Remaining Honest and Truthful at All Times

Ask our children:

1. What is the sign that a person has taqwa?
2. Can a Muslim lie to people and cheat them when doing business so that he will make more money?
3. When a person is getting married, what type of partner should they look for?

Now tell them the story:

At the time when Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was the leader of the Muslims, he would walk through the city of Madinah Munawwarah at night to check on the people and see if any person had any problem or needed any help. The reason is that Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was always worried about the Muslims. Because he was the ruler, he would leave his comfortable bed and his sleep to serve the Muslims and look after them.

One night, when Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was walking in the streets of Madinah Munawwarah, he felt a little tired, so he stopped near a certain home to take a short rest. While standing there, he heard a mother speaking to her daughter saying, “It is almost morning time! Why haven’t you mixed the water into the milk?” Hearing this, Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) realized that the mother and daughter would sell milk to people to earn money.

At that time, there were certain people who would mix water into the milk before selling it. By mixing water into the milk, the amount of milk would become more and they would make more money.

However, the problem was that these people did not tell the customers that the milk was mixed with water. The customers thought that they were buying pure milk, whereas they were being cheated and lied to, as the sellers were giving them milk mixed with water. It was for this reason that Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had passed a law that the milk-sellers should not mix water into the milk.

After the mother told the daughter to mix the water into the milk, Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) heard the daughter reply and say, “O my mother! Do you not know about the law which Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) has passed? Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) passed a law that mixing water into milk and selling it is not allowed!”

However, the mother still insisted saying, “Never mind! Mix the water into the milk! We are hidden in our home where Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) cannot see us!” Hearing this, the daughter responded, “O my mother! Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) may not know what we are doing, but the Rabb of Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) – Allah Ta‘ala – definitely knows what we are doing!”

Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had heard this entire conversation from outside the home, while the mother and daughter did not know that he was there, and that he had heard what they had been saying. Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was impressed with the taqwa of the daughter, who did not forget that Allah Ta‘ala is watching at every moment, and Allah Ta‘ala knows everything that a person does.

When Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) later returned home, he called his son, Aasim, who was young and was looking to get married. Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) advised him to send a proposal to get married to the young girl who refused to mix water into the milk, as she possessed the quality of taqwa.

Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said to him, “Choose her to be your wife, because I have hope that through marrying her, Allah Ta‘ala will bless you with a child from your progeny who will become the leader of the Muslims.”

Hazrat Aasim (rahimahullah) listened to his father, Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), and sent the marriage proposal. The proposal was accepted and the nikaah was then performed. From this nikaah, Allah Ta‘ala blessed Hazrat Aasim (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) with a daughter named Ummu Aasim, and Ummu Aasim later had a son named Umar bin Abdil Azeez (rahimahullah).

As Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had hoped, through his son marrying a pious woman who had taqwa, Allah Ta‘ala blessed them in their progeny with Hazrat Umar bin Abdil Azeez (rahimahullah) who was known for his piety. He became the leader of the Muslims, and during the time when he was the ruler, all the people were happy with him because he was pious, just and fair.

Lessons:

1. The sign that a person has taqwa is that they remember that Allah Ta‘ala is watching them at all times, and this makes them do good deeds and stops them from committing sins and doing wrong things.
2. We must never lie to people or cheat them at any time. When doing business also, we must ensure that we are honest and truthful, and do not lie and cheat. By lying and cheating, even if we make more money, Allah Ta‘ala will be displeased with us and there will be no barakah. The money will never bring us any happiness and will only cause problems in our life. If we are honest and truthful, Allah Ta‘ala will be pleased with us and he will bless us with barakah.
3. When a person is getting married, the main quality they must look for is the quality of piety in the person he wishes to get married to. If a person has a pious partner, Insha Allah they will be happy in this world and in the Hereafter.