The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And the men who are devout and the women who are devout, and the men who are truthful and the women who are truthful, and the men who are patient and the women who are patient, and the men who are humble and the women who are humble, and the men who give in charity and the women who give in charity”

Among the benefits of this noble verse is the virtue of qunut (devout standing in prayer), as He said: .
Among its benefits is also the virtue of truthfulness, as He said: . If truthfulness is a virtue, then its opposite, which is lying, is a vice, and it is indeed so. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . If you ask, “Is white lying permissible?” we say: There is no white in lying; all lying is black. Among the common people, white lying is that which does not lead to consuming wealth; lie as you wish, but do not consume the wealth of people through lying. However, this contradicts the warning of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said: . Did he grant a dispensation for any kind of lying?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : What is it? Reconciliation between people, war, and a man’s speech with his wife and a woman’s speech with her husband. However, some scholars say that no dispensation was granted for any kind of lying whatsoever, and that the lying referred to in this hadith is tawriyah (euphemism). Yes, tawriyah, as you know, is a lie in one aspect and the truth in another. It is considered truth based on the intention of the speaker, but a lie based on what the listener understood. They say that the general terms of the hadith indicate lying, and they reconcile it with the hadith of the exceptions by stating that this is a matter of tawriyah. They also said that if reconciliation between people is built on lying, the result may later be the opposite if the reconciled parties later learn that the matter was not as stated; this may increase evil and break the reconciliation. They also said that lying in war may produce a bad result, where it becomes clear to the enemy that the matter is not as it was said, such as telling them, “We have a large number of troops,” or the like, without tawriyah. This is an error. They also said that the hadith regarding a woman, a man’s speech to his wife, and a woman’s speech to her husband, if we permit lying, would lead to great problems. A man might come and say, “I have a million riyals, I have a hundred cars, and I have thirty villas,” or the like, when he has nothing but his clothes. What would be the result, good or bad? You would say, “You are a liar, and you are not a suitable husband for me.” And conversely, a woman might tell her husband, “What do you go out to the market for?” She would say, “I have never been to the market, I do not know the market, and I do not know men.” If the matter is the opposite, there is danger. Therefore, some scholars said that what is meant by that is tawriyah, and tawriyah is not permissible except in two cases: need or public benefit. In any case, the apparent meaning of the hadith of the exceptions is that this is explicit lying and that there is no harm in it. However, even according to the view that the exceptions apply to explicit lying rather than tawriyah, it must be said that this is permissible. Take note: this is permissible. And if a permissible thing entails harm, it becomes forbidden, because the principle with us is that all permissible things can be subject to the five rulings. Whatever is permissible can be subject to the five rulings. For this reason, some usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) scholars held that there is nothing in the Shari'ah called mubah (permissible) because it is balanced on both sides; rather, one side must be stronger. However, the majority of scholars hold that the permissible is established in the Shari'ah. The conclusion is that if the hadith is explicit in the permissibility of lying in these three matters, what do we say about it? It must be restricted to cases where it does not entail harm. If it entails harm, it is prohibited.
The virtue of patience is derived from this noble verse, as Allah the Exalted said: . We have previously explained the categories of patience.
The virtue of humility in worship is also derived from this noble verse, as He said: . This is especially true in prayer, where Allah the Exalted explicitly mentioned humility, saying: [Al-Mu’minun 1:2].
Among the benefits of this noble verse is the virtue of charity, as He said: . This includes both the obligatory and the recommended. Here we ask: Is the obligatory better, or is the recommended better? The obligatory is better, yes, by text and by reasoning, meaning by the evidence of the effect and by reasoning. How is that? As for the effect, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said in the Qudsi Hadith: . This is explicit. As for reasoning, we say: If the obligatory were not more beloved to Allah, He would not have made it obligatory upon His servants; He would have made it voluntary, leaving the choice to you. Therefore, Allah’s making it obligatory is evidence of His love for it.