Being a Trustworthy Muslim

Part One (after Adzhan)

A’uzubillahiminasshaitaanirrajim. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
 Alhamdu lillahi, nahmaduhu wanasta’iinuhu, wanastaghfiruhu, wanatuubuilaihi,
wana’uudzubillahi min syuruuri anfusinaa, wamin sayyi’aati a’maalinaa, mayyahdihillahu
falaaa mudhillalah,, wamayyudlilhu falaa haadiyalah
 Asyhadualla ilaaha illAllah, wahdahuu laa syariikalah, wa asyhaduanna Muhammadan
abduhuu warosuuluh.
 Ya ayyuhalladzina aamanut taqullaha haqqo tuqootihi wala tamutunna illa waantum
muslimuun.
 Ya ayyuhalladzina aamanut taqullaha waqulu qoulan sadiidaa. Yuslihlakum, a’maalakum
wa yaghfirlakum dzunuubakum, wamayyudillaha warasuulah, faqod faaza fauzan adziima.
Ammaa ba’ad

My dear Brothers and Sisters, today I want to touch on a topic of being a trustworthy muslim.
Trusting Allah SWT and becoming a trustworthy for others should go hand in hand. We cannot
be good Muslims simply by saying we believe and we trust in Allah [in other words, we have
tawakkul] but we do as we please and we misbehave as we please. We also have to become
trustworthy. We must earn the trust of others. This means that we must keep our promises.
We must be honest, truthful, sincere and reliable in all our transactions: in business, in family
life, in our workplace and in our sport, recreation and social relationships.

As a young man, long before Muhammad SAW became the last Prophet, the last teacher and
educator of mankind, he was already known as ‘Al Ameen’ the Trustworthy. This reputation
was earned by honesty, reliability and integrity of character. We who claim to follow his
example, should also earn the trust of all those around us. Being trustworthy is a vital part of a
Muslim’s character. To be the opposite is to be a hypocrite, a munaafiq. In a well-known Hadith
in Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari: Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (SAW) said, “The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks he lies;
whenever he is entrusted he betrays that trust; whenever he promises he breaks his promise“

My dear sisters and brothers, as you can see from this Hadith, being trustworthy is no small
matter. Telling lies, behaving dishonestly and breaking promises are a complete opposite of
our sunnah. In Sura At Taubah 68, Allah gives a curse to the hypocrites
“Allah has promised the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women and the infidels, the Fire of
Hell, to abide in it forever. That is enough for them, Allah has cursed them, and for them is a
lasting chastisement.”
The promise of Hell, stated in the aforementioned holy verse, is decreed at first for the
hypocrites and secondly for the disbelievers. Whatever more apparently fitting the hypocrites
settle themselves in the row of the believers in this world, it is of no vail and they will be in the
row of disbelievers in Hereafter. I pray that Allah will protect you and me from the disease of
hypocrisy. May Allah SWT help us to cultivate good character, and May Allah SWT help us to
become truthful and trustworthy in all our day to day dealings, Aamiin.

Now, let’s take a few practical examples. When we buy and sell fruit, do we put the rotten
apples under the good ones? When we sell a stuff, do we cover up the broken parts and we
don’t tell it to the new buyer? When we write our exams, do we cheat? Do we claim someone
else’s hard work as our own? Do we bribe examiners or do buy our degrees and qualifications
from institutions? Dear Brothers and Sisters, halaal isn’t only about the food we eat. Halaal is
also about how we do business, and how we earn our livelihood. As truthful and upright
Muslims, we should remove the bad apples and discount the slightly bruised ones. We should
tell the person buying our car about the problems and reduce the price. We should tell the
buyer that we haven’t fixed the broken parts, but we’ll reduce the price because of that. Study
hard, obey the rules, submit your own work. Be truthful. Be trustworthy. Allah will love you for
it. People will also respect you for it.

Let’s consider one beautiful example from history. When Abu Ubayda was the commander of
the Muslim armies in Syria, the Emperor of Byzantium set out with a large army to recapture
Hims. Abu ‘Ubaida decided to evacuate the city because he had only a handful of soldiers. He
gathered the people of Hims in the middle of the city and announced, “We have collected the
protection tax (jizyah) from you because we planned to defend you. Now we are too weak. In
this case, we return the tax we collected.” All the taxes collected were returned to the non-
Muslim people of Hims. Such was the depth of feeling and understanding displayed by the
early Muslims. They were constantly aware of their obligations towards Allah, towards their
brothers and sisters and those who were under the protection of the Muslim armies. I pray
that Allah will help us once again to become trustworthy, sincere and truth loving in all our
relationships. Aamiin.

Alhamdulillahi rabbil ‘aalamiin.

Aquulu qouli hazaa, wastaghfirullaha lii walakum walisaa iril muslimiin. Fastaghfiruuhu innahu
huwal gofuurur rahiim.
Pause, and silent dua of forgiveness. (Subhanallah 3 times)
Part Two
Bismillahi, walhamdulillahi, wasshalaatu wassalamu alaa rasuulillahi, wa’alaa aalihii
wassahbihii ajmaiin. Innallaaha wamallaikata yusalluuna alannabii. Ya ayyuhal ladziina
aamanu salluu alaihi wasallimuu tasliima.
Shalawat nabi.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, what’s the point of lying, cheating, trying to ‘catch someone
out’? What’s the point of deception? When we lie, when we cheat, when we steal or try to
deceive others, we only deceive ourselves. WE are the real fools. Allah will take what’s left of
our good deeds and He will assign it to those we have wronged. And if we haven’t got any good
deeds left, Allah will take from their bad deeds and He will assign that to our account as well.
Is that a good bargain? I don’t think so. Dear Brothers and Sisters, let’s not fool ourselves. Let’s
try to be reliable and trustworthy like our noble Prophet Muhammad SAW and his Companions
were. Even his enemies knew that he would never lie. He would never break a promise. He
would never be unjust to anyone. Let us work hard to follow his good example, and also be a
good example in the current society. Nowadays, unfortunately, there’s so much prejudice
against Muslims. We must change that perception and win the trust of our neighbours. That’s
the challenge we face today, and Allah blesses the smallest efforts we make. May Allah will
help us win the trust, always remind us to give respect and love to our neighbours throughout
our lives.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
 Mohon ampunan: Allahummaghfirlil muslimiina wal muslimat. Walmu’miniina
walmu’minaat. Al ahya I minhum wal amwaat. Innaka samii’un qoriibum mujibud da’wat.
 Menghindari Kesesata : RABBANA LA TUZIGH QULUBANA BA’DA IZ HADAITANA WAHAB
LANA MIL LADUNKA RAHMAH, INNAKA ANTAL WAHAB.
 Keselamatan: RABBANA LA TU-AKHIDZNA IN NASINA AU AKHTHA’NA RABBANA WALA
TAHMIL ‘ALAINA ISHRAN KAMA HAMALTAHU ‘ALALLADZINA MIN QABLINA, RABBANA WALA
TUHAMMILNA MA LA THAQATA LANA BIH, WA’FU ‘ANNA WAGHFIRLANA WARHAMNA
ANTA MAULANA FANSHURNA ‘ALAL QAUMIL KAFIRIN.
 Kemudahan: RABBANA ATINA MIL LADUNKA RAHMATAW, WA HAYYI’ LANA MIN AMRINA
RASYADA.
 Keselamatan dunia akhirat: Rabbanaa aatinaa fiddunya hasanah, wafil aakhirati hasanah
waqinaa adzaabannar. Aamiin yarabbal ‘aalamiin.

Ibaadallah. Innallaha ya’muru bil ‘adli wal ihsaan, waiitaai zilqurba wayanha anilfahsyaa I
walmunkaari walbagh. Yaizukum la’allakum tazakkaruun. Uzhkurullaah yazhkurkum.
Wad’uuhu yastajiblakum, Wala zhikrullahi akbar. Aqiimishalah.