When Peace Should Override Truth
abracad, · Categories: externally authored, religionRabbi Allen S. Maller
The Jewish Sages teach that: “The world stands on three things, on justice, on truth, and on peace.”[Talmud Avot 1:18] Jews are commanded to follow the ways of God. He is truthful, so too, we must strive to be truthful in all of our ways.[Torah Deuteronomy 28:9] It is good to practice being truthful because the Torah prohibits lying: “Keep far away from an untruth.”[Torah Exodus 23:7] Whoever lies in a court of law, violates one of the Ten Commandments, “You shall not bear false witness.”[Exodus 20:12]
However, there are times when an individual can lie. Lying is permissible if its purpose is to maintain love and harmony between a husband and his wife. We learn this from the life of Prophets Abraham and Sarah. [Torah Genesis 18:12-13]
When God tells the aging Sarah that she will have a son, she laughs, saying how unlikely it is since her husband is so old. When God tells Abraham of Sarah’s laughter, God changes the narrative saying that Sarah blamed her own old age, not her husband’s. The Jewish Sages teach that God lied to preserve “shalom” [peace] between husband and wife, to safeguard the harmony in their marriage.[Talmud Baba Metzia, 87A.]
Islam has also legalized lying in this regard… to make people unite and to prevent division. Prophet Muhammad said: “I do not regard (it as) a lie when a person tries to reconcile between people by saying something not intending what was understood, (whether to) reconcile between people, at times of war, or a husband or wife in order to please their spouse.” [Abu Dawood]
Islam also regards reconciling people as worthy of a great reward, better than the reward of prayer, fasting, and other obligatory acts of worship. Prophet Muhammad said: “Shall I not inform you of a level even better than the Fast, the Prayer, and charity? Reconciling between people, for indeed disunity between people is what uproots religion.” [Abu Dawood & at-Tirmidhi]
Every year Jews in synagogues worldwide read Genesis chapters 21 and 22 on the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah; the Jewish New Year Festival (the eve of October 2 to 4, 2024) On these special days Jews read about Prophet Abraham’s two sons; Prophets Ishmael and Isaac.
It is unusual for a religion to have a very positive text in their sacred scripture about a rival religion. It is even more amazing to be reading publicly about the patriarch of the Arab people on a holy day. Our Jewish tradition Genesis Chapter 21—the story of the birth and banishment of Ishmael—connects us Jews to Prophet Abraham’s non-Jewish children.
God saw Ishmael was about to die and the text tells us the God of the Hebrew Bible hears the voice of all God’s children, including Ishmael, in their suffering and misery, as well as in their joyous and hopeful moments.
After these events we next hear about Ishmael a few chapters later, when Prophets Isaac and Ishmael meet again (Genesis 25:9) at the funeral of their father Abraham. Islamic and Jewish tradition both agree that Prophet Abraham visited Prophet Ishmael’s distant home on at least two different occasions to make sure that his family relationships were suitable.
We can see this as a very good model for family reconciliations [today by] forgiving old hurts. And it can also become a model for the descendants of Prophet Ishmael and Prophet Isaac, contemporary Arabs and Israeli Jews, to find the grounds to attain post military funerals, forgiveness and reconciliation.
This is an excellent guide to dealing with the three-generation old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather than focusing mostly on what the other side did to us, we all should focus on how the conflict has hurt all of us, and how much better our future would be if we could live next to each other in peace.
If the descendants of Prophet Isaac and Prophet Ishmael negotiate a settlement that reflects the religious policy that “…there is no sin upon them if they make terms of settlement between them – and settlement [reconciliation] is best.” (Quran 4: 128)
The Messenger of Allah said: “He is not a liar who seeks to reconcile between people and says [only] good things.” (al-Bukhaari, 2490)
If we all can follow these these ideals of reconciliation as the will of God. we will help fulfill the 2700 year old vision of Prophet Isaiah: “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will join a three-party alliance with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing upon the heart. The LORD of Hosts will bless them saying, “Blessed be Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance.”…(Isaiah 19:23-5)
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