What Do We Lose by Concealing the Truth? The Lawful, Necessity, and Knowledge as a Trust

27 December 2021

Question: When we conceal information for our own interests, do we harm only someone else?

Sometimes not telling a truth seems easier.

Because when we reveal the truth, our earnings may decrease and our position may be shaken.

But when we consider the effect of information on human life, we see that this silence also carries responsibility.

Verses 173–176 of Surah Al-Baqarah remind us of the standard of the lawful and the forbidden, alongside the danger of concealing what Allah has revealed and altering it for worldly benefit.

Preserving true knowledge means not only knowing something but also questioning what we do with what we know.

The Difference between a Boundary and Necessity

Verse 173 of Surah Al-Baqarah speaks of prohibited foods.

The same verse also contains a concession for someone compelled by necessity.

We need to consider these two reminders together.

There is a boundary. And there is a genuine necessity that a person may face.

Question: Have we begun to regard every desire in our lives as a necessity?

Sometimes people may justify their own desire by saying, “I had no choice.”

When people face hunger, we may not fully understand the severity of their situation from the outside.

Someone with no means of finding food and someone with many options before them are not in the same circumstances.

That is why we should approach the reminder of necessity in Surah Al-Baqarah carefully.

Question: Is it right for me to blame someone without knowing what they were truly compelled to do?

People may have limitations. Sometimes their range of choice may become very narrow.

In such circumstances, it is important not to confuse the standard given by the verse with our own desires.

On the one hand, let us take what is prohibited seriously.

On the other, let us not disregard the statement concerning the existence of necessity.

Taking a single word in religious matters and ignoring the other sentences may lead us to a wrong conclusion.

Let us try to read the whole verse and understand the place and context of the words.

This care is part of our responsibility toward both accurate knowledge and people’s circumstances.

Yet wanting something very much and truly having no other option are not the same thing.

The situation of someone who cannot find food is different from that of someone who merely wants what they crave.

Let us consider the standard the verse gives without losing this distinction.

Let us not readily judge someone in difficulty without understanding their situation.

We may not know every detail of the circumstances in which another person lives.

Considering the concession in the verses also means recognizing that people may encounter hardship.

But let us not turn this concession into a valid justification for every desire.

Living with faith does not mean merely memorizing prohibitions.

It means seriously understanding where and how those standards apply.

When issuing judgments in Allah’s name, let us not confuse our own interpretation with the expression that has been conveyed.

When we do not understand a word, we can learn.

We can research a verse’s context.

Not speaking definitively about something we do not know is also honesty.

Why Do People Turn toward the Easy Answer?

From time to time, we face difficult choices in life.

We put a great deal of effort into a task. We do not obtain the result we expect.

We experience problems in a family. We do not know what to do.

At such times, we may want to hear a single sentence that explains everything.

But fitting life’s complexity into a single statement is not always possible.

Question: Am I seeking real knowledge, or an answer that will relieve me as quickly as possible?

Concealing information sometimes appears quieter than telling a great lie.

A seller may know a product’s defect yet not tell the customer.

A manager may avoid revealing a problem that employees need to know about.

People may also completely conceal different explanations in religious matters to strengthen their own view.

Question: Am I using knowledge only to protect my own gain?

We need to answer this question honestly.

Because a decision based on incorrect information may affect someone else’s rights.

It may lead to financial loss, hurt within a family, or unnecessary fear.

Conveying incorrect information in the name of religion can make it harder for people to understand the truth.

When explaining a verse, people should be able to stop where they do not know its meaning.

If it is unclear who said something, they should not speak as though it were certain.

The price of honesty is sometimes giving up a gain.

But trust acquires meaning precisely at such times.

Let us try to see this difference.

Let us think of the account concerning the Prophet Nuh’s son.

The fact that the outcome a prophet desires does not come about for everyone in his own family reminds us of human limits.

Closeness and love do not mean that we determine all the other person’s choices.

In the answer given to the Prophet Nuh’s question, he is reminded not to ask about something of which he has no knowledge.

This shows the importance of stopping where we do not know.

Parents want a future for their child. But they cannot control every decision the child makes.

People wish for someone they love to be well. But they cannot make all their choices for them.

While fulfilling our own responsibility, we should also understand others’ will.

In this way, we can see both effort and limits at the same time.

People cannot know every outcome, but they can try to bear responsibility for the truth they know.

Selling True Knowledge

Verse 174 of Surah Al-Baqarah speaks of those who conceal what Allah has revealed and obtain a small benefit in return.

Let us not regard this serious warning as directed solely at people of the past.

Is it possible today to distort a truth for personal gain?

It is possible to conceal a product’s defect when making a sale.

It is possible to invent something we do not know to appear knowledgeable about a matter.

It is also possible to use someone’s name to attribute to them words they did not say.

When people disagree about a matter, they may immediately begin questioning one another’s intentions.

Yet first we need to understand clearly what the disagreement is about.

Two people who give a word different meanings may think they are discussing the same issue.

Question: Am I truly listening to the other person, or merely waiting to reply?

When different views exist on a subject, it is possible to continue researching.

But if a debate is built solely around who will appear stronger, knowledge recedes into the background.

So, instead of magnifying the differences between us, let us also remember our shared responsibilities.

Helping someone in need, working honestly, and keeping a promise are concrete tasks we encounter every day.

When we neglect these and occupy ourselves only with arguments, we struggle to carry what we learn into life.

Let seeking the truth not become a contest that distances us entirely from people.

Question: Am I allowing someone else to believe incorrect information to protect my earnings?

An important aspect of honest trade lies within this question.

Giving a customer accurate information sometimes requires accepting the possibility of losing the sale.

A company’s manager may need to reveal mistakes instead of concealing them to preserve employees’ trust.

The responsibility is even greater in religious matters.

We should not fit a verse’s explanation to the conclusion we want.

A person’s interpretation is not the same as the direct expression of the verse.

The words chosen in different translations may vary.

That is why we need to research what we find difficult to understand.

We can try to learn the relationship between the Arabic text and the Turkish explanation.

But let us not hand down judgments to people on the assumption that we know a word we do not understand.

For knowledge to guide others, it must first be accurate and reliable.

Seeking What Is Right Instead of Dividing

Verses 175 and 176 of Surah Al-Baqarah recall the situation of people who depart from the right path and fall into disagreement over the Book.

Sometimes people become so attached to a view that they refuse to listen to another explanation.

Sometimes they define themselves by a group’s name and regard everything that group says as correct.

Yet the essential issue, before the name we carry, is what we accept as right and how we live.

Question: What matters to me: reaching the truth, or my own side being proven right?

Defending one’s view is one thing; making a definitive judgment on a matter one does not know is another.

Let us not immediately consider people worthless because they think differently.

After learning something, our responsibility continues when conveying it to others.

We may have learned a word’s meaning incorrectly.

We may have heard only part of a sentence and imagined we understood all of it.

It would not be right to make a definitive judgment on that basis.

Question: Am I using words whose meaning I have not researched in a way that will direct other people’s lives?

Returning to the whole text may sometimes change our thinking.

Let us not hesitate to correct our own understanding.

Seeking accurate knowledge may lead people not to speak immediately on every subject, but also to remain silent more carefully when necessary.

Seeing knowledge as a trust requires not forgetting this responsibility.

When we disagree about a matter, let us continue learning.

Let us not make other people’s suffering merely a topic of debate.

Let us think of families living in difficult conditions in Yemen and children amid war and deprivation.

Before such a scene, we should ask what kind of help can be given before asking which group speaks more.

Easing the burden of someone in need may be more valuable than winning an argument.

If we can help, let us help. When we cannot help, let us not readily blame people either.

Without knowing people’s circumstances, let us not say they deserve what they are experiencing.

The attitude we show toward someone in hardship is also our test.

Before speaking about a matter today, let us ask this question: How sound is what I know, really?

Then let us ask a second question: With what intention am I conveying this knowledge?

Considering these two questions together can keep us away from both wrong judgments and bending the truth for personal gain.

Let us ask our Lord to see what is right, correct our mistakes, and act with beneficial knowledge.

Knowing the truth is a trust; not concealing it and living by it properly are also responsibilities.