15: Live a Life of Integrity

 

"Say La-ilaaha ill-Allah and live with integrity/ be upright"
(Prophet Muhammad)

Faith, Sincerity and Action

Is religion manifested in the faith we profess or the life we live? Of how much significance are the thoughts we think, the laws we impose and the morals we proclaim in relation to the consequences of what we do? Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said
"Allah surely does not judge your appearances nor your physicality, but rather considers the sincerity of your hearts and your actions."

Integrity

A Believer is duty-bound to live a life of integrity. The Prophet (pbuh) said:
"Say La-ilaaha ill-Allah and live with integrity/ be upright."

Integrity is about being honest, being honorable and being your self at your best. Integrity is about moral maturity; what it is to think and act in a way that reflects the full stature of a good, responsible and rational human being.

God-consciousness, Hearts & Deeds

Since Allah knows the secrets of all hearts, Jalal-uddin Rumi remarked that everyone sees the unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart.
The ancient Roman Philosopher Seneca thus felt: "I will govern my life and thoughts as if the whole world is seeing my life and reading my thoughts; for what good is there in keeping secret from people, when to God, who is the searcher of our hearts, all our privacies are open?"
Wise indeed are the words, "none of your faith will be correct unless your deeds are correct and none of your deeds are correct unless your heart is correct."
Prophet 'Isa/Jesus(pbuh) is reported to have said: "What good is it if a person proclaims faith but has no deeds (to match it)."
Buddha too said: "However many holy words you read, however many holy words you speak, what good will they do if you do not act upon them?"
It is in this vein that the Prophet (pbuh) defined faith as ...
"(Internal) commitment in the heart, (outwardly) manifested in action"

That is why the Qur'an emphasizes the most valuable assets we take from this world to the next are ...

Integrity is displayed when our words match our actions and our actions match our beliefs. That is why we are taught to follow the Sirat al Mustaqeem - the Straight Path / the Path of Integrity.

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