqiqah; and the manifestation of haqq on the tongue. It is the pivot of man's development, and the order of the Islamic world; and it is what conveys man with the speed of lightning down the road of progress to the ka'ba of perfections; and it raises the poorest and dullest person higher than a sultân, and it made the Sahâbah of the Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm superior to all others; and it raised up our Sayyid Muhammad al-Hâshimî ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm to the loftiest peak of humanity.” Signs of Miraculousness ( 102 )
“Yes, sidq and truthfulness are the vital principles in the life of Islamic society. Riyâ is a sort of lying which pertains to action. Flattery and artifice are cowardly lyings. Nifâq and being munâfiq are harmful lyings. And as for lying, it is to slander As-Sâni’ Zuljalâl's Qoudrah.
Kufr in all its varieties is falsehood and lying. Îmân is sidq and truthfulness. As a consequence of this, there is a limitless distance between sidq and falsehood; they should be as distant from one another as the East is from the West. Like fire and nûr, they should not become mixed with one another. However, cruel politics and dhâlim propaganda have mixed and confused them, and have also thrown into confusion man's perfections.
Sidq and lying are as distant from one another as are kufr and îmân. With Muhammad ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm's rising to the a’lâ ‘illiyyin by means of sidq in the Era of Bliss, and with the treasury of the haqiqahs of îmân and the haqiqahs of the universe being unlocked with the key of sidq, sidq became the most valuable merchandise in the market of human society, and the goods most in demand.
Because of lying, the likes of Musaylima the Liar fell to the asfal sâfilîn. Since that mighty revolution showed that at that time lying and falsehood were the key to blasphemies and superstition, they became one of the worst and filthiest goods on the market of the universe, and it was not as though everyone wanted to buy them, indeed, everyone detested them. Certainly, the Sahâbah, who were in the first line of that mighty revolution and in whose fitrah it was to buy things that were the cause of pride and to be customers for the most valuable goods and those most in demand, would never knowingly have reached out any falsehood. They would not have soiled themselves with lying. They would not have made themselves resemble Musaylima the Liar.
Indeed, since with all their strength and through their fıtrî inclination they were customers for sidq and truthfulness, which formed the steps whereby Muhammad ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm rose to the a’lâ ‘illiyyin, and were the most sought-after merchandise and the most valuable commodity and the key to haqiqahs, and since as far as was possible they tried not to depart from truthfulness, it became an established principle in the ‘Ilm of Hadith and among ‘ulamâ of the Sharî'ah that "the Sahâbah always spoke the truth. Their riwâyât do not require to be investigated. The Hadiths they related from the Prophet ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm are all sahîh." A decisive argument for the consensus of the ahl al-Hadith and the ahl al-Sharî'ah is this haqiqah.
Thus, at the time of the mighty revolution in the Era of Bliss sidq and lying were as far from one another as îmân and kufr, yet with the passing of time, they have gradually drawn closer to each other. Political propaganda has sometimes given greater currency to lies, and evil and lying have to some degree taken the stage. It is because of this haqiqah that no one could attain to the level of the Sahâbah. Since this has been discussed in the Addendum to the Twenty-Seventh Word, which is about the Sahâbah, we refer you to that risale and cut short the matter here.
O my brothers here in this Umayyad Mosque! And O my brothers who, forty to fifty years later, form the four hundred million believers in the vast mosque of al-‘âlam of Islam! Salvation is only to be found through sidq and truthfulness. The " ‘Urwah al-wuthqâ"1 is sidq. That is to say, the strongest chain with which to be bound to salvation is truthfulness.
However, a lie for the benefit, which is abrogated by the time. Some ‘ulamâ issued 'temporary' fatwas in case of necessity or for benefit. But in this age, such fatwas can not be given. For it has been abused so much that there may be only one benefit among a hundred harms. The judgement cannot, therefore, be based on benefit.
For example, the cause for shortening the salâh while on a journey is a hardship. But it cannot be the real cause (‘illah). For it has no determined limit and may be abused. The real cause (‘illah) can only be the journey. Similarly, the benefit can not be the real cause (‘illah) for telling a lie. Because it has no specified limit and is a swamp breeding abuse. The judgement for a fatwa may not be based on it. In which case, اِمَّا الصِّدْقُ وَاِمَّا السُّكُوتُ 2 . That is, there are two ways, not three; that is, not either the truth, or lies, or silence.
Since public order and security have been overturned through mankind's evident and ghastly lying and wilful misrepresentations, and through its abuse of benefits, mankind is clearly commanded and compelled to close the third way. Otherwise, the world wars, hideous revolutions, and decline and destruction that humanity has suffered in the past half-century will bring down a qiyâmah on men's heads.
Indeed, everything you say must be true, but it is not right to say everything true. If on occasion it is damaging, then be silent. But there is no fatwa for lying. Everything you say must be the haqq, but you do not have the right to say everything that is haqq. Because if it is not with ikhlas, it will have a detrimental effect and haqq will be spent on wrong.” The Damascus Sermon ( 45- 49 )