While lies offer comfort and foam on the surface, truth alone has the strength to remain and reveal character
Muzamil Bashir
We live in a world layered with appearances, half-truths, and convenient lies. In such a world, truth often feels uncomfortable, even threatening. Yet no matter how deeply it’s concealed, truth has a nature of its own: it surfaces. You can cover it in layers, delay it, deny it, but you cannot defeat it.
Truth is like a mirror. It does not flatter or adjust itself to please the viewer. It reflects what is. This is why truth unsettles people. Lies offer comfort, validation and temporary peace; truth demands courage, accountability, and change. History repeatedly proves that silence cannot bury the truth.
The Holy Qur’an strongly emphasizes this reality. It presents truth (Al-Haq) as enduring and falsehood (Al-Batil) as fragile and temporary. Allah declares, “Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is bound to perish.” This verse is not merely spiritual; it is existential. Falsehood may dominate narrative for a time, but it lacks permanence. Truth does not need constant defence; it carries its own strength.
In another powerful metaphor, the Qur’an compares truth to what benefits humanity and falsehood to useless foam: “As for the foam, it vanishes; but what benefits people remains on the earth”. Foam may appear loud and visible on the surface, but it disappears quickly. Truth, though sometimes quiet and slow, remains. It also nourishes, builds and lasts. The Qur’an also acknowledges that people actively try to suppress the truth. “They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light.” This verse recognises resistance to truth- denial, distortion, propaganda- yet affirms that such efforts ultimately fail.
When people are exposed by truth, their real strength or weakness emerges. Exposure is a moment of reckoning. Some respond with humility, accountability, and the courage to accept responsibility. Others react with denial, aggression, or by silencing the one who speaks the truth. This reaction itself becomes a revelation.
The power of speaking the truth is not loudness; it is integrity. Not everyone can handle it. Truth strips away masks, privileges, and false authority. Those who rely on deception feel threatened, while those grounded in honesty grow stronger. Truth spoken without arrogance becomes a force for reform; truth resisted with pride leads to downfall.
When a person loses character and becomes a statue of lies, they lose all credibility and trust. Trust is built on truth, and once truth is abandoned, integrity collapses. At that point, words lose weight and explanation loses meaning. No position, influence, or justification can restore what deception has destroyed. A life shaped by lies eventually exposes itself, leaving behind not authority, but emptiness. A person may stand tall on lies, but is ultimately undone by the power of truth. Lies may elevate temporarily, but truth always causes the fall.
The writer works with Child Protection Services, Government of India
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