Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 361
— Part IV 352 but to express it in a manner which is absolutely straightforward, so in no way can the statement be misconstrued. This has been admonished to the believers in the following verse: O ye who believe! fear Allah, and speak straightforwardly. (S u rah al-A h z a b; Ch. 33: V. 71) The expression Qauli Sad i d means a speech which has no tilt in any direction but in the direction of truth. The words should be straightforward without any crookedness. Sometimes it is observed that a speech is true but it has many hidden twists and turns which may mislead the listener. The teaching which Allah bestowed upon the Holy Prophet sa clearly warned that just to speak the truth is not sufficient. Speak the truth with such purity as may leave no room in the mind of the listener to misinterpret it. But the Holy Quran warns against another danger linked with straightforward truth. Sometimes people express the truth harshly and insultingly, considering themselves to be absolutely straightforward. However, the straightforward truth does not mean rude expression. When the Holy Quran refers to straightforward speech it has no connotation of throwing something in the face of somebody. The Holy Quran makes a clear difference between straight talk and insulting talk. In