Theme: Lies with good intentions.
Know this:
(1) Ideally, one should desist from telling lies in a situation.
(2) Some times a lie told with good intentions is seen as better than thetruth said with ill intentions. How is that? Let us read a nice story that originated from the Arab world.
Theme: Lies with good intentions.
Short story 10.
This story is about a lie told with good intentions.
The scene is in the king’s court.
A spy caught by the guards was brought before the king. Typically, spies were handed down death penalty.
Only two ministers in the king’s court knew the language spoken by the spy. But they were competitors to win the heart of the king.
During questioning, for a long time the spy was silent. Finally, as per the law of the land, the king sentenced him to death.
When the spy realized that death sentence was pronounced by the king, he became upset and scolded the king in his mother tongue.
The two ministers looked at each other. The first minister addressed the king and stated that the prisoner had quoted from the Koran.
The King looked at his ministers inquiringly. The minister replied that the spy quoted the followingverse from the Holy Koran… that ‘the person who controls his anger and forgives will find a place in heaven because God loves good people’. Immediately, the king looked at the prisoner and exclaimed, “Friend, at the right moment you have reminded me about God’s desire. You have saved me from committing a wrong”. The King ordered the prisoner to be freed.
The second minister was nervous. He felt this would be the right time to take revenge on the other minister by informing the king the truth that in fact the spy had abused the king. He felt this would anger the king against the first minister. He addressed the king, “Lord, what the minister translated for you is nothing but lies. The spy had, in fact, abused you. He used foul language against you.”
The king thought for a while and replied to the second minister that the first minister’s lie was better than his truth.
The king said, “Your truth reflects your ill-intention of taking revenge on the other minister with whom you do not get along well”. Whereas, the king continued, “the other minister lied but the lie had a good intention that I should not drift from the path shown by the Holy Koran”. (This is the quote from the holy Koran which the minister pointed out to him to show mercy to the enemy).