deviated from even if it went in favour of the enemy: ‘ ‘O you who believe be upright for Allāh, bearers of witness with justice; and let not hatred of a people incite you not to act equitably. Be just; that is nearer to observance of duty...”(5:8). And even if one was called upon to speak the truth in the face of a tyrant, he must do it: “The most excellent jihād is the uttering of truth in the presence of an unjust ruler” (MM. 17). Only truth shall benefit in the final judgment: “… This is the day when their truth will profit the truthful ones. For them are Gardens wherein flow rivers, abiding therein forever. Allāh is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Allāh. This is the mighty achievement” (5:119).
The Holy Prophet enjoys the distinction that he made people walk in the ways which he pointed out. The quality of truth was so ingrained in the heart of his followers that they not only loved it but underwent severest hardship for the sake of truth. When about two centuries later, the critics laid down certain canons to judge the truthfulness of the transmitters of Ḥadīth they all agreed on one point, that no companion of the Holy Prophet had uttered a deliberate falsehood. In fact one of the latest revelations of the Holy Qur’ān itself bears witness to this: “… Allāh has endeared the faith to you and has made it seemly in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you disbelief and transgression and disobedience” (49:7). Faith includes all virtues taught by the Holy Prophet and truthfulness was one of the most prominent of these.
Perseverance was another characteristic on which great emphasis is laid in the Holy Qur’ān and which shone prominently in the life of the Holy Prophet and those inspired by him. Persecuted on all sides, suffering the severest hardships, with no apparent prospects of success, the Holy Prophet stood adamant when threatened with death. He was equally firm when offered worldly temptations. During the flight to Madīnah, hidden in a cave with a search party at its mouth, he consoled his single companion, Abū Bakr, with these words: “Grieve not, surely Allāh is with us” (9:40). The Holy Qur’ān states clearly that perseverance in the cause of truth brings down angels from heaven to console a man (41:30, 31). Patience and perseverance were inculcated again and again in the early revelations as well as in the later ones (e.g. 14:12; 42:15; 11:112, 115; 11:49; 3:200).