Islamic Reflections: Trust me, my word is NOT my bond

The origin of many well-known phrases is often overlooked, so it may come as a surprise to learn that “my word is my bond” originated within the London Stock Exchange circles in the 1800s, where stockbrokers relied solely on verbal agreements to seal deals, and failing to honour one’s word was tantamount to career suicide.

A millennium prior, Allah the Almighty commanded Muslims to “honour all contracts, treaties, pacts” [Qur’an 5:1] and to “showcase justice as witnesses for Allah even if it be against yourselves” [Qur’an 4:135]. This includes not entering into agreements dishonestly or in bad faith, reneging on commitments the moment circumstances no longer align with one’s perceived interests. This principle was exemplified in the life of the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (PBUH), even in the face of adversity, a model of integrity and trustworthiness recognised by his enemies, and one which Muslims are urged to follow.

The disreputable and unethical conduct of 21st-century Zionist Israel in Palestine, in particular the latest Gaza ceasefire breach, epitomises everything that advocates of justice and diplomacy must utterly abhor. Their dead and embalmed mantra – “Trust us. We are a ‘moral democracy.’ We don’t lie” – died a horrible death long before innocent lives and hopes were crushed under the rubble of countless hospitals, homes, and shelters Israel reduced to dust in Gaza. Yet, such is the moral bankruptcy reverberating through the corridors of global power, that any excusable gullibility has long since morphed into wilful complicity and culpability.

“Greatly hateful in the sight of Allah is that you say what you do not do.”

[Qur’an 61:3]