The philosophers and the Qaramita accusing the messengers of lying to people for the sake of public interest.
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The Shaykh : Then it said:
"But the truth of their statement is that they came with lies regarding the interests of mankind"
That is, it was said to them: If the matter is as you claim, what do you say about what the messengers brought? The messengers came to the people and said, "This is the prayer, this is the fasting, and this is the pilgrimage," and they said, "There is Paradise, Hellfire, punishment, and bliss." They said, "This is a lie, all of it is a lie. There is no Paradise, no Hellfire, no bliss, no punishment, and nothing at all. But this is a lie; the messengers lied with it for the sake of public interest. I seek refuge in Allah. A lie for the sake of public interest? He said, "Yes, because if people are told to do such and such, they may not respond. If they are told not to do such and such, they do not stop. But if they are told, 'If you do such and such, We will settle you in a Paradise containing permanent bliss that does not come to mind,' what will they do? Will they do it or not? They will do it. If they are told, 'If you disobey, We will settle you in a Fire containing such and such punishment,' they will stop. So the messengers lied for the sake of public interest, just as you say to a child, 'Do this and I will give you candy, or do not do this and I will burn you with a coal.' What does the child do? He does the first and does not do the second, even though he is not giving him candy nor burning him with a coal. So, may Allah protect us, this is their opinion of the messengers: they lied regarding the interests of mankind.
"But the truth of their statement is that they came with lies regarding the interests of mankind"
That is, it was said to them: If the matter is as you claim, what do you say about what the messengers brought? The messengers came to the people and said, "This is the prayer, this is the fasting, and this is the pilgrimage," and they said, "There is Paradise, Hellfire, punishment, and bliss." They said, "This is a lie, all of it is a lie. There is no Paradise, no Hellfire, no bliss, no punishment, and nothing at all. But this is a lie; the messengers lied with it for the sake of public interest. I seek refuge in Allah. A lie for the sake of public interest? He said, "Yes, because if people are told to do such and such, they may not respond. If they are told not to do such and such, they do not stop. But if they are told, 'If you do such and such, We will settle you in a Paradise containing permanent bliss that does not come to mind,' what will they do? Will they do it or not? They will do it. If they are told, 'If you disobey, We will settle you in a Fire containing such and such punishment,' they will stop. So the messengers lied for the sake of public interest, just as you say to a child, 'Do this and I will give you candy, or do not do this and I will burn you with a coal.' What does the child do? He does the first and does not do the second, even though he is not giving him candy nor burning him with a coal. So, may Allah protect us, this is their opinion of the messengers: they lied regarding the interests of mankind.