Bismillāh
قَالَ ٱللَّهُ هَـٰذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٌۭ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًۭا رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Allah will say: This day truthfulness shall benefit the truthful. For them there will be gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them forever.
Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. That is the great success.’
(Sūrat al-Mā’idah, No.5, Āyat 119)
Truth is an admirable quality in all societies and cultures, while lying is condemned by all faiths and religions. The usage of ‘sidq’ (truth) in this verse, as well as in the Quran generally, is not limited to speech. It also refers to one’s deeds.
Following the explanation mentioned about Prophet ‘Īsā (a), the content of this verse refers to the words of Allah ‘azza wajall saying: Allah said; This is the day when truth shall benefit the truthful ones. Why would it specifically benefit the truthful ones? Sayyid Alousi mentions an interesting point in this regard: “That is, their honesty in this world will benefit them on the Day of Resurrection, unlike the disbelievers’ honesty on the Day of Resurrection which will not benefit them because they were not believers in their world.” (Rūh al-Ma‘āni)
In other words, what will be useful on the Day of Judgment will be that man should prove truthful in the eyes of God. Being truthful by itself is not enough. It must be based in faith and accepted by the Almighty as having merit. The test of the community bearing the Divine Scripture is not whether they are the claimants of faith or not. Their real test is a demonstration of their ability to prove their claim to faith. That is manifested in their adherence to the truth under all circumstances.
In reality, all righteous deeds are covered when speaking of truthfulness. Nothing else will be of benefit on the Day of Judgement. (Al-Amthāl, 4:199). The above verse points out the following rewards of truthfulness:
1. Material Reward
For them there are gardens beneath which rivers flow wherein shall they abide forever.
Although there may be many instances where the truth is bitter in this life and goes against us, Allah promises the highest reward for the truthful ones to ensure that any worldly hardship will be more than compensated for in the hereafter.
2. Pleasure of Allah
Allah is well-pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with Him.
Even more than the material reward will be the great merit of the pleasure of Allah which is inclusive of material and spiritual and is counted as the highest reward. True believers who love Allah want nothing more than Allah’s pleasure. His displeasure is more fearful than the punishment of the Hereafter. As Imam Ali ‘alayhis-salām says in Du‘ā Kumayl: My God, my Master, my Protector and my Lord, even if I am able to endure Your chastisement, how can I endure separation from You?
Note also that having mentioned the material rewards of paradise, Allah refers to Himself being pleased with the people of truth and they also being pleased with Him. Āyatullāh Nāsir Makārim Shīrāzī states: This mutual pleasure between Allah and his servant is due to the rewards that Allah has given and the great actions of the people of truth during their lives. (Al-Amthāl, 4:198)
3. Greatest success
What could be a greater success than achieving both spiritual and material rewards in the hereafter? The innate nature of human beings always desires success. Allah explains that this is the path to ultimate and great success even though it may appear to be challenging and difficult in this life.
As we approach the Shahādat of our 6th Imām, the one titled “Al-Sādiq”, let us make a covenant with ourselves to be the people of truth to be truly successful. We continue to pray for all the Muslims, especially the resilient people of Palestine.
References: Sayyid Alusi, Rūh al Ma‘ānī fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān; Āyatullāh Nāsir Makārim Shīrāzī (Ed.), Al-Amthāl fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān.