His servant in this world and the Hereafter. Thus you find that a truthful person is among the most steadfast and courageous at heart, while a liar is among the most detested and malicious of people, the most changeable and the least steadfast. People of discernment recognize a truthful person by his firmness of heart when speaking, his courage, and his commanding presence. They recognize a liar by the opposite traits. This escapes only those whose insight is weak.

Someone was once asked about words he had heard a speaker utter. He replied: “By Allah, I understood nothing of what he said, but I sensed in his words a force unlike that of someone advancing falsehood.”

No gift bestowed upon a servant is better than the gift of the firm word. Those endowed with the firm word will find its fruit when they need it most—in their graves and on the Day of Resurrection. As reported in Sahīh Muslim, al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “This verse was revealed concerning the punishment of the grave.”