In the rigorously authenticated hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Adhere to truthfulness, for truthfulness leads to Paradise. A man continues to speak the truth and to seek it out until he is recorded with Allah as a ṣiddīq (one eminently truthful). Beware of lying, for lying leads to wickedness, and wickedness calls to the Fire. A man keeps on lying and pursuing falsehood until he is written with Allah as a confirmed liar.”

The devils therefore descend only upon someone through whom their aim is achieved—someone who matches them in deceit and depravity. The truthful and upright person, by contrast, offers the devils no advantage, for Satan has no interest in truthfulness and righteousness; he seeks only lying and corruption.

Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was always known among his people as “the truthful, the trustworthy.” He was never found to have told even a single lie, and once the Spirit brought him revelation he never conveyed even one mistaken report, whether deliberately or inadvertently.

Whoever has devils descending upon him will inevitably report falsehood. The devils cast into their ears what they have overheard, but they do not relate it exactly as it was heard; rather, they interweave it with abundant lies, for most of the devils that descend to them are themselves liars in what they transmit. And although every devil is indeed a liar, not everyone who