Lying also includes lies told about or to other people,
such as
2.
Lying in buying and
selling.
It was narrated from Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“There are three to whom Allaah will not speak on
the Day of Resurrection and He will not look at them or praise them, and they
will have a painful torment.” The Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repeated this three times.
Abu Dharr said: “May they be doomed and lost, who are they, O Messenger of
Allaah?” He said, “The one who lets his garment hang below his ankles, the one
who reminds others of his favours, and the one who disposes of his goods by
swearing a false oath.”
(Narrated by Muslim, 106)
It was narrated that
Hakeem ibn Hizaam (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The two parties involved in a transaction have the
option [of cancelling it] until they part. If they are honest and truthful,
their transaction will be blessed for them and if they conceal something and
tell lies, the blessing of their transaction will be wiped out.’”
(Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 1973; Muslim, 532)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
“Allaah has enjoined
truthfulness and honesty, and He has forbidden lies and concealment with regard
to matters which should be known and revealed to people, as the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in a hadeeth whose authenticity is
agreed upon: ‘The two parties involved in a transaction have the option [of
cancelling it] until they part. If they are honest and truthful, their
transaction will be blessed for them and if they conceal something and tell
lies, the blessing of their transaction will be wiped out.’
And Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
‘O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allaah as
just witnesses; and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid
justice.
Be just: that is nearer to piety’
[al-Maa’idah 5:8].”
(Minhaaj al-Sunnah, 1/16)
3.
The prohibition on lying about visions
and dreams
This refers to when some of them claim to have seen
such and such in a dream, but they are not telling the truth, then in the
morning he starts to tell the people something that he did not see.
It was narrated from
Ibn Abbaas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever tells of a dream that he did not see will
be commanded [on the Day of Resurrection] to tie two grains of barley together,
but he will never be able to do it. Whoever eavesdrops on peoples conversation
when they dislike that – or they try to get away from him - will
have molten copper poured in his ears in the Day of Resurrection. And whoever
makes an image will be punished and will be told to breathe life into it, and he
will not be able to do so.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6635)
Al-Manaawi said:
“ ‘to tie two grains of
barley together, but he will never be able to do it’ – because tying one to the
other is not possible ordinarily. He will be punished until he does that, and he
will never be able to do it.
The prohibition of speaking about everything that one
hears
It was narrated that Hafs ibn Aasim said: “The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘It is sufficient lying for a man to speak of everything
that he hears.’”
(Narrated by Muslim, 5)
With regard to the
meanings of the hadeeth and reports on this topic, they discourage speaking
about everything that one hears. For usually a person will hear both true things
and lies, so if he were to speak of everything that he hears, he would be lying,
by telling of something that did not
happen.
5.
Lying in Jest
Some people think that
it is permissible to tell lies if it is in jest. This is an excuse that they use
for telling lies on April 1st or on other days. This is wrong. There
is no basis for this in the pure shareeah. Lying is haraam whether the one who
does it is joking or is serious.
Lying in jest is haraam just like other kinds of lies.
It was narrated that Ibn
Umar said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, ‘I joke, but I speak nothing but the truth.’”
(narrated by
al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, 12/391)
This hadeeth was
classed as hasan by al-Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id, 8/89, and classed
as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) in Saheeh
al-Jaami, 2494)
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “They said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, you joke with us.’ He
said, ‘But I only speak the truth.’”
(narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1990)
A similar hadeeth was
narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Awsat (8/305) and classed as hasan by
al-Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id, 9/17
Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Laylaa said: the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that they were travelling with the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). A man among
them fell asleep and some of them went and took his arrows. When the man woke
up, he got alarmed (because his arrows were missing) and the people laughed. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “What are you laughing
at?” They said, “Nothing, except that we took the arrows and he got alarmed.”
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is
not permissible for a Muslim to frighten another Muslim.”
(Narrated by Abu
Dawood, 5004; Ahmad, 22555 – this version narrated by Ahmad).
It was narrated from
Abd-Allaah ibn al-Saaib ibn Yazeed from his father from his grandfather that he
heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:
“None of you should take the belongings of his
brother, whether in jest or otherwise. Whoever has taken the stick of his
brother, let him return it.”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 5003; al-Tirmidhi, 2160 in
brief)
6.
Lying when Playing with
Children
We must beware of lying when playing with children,
because that will be written down (in the record of deeds of) the one who that.
The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against doing that. It was
narrated that Abd-Allaah ibn Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “My mother called me one day when the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sitting in our house. She said,
‘Come here, and I will give you (something).’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘What do you want to give him?’ She said,
‘I will give him a date.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: ‘If you had not given him something, you would have been
lying.’”
And it
was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever says to a child, ‘Come here and take this,’
then does not give him something, this is counted as a lie.’”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood,
4991)
7.
Lying to make People
Laugh
It was narrated that Mu’aawiyah ibn Haydah said: “I
heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘Woe to the one who talks to make the people laugh and
tells lies, woe to him, woe to him.’”
(narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 235. He said: this is a
hasan hadeeth. Also narrated by Abu Dawood, 4990).
The punishment for lying:
The liar is warned of
destructive punishment in this world, and humiliating punishment in the
Hereafter. These include:
1.
Hypocrisy in the heart.
Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their
hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that
(covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to Him and because they used to
tell lies
[al-Tawbah 9:77]
Abd-Allaah ibn
Masood said: “You may know the hypocrite by three
things: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when
he is entrusted with something he betrays that trust.”.
He said: “Recite this
aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
‘And of them are some who made a covenant with Allaah
(saying): “If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will verily, give Sadaqah
(Zakaah and voluntary charity in Allaah’s Cause) and will be certainly among
those who are righteous.”
Then when He gave them of His Bounty, they became
niggardly [refused to pay the Sadaqah (Zakaah or voluntary charity)], and turned
away, averse.
So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their
hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that
(covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to Him and because they used to
tell lies
[al-Tawbah 9:75-77].”
(Musanaaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, 6/125)
2.
Guidance to evildoing and to the
Fire
It was narrated that Abd-Allaah ibn Masood
said:
“The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Truthfulness is righteousness, and righteousness leads
to Paradise. A person will continue to tell the truth until he is
written with Allaah as one who tells the truth. Lying is evildoing, and
evildoing leads to Hell. A person will keep on telling lies until he is written
as a liar.’”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5743; Muslim, 2607)
This hadeeth
indicates how serious the matter of telling the truth is, and that it may lead a
person to Paradise, and it indicates how ugly lying is and how it may lead a
person to Hell. This is in addition to the consequences in this world, for the
one who tells the truth will have his words accepted by people, and his
testimony will be accepted by judges and he will be liked for what he says,
whereas for the liar the opposite will be the case. Subul al-Salaam, 2/687
3.
His testimony will be
rejected
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
[The reason why the testimony of the liar is rejected]
The strongest reason why
testimonies, fatwas and reports may be rejected is lying, because it corrupts
the very essence of the testimony, fatwa or report. It is like the testimony of
a blind man concerning sighting the new moon, or the testimony of a deaf man
concerning having heard the admission of someone. The lying
tongue is like some faculty that is no longer working, indeed it is even worse
than that, for the most evil thing a man may possess is a lying tongue.
A’laam
al-Muwaqqi’een, 1/95
Blackening of the face in this world and in the
Hereafter
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those
who lied against Allaah (i.e. attributed to Him sons, partners) their faces will
be black”
[al-Zumar 39:60]
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Hence on the Day of Resurrection Allaah will make
blackened faces the sign of the one who told lies about Him and His Messenger.
Lying has a great effect in blackening the face and covering it with a mask of
shame which every truthful person will be able to see. The feature of the liar
is clearly visible in the face, and everyone who has the eyes to see can see
it. But Allaah will bless the truthful person with dignity and
respect, so whoever sees him will respect him and love him, and He will give the
liar humiliation and shame, so whoever sees him will loathe him and despise
him.
A’laam
al-Muwaqqi’een, 1/95
The liar will have the flesh of his cheeks
torn to the back of his
head
It was narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) often used to say to his companions,
‘Has anyone among you seen a dream?’ Then whoever Allaah willed would tell of
his dream. One day he said to us, ‘Two (angels) came to me last night and woke
me up, then they said to me, ‘Let’s go!’… so we set out and came to a man who
was lying flat on his back and another man standing over his head with
an
iron hook, and behold, he would put the hook in one side
of the man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the neck)
and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eye from front to back.
Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did just as he had done
with the other side. Hardly had he completed this side when the first side was
restored to its normal state. Then he went back and did that all over again. I
said to my two companions, 'Subhaan Allah! Who are these two persons?' They said
to me, ‘Move on, move on!' (Then he said, describing how the two angels
explained the things that he had seen): ‘As for the man you came across, the
sides of whose mouth, nostrils and eyes were being torn off from front to back,
he is the symbol of the man who goes out of his house in the morning and tells
so many lies that it spreads all over the world.’”
(Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 5745)
The comments of the Salaf
on lying:
1.
Abd-Allaah ibn Masood said: “A man may speak
the truth and persist in doing so until there is in his heart not even room for
evil the size of a needle. Or a man may tell lies and persist in doing so
until there is in his heart not even room for truth the size of a
needle.
2.
And it was narrated that he said: “It is not
correct to tell lies whether in jest or in seriousness,”
then Abd-Allaah recited
the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah, and be with
those who are true (in words and deeds)”
[al-Tawbah 9:119]
3.
Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq said: “Beware of lying,
for it has nothing to do with faith.”
4.
It was narrated that Sad ibn Abi Waqqaas said: “The believer may acquire all sorts of characteristics
except treachery and lying.”
5.
It was narrated that Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “True faith is not achieved until one gives up lying in
jest.”
(Musannaf
Ibn Abi Shaybah, 5/235, 236)
Permissible kinds
of lies
Lying is permissible in three cases: war; reconciling
between two disputing parties; and a husband lying to his wife or vice versa for
the sake of love and harmony.
It was narrated from Umm Kalthoom bint Uqbah that she
heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:
“He is not a liar who reconciles between people and
narrates something good or says something good.”
(Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 2546; Muslim, 2605)
It was narrated that Asmaa bint Yazeed said: “The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘It is not permissible to tell lies except in three
(cases): when a man speaks to his wife in a way to please her; lying in war; and
lying in order to reconcile between people.’”
(Narrated by
al-Tirmidhi, 1939)
April
fool
But with regard to “April Fool” (in Arabic, Kidhbat
Neesaan or the lies of April), the origin of this lying is not known for
sure. There are differing opinions concerning that:
Some of them said that it developed from the
celebrations of spring at the equinox on March 21.
Some of them said that
this innovation appeared in France in 1564 CE, after the introduction of a new
calendar, when a person who had refused to accept the new calendar became the
victim of some people who had subjected him to embarrassment and made fun of
him, so he became a laughing-stock for others.
Some of them said that this innovation goes back to
ancient times and the pagan celebrations connected to a specific date at the
beginning of spring, so this is the remnant of pagan rituals. It was said that
hunting in some countries was unsuccessful during the first days of the hunt in
some countries. This was the origin of these lies which are made up on the first
day of April.
Some of
the kuffaar call this day All Fools Day, as it is known to the English.
That is because of the lies that they tell so that those who hear them
might believe them and thus become a victim for those who are
making fun of him.
The
first mention of April Fool in the English language was in a magazine known as
Dreck Magazine. On the second day of April in 1698 CE, this magazine mentioned
that a number of people were invited to come and watch the washing of black
people in the Tower of London on the morning of the first day of
April.
One of the most
famous incidents that happened in Europe on April 1st was when the
English newspaper, the Evening Star, announced in March 1746 CE that the
following day – April 1st – that there would be an parade of donkeys
in Islington, in England. The people rushed to see these animals and there was a
huge crowd. They continued waiting and when they got tired of
waiting, they asked about when the parade would be. They not find anything, then
they knew that they had come to make an exhibition of themselves, as if they
were the donkeys!
The
things that happen on April fools day are many. Some people have been told that
their child or spouse or someone who is dear to them has died, and unable to
bear this shock, they have died. Some have been told that they are being laid
off, or that there has been a fire or an accident in which their family has been
killed, so they suffer paralysis or heart attacks, or similar diseases.
Some people have been told
about their wives, that they have been seen with other men, and this has led
them to kill or divorce their wives.
These are the endless stories and incidents that we
hear of, all of which are lies which are forbidden in Islam and unacceptable to
common sense or honest chivalry.
We have seen how Islam forbids lying even in jest, and
it forbids frightening a Muslim whether in seriousness or in jest, in words or
in actions...! 
