The three cases in which lying is permissible, indicated by the hadith: Is it permissible to extend this by analogy to other cases if the public benefit calls for it?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The three cases in which lying is permissible, indicated by the hadith: Is it permissible to extend this by analogy to other cases if the public benefit calls for it?
The Shaykh : First, some scholars have interpreted the hadith regarding this matter figuratively rather than as actual lying. They stated that lying is not permissible under any circumstances, and that what is meant by "lying" in the hadith is euphemism (tawriyah).
Second, even if we assume that the hadith refers to actual lying, other cases are not extended to it by analogy. We do not need to use analogy because, as long as we have the ability to use figurative interpretation, there is a way out of lying through interpretation. For example, if someone asks for permission, meaning he knocks on your door, and you are in the house but do not want to open it for him, you can tell your family to say that he is not in. How is it correct for them to say that he is not in when he is in the house? It is correct if they intend by "he is not in" that he is in another place, not the place where he actually is. For instance, if he is in the sitting room, they say "he is not in," meaning he is not in the room. In this way, the intended purpose is achieved without lying. So, there is a way out of lying through interpretation, and there is no need to lie.
When a person is sincere in his intention for the sake of Allah and strives for truthfulness, Allah makes truthfulness easy for him. There is a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1971Sahih (Darussalam). Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with the best reward for us and for the Muslims. This is a female caller to the program saying: O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : First, some scholars have interpreted the hadith regarding this matter figuratively rather than as actual lying. They stated that lying is not permissible under any circumstances, and that what is meant by "lying" in the hadith is euphemism (tawriyah).
Second, even if we assume that the hadith refers to actual lying, other cases are not extended to it by analogy. We do not need to use analogy because, as long as we have the ability to use figurative interpretation, there is a way out of lying through interpretation. For example, if someone asks for permission, meaning he knocks on your door, and you are in the house but do not want to open it for him, you can tell your family to say that he is not in. How is it correct for them to say that he is not in when he is in the house? It is correct if they intend by "he is not in" that he is in another place, not the place where he actually is. For instance, if he is in the sitting room, they say "he is not in," meaning he is not in the room. In this way, the intended purpose is achieved without lying. So, there is a way out of lying through interpretation, and there is no need to lie.
When a person is sincere in his intention for the sake of Allah and strives for truthfulness, Allah makes truthfulness easy for him. There is a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
A man continues telling the truth and trying hard to tell the truth until he is recorded with Allah as a truthful person.
لا يزال الرجل يصدق، ويتحرّى الصدق حتى يُكتب عند الله صديقاًThe questioner : May Allah reward you with the best reward for us and for the Muslims. This is a female caller to the program saying: O honorable Shaykh.