Surah At-Tawba (9) — Ayah 119

(Ayah 119) {وَ كُوْنُوْا مَعَ الصّٰدِقِيْنَ:} These truthful ones are the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his sincere Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Truthfulness is when sincerity of intention, speech, and action are all present; otherwise, if action belies speech, then this is not truthfulness either. Therefore, those who, in accordance with their sincere intention and speech, actually set out towards Tabuk, they alone were deemed truthful, and it was commanded to support them. These three also spoke the truth, admitted their mistake, and thus were forgiven; otherwise, they would have been counted among the hypocrites. (Muwaddih) Allah Almighty has declared only those people to be true believers who, after believing, did not fall into doubt and who strove in the way of Allah with their wealth and their lives. He said that only these people are truthful. See Surah Al-Hujurat (15) and Surah Al-Hashr (8). Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) states that after becoming Muslim, the greatest favor of Allah upon me is that I spoke the truth before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); otherwise, I too would have been destroyed by lying, just as others were destroyed. [بخاری، المغازی، باب حدیث کعب بن مالک رضی اللہ عنہ …: ۴۴۱۸] Rather, Allah Almighty mentioned their repentance as a reward for their truthfulness in the Qur’an, which will be recited until the Day of Judgment. Abdullah bin Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Adhere to truthfulness, for truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man continues to speak the truth and strives to speak the truth until he is recorded with Allah as a Siddiq (truthful one). And beware of lying, for lying leads to disobedience, and disobedience leads to the Fire. A man continues to lie and strives to lie until he is recorded with Allah as a liar.” [ بخاری، الأدب، باب قول اللہ تعالٰی : « یأیھا الذین اٰمنوا اتقوا اللہ …» : ۶۰۹۴۔ مسلم : ۲۶۰۷ ]

119. 1. It was solely because of truthfulness that Allah not only forgave the mistake of these three companions, but also revealed their repentance as part of the Quran. ؓ و رضوا عنہ. Therefore, the believers were commanded to fear Allah and be with the truthful. This means that whoever possesses taqwa (i.e., fear of Allah) will also be truthful, and whoever is a liar, know that his heart is devoid of taqwa. That is why it is mentioned in the hadith that a believer may commit other shortcomings, but he is not a liar.

119. O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are truthful [135].

[135]
The Virtue and Benefit of Speaking the Truth:

After narrating the story of those who stayed behind from the Battle of Tabuk, Ka'b bin Malikؓ used to say: By Allah! I do not know that Allah has ever bestowed such a favor upon any person by granting him the ability to speak the truth as He did upon me. From that time until today, I have never deliberately told a lie, and Allah the Exalted revealed these verses regarding this matter:
﴿لَقَدْ تَّاب اللّٰهُ عَلَي النَّبِيِّ وَالْمُهٰجِرِيْنَ وَالْاَنْصَارِ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْهُ فِيْ سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَةِ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيْغُ قُلُوْبُ فَرِيْقٍ مِّنْهُمْ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۭ اِنَّهٗ بِهِمْ رَءُوْفٌ رَّحِيْمٌ﴾ [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]