Lying is forbidden in Islam

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

All praise is due to Allāh The Exalted, and may Allāh raise the rank of our beloved Prophet Muḥammad peace be upon him, his kind relatives and companions, and protect his nation from that which he feared for them thereafter;

Lying is among the sins of the tongue.

It is to utter false information while knowing that what one is saying is not the truth. It is sinful (ḥarām) whether done seriously or jokingly.

The Prophet Muḥammad, ṣallAllāhu `alayhi wa sallam, said:

لاَ يَصْلُحُ الْكَذِبُ فِي جِدٍّ وَلاَ فِي هَزْلٍ

La yaṣluḥu l-kadhibu fī jiddin wa lā fī hazl.

Which means: “Lying is not good, whether in seriousness or joking.” (Related by al-Bayhaqiyy.)

The Prophet Muḥammad, ṣallAllāhu `alayhi wa sallam, said:

« وَيْلٌ لِلَّذِي يُحَدِّثُ القَوْمَ ثم يَكْذِبُ لِيُضْحِكَهُم وَيْلٌ لَهُ ووَيْلٌ لهُ »

which means: "Woe to him who talks to people and lies to make them laugh, woe to him, woe to him" related by imam 'Aḥmad in his Musnad

The Prophet, ṣallAllāhu `alayhi wa sallam, also said:

إِيَّاكَ وَالْكَذِبَ فَإِنَّ الْكَذِبَ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْفُجُورِ وَإِنَّ الْفُجُورَ يَهْدِي إِلَى النَّارِ، وَلاَ يَزَالُ الْعَبْدُ يَكْذِبُ وَيَتَحَرَّى الْكَذِبَ حَتَّى يُكْتَبَ عِنْدَ اللهِ كَذَّاباً

Iyyāka wa l-kadhib, fa'inna l-kadhiba yahdī ila l-fujūr. Wa inna l-fujūra yahdī 'ila n-nār. Wa lā yazalu l-`abdu yakdhibu wa yataḥarra l-khadhiba ḥattā yuktaba `indAllāhi kadhdhābā.

Which means: “Do not ever lie, because lying leads to very abhorrent sins, and those in turn lead to Hellfire. One keeps on lying and seeks to do that until one is recorded as a liar in some books of Allāh.” (Narrated by Ibn Mājah.)

The Prophet, sallAllāhu `alayhi wa sallam, also said what means: “ Truthfulness leads to piety and piety leads to Paradise. The Muslim who continues to be truthful will then be recorded as a truthful person. Do not ever lie, because lying leads to very abhorrent sins, and those in turn lead to Hellfire. One keeps on lying and seeks to do that until one is recorded as a liar in some books of Allāh.” (Narrated by Ibn Mājah).

There are many things that are among the sins of the tongue and fall under the category of lying. They include: swearing by Allāh to a lie, false testimony, and falsely attributing something to Allāh and His Prophet.

1- Swearing by Allāh to a Lie:

It is one of the major sins. It is for one to swear by Allāh to something that is opposite to the truth. An example is if one says, “By Allāh, I did such and such” while knowing that one did not do that action. Similarly, if one says, “By Allāh I did not do such and such” when one has done it. This is considered using God’s name in vain, which indicates falling short of glorifying Allāh properly.

2- False testimony:

This is one of the enormous sins. An example is for one to testify in front of a judge that someone stole something while one knows that it did not happen.

The Prophet, ṣallAllāhu `alayhi wa sallam, said:

عَدَلَتْ شَهَادَةُ الزُّورِ الإِشْرَاكَ بِاللهِ

`Adalat shahādatu z-zuri l-ishrāka billāh.

Which means: “False testimony is a big sin” Related by al-Bayhaqiyy. This ḥadīth does not mean that this sin brings one out of Islam.

In this hadith the Prophet, ṣallAllāhu `alayhi wa sallam, likened the false testimony to blasphemy, because both are serious sins. This hadith does not mean that the one who testifies falsely is no longer a Muslim. Rather, it means that such a person is a major sinner.

3- Falsely attributing something to Allāh and to His Prophet: This is also among the major sins.

Allāh, ta`ala, said in the Qur’an:

وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تَرَى الَّذِينَ كَذَبُواْ عَلَى اللَّهِ وُجُوهُهُم مُّسْوَدَّةٌ

Wa yawma l-qiyāmati tara l-ladhīna kadhabu `alAllāhi wujūhuhum muswaddah.

Ayah 60 of Suratu z-Zumar means: {On the Day of Judgment, those who lied about Allāh will have black faces [out of shame].}

An example of this lying is if someone says: Allāh created in such and such a direction a mountain of gold. Although we know that Allāh has the power to create it, if this mountain does not exist, this person's claim is contrary to reality.

Falsely attributing something to the Prophet is when someone lies and says that the Prophet said a statement that he did not say.

The Prophet, ṣallAllāhu `alayhi wa sallam, said:

إِنَّ كَذِباً عَلَيَّ لَيْسَ كَكَذِبٍ عَلَى أَحَدٍ، فَمَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَيَّ مُتَعَمِّداً فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ

Which means: "Falsely attributing something to me is not like falsely attributing something to anyone else. Let the one who knowingly lies about me take a place in Hellfire". Related by Muslim.

Attributing a false matter to Allāh may result in blasphemy, like if one claims that Allāh made something halal when one knows that it is haram, or vice versa.

So, it is important to train your tongue to speak the truth and to avoid lying. Lying is an ugly habit. There are many people who have the habit of lying a lot, making others call them liars and unable to trust them.

In this honorable saying, the Prophet, may Allāh raise his rank and protect his nation from that which he fears for it, urged us to speak the truth and warned us against lying. Lying is saying what is different from the truth. This act is forbidden in serious and joking matters.

If a Muslim says what is different from the truth, knowing this, then he has fallen into the sin of lying. An example of a lie is for a person to say, ‘I hit that person’ when the truth is he did not do it.

If a lie causes harm to another Muslim, then this is a great sin.

In the end we wish to warn you from what people call an “April Fool Joke” as many people have been harmed or hurt due to many lies that people spread on the 1st day of April.

May Allāh protect us from putting ourselves in such dishonest activities and may Allāh give us the strength to withstand such practices when they tend to infect our Muslim Society. Ameen

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