Amanah in keeping secrets
Allah said in surah al Anfal 27 :
يٰأَيُّهَا الَّذينَ ءامَنوا لا تَخونُوا
اللَّهَ وَالرَّسولَ وَتَخونوا أَمٰنٰتِكُم وَأَنتُم تَعلَمونَ ﴿٢٧﴾
Meaning :
“O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray
your trusts while you know
[the consequence].”
Explanations
Islam
encourages Muslims to care for amanah and not misappropriate what was entrusted
to them. Keeping secrets others have
entrusted us with is part of our duty. We would be committing grave
injustice by “leaking” what we held in confidence. It destroys good relations
& wreaks havoc in society. Keeping
a secret can be difficult, and when it is a sensational secret it might be near
impossible. It takes a great deal of willpower and determination, not to want
to tell someone what you just heard. If you feel that you do not have the
willpower necessary, then do not put yourself in the position of even hearing a
secret.
Secrecy of Private Matter
Thabit
(Radhiallaho anha) reported: Anas
(Radhiallaho anha) said: Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam) came
to me while I was playing with the boys. He greeted us and sent me on an
errand. This delayed my return to my mother. When I came to her, she asked,
“What detained you?” I said; “Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam)
sent me on an errand.” She asked, “What was it?” I said, “It is a secret.” My
mother said; “Do not disclose to anyone the secret of Messenger of Allah
(Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam).” Anas (Radhiallaho anha) said to Thabit
(Radhiallaho anha): By Allah, were I to tell it to anyone I would have told
you.
Meaning that: - Here, an emphasis has been laid on
keeping a secret. When Anas (Radhiallaho anha) told his mother about the cause
of secrecy, she refrained from insisting that the secret should be disclosed to
her. Rather, she lent support to her son’s standpoint and advised him to
conceal the secret. To be sure, it is part of moral teaching that we should keep the secrets of friends in our
hearts. Unless we receive a go-ahead from a friend, we must not make his
secret public. ( Riyad-us-Saliheen –
Hadith No : 688)
This
is SECRET…
There are secrets related to the person, the family, and
the nation. By disclosing a personal secret, you are interfering with a
person’s honor; by disclosing a family secret, you are interfering with the
family’s honor; and by disclosing a national secret, you are interfering with
the nation’s honor. A secret is a power only as long as it stays with its
owner, but is a weapon that may be used against its owner if it passes into the
hands of others. Some said: “The secret is your slave, but you become its
slave if you disclose it.”
Force
yourself to just not tell! You have to keep
this secret because no one else is supposed to know about it. The most
effective way of keeping something from spreading around is to keep it to
yourself. People can't betray a secret they don't know.
Conclusion
Keeping and guarding a secret is the same as guarding
one’s chastity and this is ‘amanah’. Those who keep a secret,
whether personal or a friend’s, keep themselves chaste. On the other hand,
those who spread secrets damage their honor and reputation by leaving them
unguarded. Dishonesty is the nature of hypocrites, and trust is the nature of
the believers. So Muslims should avoid from spreading other’s secret. This is
prohibited because it will lead to the condition of losing trust from peoples. As
a reminder, if you yourself want
to tell someone a secret, be sure that
you could trust him or her with your honor. It is also advised NOT to share secrets
unnecessarily in the first place. Many people have regretted this.
Wallahua’lam
SIDDIQ AMANAH
TABLIGH FATHONAH
Thanks to Ustaz WAN MOHD NAZMAN WAN MAHMUD of Syariah Compliance | Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd
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