Testimony of falsehood, daring to swear falsely by Allah, and deceiving the judge and the general authority
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Fatwa No. ( 9037 )
Q: I present to your eminence a painful case. A surprise occurred to me; one day I met with one of the judges in our area, along with one of my companions. He said: I want you to testify that none of my brother’s heirs have married,
One of them, and none of them had died, and I did not know that the shaykh would ask me for a precise testimony as happened to me from him, and at that time I agreed to attend with him to testify, so the shaykh said: Do you testify that the heirs of so-and-so are all alive and none of them has married? I said: Yes, so he said: Say: I testify by the Great Allah that this is true. I paused for a moment, then I said so out of my fear that they would deprive this family of their father's retirement income, and this is what actually happened from me with this text word for word, and dot by dot. My question to your eminence: What do I do regarding this testimony? Is my testimony considered false testimony, and what is the expiation for that? Knowing that one of the daughters had married before the testimony. I ask your eminence to clarify my case, and if it is obligatory to feed poor people, how much does one poor person eat so that I may be clear about this matter? May Allah illuminate your insight.
A: If the reality is as you described, then you have committed a great sin; because you gave false testimony, dared to swear falsely by Allah, deceived the judge and the general authority, and assisted in consuming wealth unjustly. All of this is among the major sins, and you have no excuse in your fear for the family being deprived of their father’s pension, for Allah is more merciful to the family
and more concerned with them than you are. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:135] , and He the Exalted said: , and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed the prohibition of false testimony, saying: . And from Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) it was said: It was narrated by al-Bukhari So you must repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness for
the evil deeds that occurred from you. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I present to your eminence a painful case. A surprise occurred to me; one day I met with one of the judges in our area, along with one of my companions. He said: I want you to testify that none of my brother’s heirs have married,
One of them, and none of them had died, and I did not know that the shaykh would ask me for a precise testimony as happened to me from him, and at that time I agreed to attend with him to testify, so the shaykh said: Do you testify that the heirs of so-and-so are all alive and none of them has married? I said: Yes, so he said: Say: I testify by the Great Allah that this is true. I paused for a moment, then I said so out of my fear that they would deprive this family of their father's retirement income, and this is what actually happened from me with this text word for word, and dot by dot. My question to your eminence: What do I do regarding this testimony? Is my testimony considered false testimony, and what is the expiation for that? Knowing that one of the daughters had married before the testimony. I ask your eminence to clarify my case, and if it is obligatory to feed poor people, how much does one poor person eat so that I may be clear about this matter? May Allah illuminate your insight.
A: If the reality is as you described, then you have committed a great sin; because you gave false testimony, dared to swear falsely by Allah, deceived the judge and the general authority, and assisted in consuming wealth unjustly. All of this is among the major sins, and you have no excuse in your fear for the family being deprived of their father’s pension, for Allah is more merciful to the family
and more concerned with them than you are. Allah the Exalted said:
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ إِنْ يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ أَوْلَى بِهِمَا فَلا تَتَّبِعُوا الْهَوَى أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا وَإِنْ تَلْوُوا أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًاAnd keep your oaths
وَاحْفَظُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْShall I inform you of the greatest of the major sins? He said this three times. They said: Yes. He said: Associating partners with Allah, and being undutiful to parents. He was leaning, so he sat up and said: And speaking falsehood, and false testimony. He kept repeating it until we said: Would that he had stopped.
ألا أنبئكم بأكبر الكبائر؟ ثلاثا، قالوا: بلى، قال: الإشراك بالله، وعقوق الوالدين، وكان متكئًا فجلس فقال: ألا وقول الزور، ألا وشهادة الزور، فما زال يكررها حتى قلنا: ليته سكتAn Arab came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, what are the major sins? The hadith was mentioned, and in it: The oath that swallows [wealth]. And in it I said: What is the oath that swallows? He said: The one by which the wealth of a Muslim man is cut off, while he is lying in it.
جاء أعرابي إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: يا رسول الله: ما الكبائر؟ فذكر الحديث وفيه: اليمين الغموس، وفيه قلت: وما اليمن الغموس؟ قال: التي يقتطع بها مال امرئ مسلم وهو فيه كاذبthe evil deeds that occurred from you. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.