Living Without Mixing Truth with Falsehood: Practicing What We Know

17 September 2021

Why does a person knowingly fail to speak the truth? More importantly, why do they fail to live by that truth while explaining it to others?

Al-Baqarah 42–45 brings these two questions together. Not mixing truth with falsehood, not concealing what we know, and not forgetting ourselves while advising people to do good.

Question: Why do I sometimes alter something I am certain is true to suit my interests?

The issue is not merely possessing knowledge. Living by knowledge means upholding truth in our own lives too.

Mixing Truth with Falsehood

Al-Baqarah 42 advises us not to mix truth with falsehood or knowingly conceal it. This is precisely where people must confront themselves.

We may do wrong because we do not know a subject. We learn and correct it; but if we conceal the truth despite knowing it, the problem is different.

Sometimes we fear losing something. Sometimes we want someone to like us. Sometimes we cannot accept a wrong we have committed ourselves.

People know they made a mistake in their work but do not disclose it. They realize that something they said deceived the other party, but remain silent to avoid losing the profit.

Thus the distance between us and truth begins to grow not only in our speech, but also in our intentions.

Question: What am I afraid of losing when defending the truth?

What conceals the truth is not always an outright lie. Sometimes stating a truth incompletely or hiding its important part can also lead people in the wrong direction.

That is why we need to consider not only whether a statement is true, but also what it conceals.

If people remember a verse that benefits them and forget the part requiring responsibility, they lose the whole.

Knowing the truth is an opportunity; not bending it to suit our interests is a responsibility.

Salat and Zakat Touching Our Lives

Al-Baqarah 43 instructs us to establish salat, give zakat, and bow with those who bow.

Reducing this call to a task list of a few words can prevent us from seeing that our behavior needs to change.

As people turn toward Allah through worship, they should also put their relationships with others in order.

Where zakat is mentioned, it becomes important not merely to count possessions, but also to consider others’ share in the blessings Allah has given us.

People may regard their earnings as an absolute power belonging solely to them. Yet blessings, gratitude, and responsibility should be considered together.

Question: Has my worship changed my behavior toward someone in need?

Sometimes we overlook a relative who needs help. Sometimes we do not want to notice the troubles of someone outside our workplace.

People can be supported not only with money, but also with knowledge, effort, and truthful words.

But we need to learn our responsibility thoroughly regarding what and how much to give. Good intentions do not justify acting without measure or knowledge.

Reading the Qur’an and trying to understand it helps us recognize these responsibilities better.

Advising Others to Do Good Is Easy

Al-Baqarah 44 asks those who advise people to do good while forgetting themselves: “Do you not reason?”

This question touches a person inwardly. For seeing someone else’s mistake is often easier than seeing our own.

If a father tells his child to be honest but does not keep his own promises, which behavior will the child take as an example?

What happens if a shopkeeper knows they should not deceive their customer, but offers their own goods with an undisclosed defect?

If someone calls everyone to patience but gives in to anger at the first objection, the distance between words and behavior becomes visible.

Question: Which behavior that I condemn in others am I repeating in my own life?

This question exists to help people see their own reality, not to belittle them.

If we turn the Qur’an into a book in which we only search for evidence against others, we may miss the advice’s call to ourselves.

Recognizing our own shortcomings does not mean we should give up explaining the truth altogether. But we should first try to apply the truth we explain to ourselves.

Sometimes saying, “I already know,” blocks learning. Reasoning, however, means comparing knowledge with our behavior.

Explaining goodness can be valuable; but we cannot exempt ourselves from the goodness we explain.

Supplication, Practical Steps, and Responsibility

We often supplicate when facing life’s needs. We ask Allah for help with our debts, our work, marriage, and other hopes.

But supplicating is not the same as abandoning practical steps. What are people expecting when they want to marry but make no effort toward it?

We need to prepare ingredients to cook. We cannot expect rice to cook without turning on the stove.

Asking Allah for a good outcome goes together with making the effort that falls to us.

Question: Am I fulfilling my responsibility for what I ask for in my supplication?

The sincerity of supplication sometimes also appears in wishing well for someone else. Wishing goodness for someone without any interest of our own reveals our inner world to us.

When people focus on their own difficulties, they may overlook others’ troubles.

It is important to notice a loved one’s debt, illness, or anxiety, supplicate for them, and help if we can.

Supplicating while reflecting on Allah’s names can also open the door to a deeper turning toward Him than merely memorized words.

Help Through Patience and Salat

Al-Baqarah 45 instructs us to seek help through patience and salat; it reminds us that this may be burdensome except for those who feel reverence in their hearts.

Sometimes people encounter resistance from those around them when they begin practicing what is right. Family, friends, or the workplace may not want familiar behavior to change.

At such moments, patience means not abandoning truth while also not losing our sense of proportion.

If we begin belittling people when we consider ourselves right, we fall into another wrong while defending what is right.

Question: When I encounter difficulty, do I only complain, or do I also take the right step while asking Allah for help?

Practicing what is right in this world sometimes requires effort and sacrifice. No one can say that every good outcome will be obtained easily.

But giving up when difficulty arrives may also show that knowledge has not taken root in our lives.

Not concealing truth, bearing the responsibility of zakat, and not forgetting ourselves while advising others to do good are parts of the same whole.

Reading a verse does not finish the task. We try to understand where it calls us and look for its expression in our lives.

If the truth we know finds no place in our lives, knowledge is still trying to reach us.

Now let us ask: Which truth do I know today, yet postpone practicing? Even taking a small step in the right direction can be a serious answer to this question.