Chapter on the Prohibition of Lying: Allah the Exalted said: “And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge.” Al-Isra: 36.
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The reader: And may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Chapter on the Prohibition of Lying. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Isra 17:36] And He said: [Qaf 50:18]
From Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1542 Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. And from Abdullah ibn "
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: “Chapter on the Prohibition of Lying”. Lying is when a person reports something contrary to reality, saying that such and such happened when he is lying, or that so-and-so said such and such when he is lying, or the like of that. It is reporting contrary to reality. Know that lying has types:
The first is lying about Allah and His Messenger, and this is the greatest of the types of lying, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:144] The lam in His saying [Al-An'am 6:144] is the lam of consequence, not the lam of causation; it is like His saying the Exalted about Musa (peace be upon him): [Al-Qasas 28:8] And they did not pick it up for this, but Allah the Exalted made the consequence that it became for them an enemy and a sorrow. And likewise, whoever fabricates a lie about Allah, then by his fabrication he misleads the people without knowledge.
And fabricating about Allah is of two types:
The first type is to say, “Allah said such and such,” while he is lying, a liar about Allah; Allah did not say anything.
And the second is to interpret the speech of Allah other than what Allah intended, because the purpose of speech is its meaning. So if he says, “Allah intended by such and such this and that,” he is lying about Allah, bearing witness for Allah to what Allah the Mighty and Majestic did not intend. But the second type, if it is due to ijtihad, permissible ijtihad, and he erred in interpreting the verse, then Allah the Exalted forgives him, because Allah said:[Al-Hajj 22:78] And He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:286] But if he intentionally interprets the speech of Allah other than what Allah intended, following his desires or pleasing interests or the like of that, then he is lying about Allah the Mighty and Majestic. And likewise after that is lying about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) by saying, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said such and such,” when he did not say it, but he lied about him. And also, if he interprets the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) other than its meaning, he has lied about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 3651Sahih (Al-Albani) These two types of lying are the most severe types of lying: lying about Allah and lying about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The people who lie the most about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) are the Rafidah Shi'ah. There is no one among the sects of innovation who lies more about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) than they do, as the scholars of hadith terminology (may Allah have mercy on them) stated explicitly when they spoke about the fabricated hadith. They said, “The most people who lie about the Messenger are the Rafidah.” This is something observed and known to whoever tracks their books.
As for the second category of lying, it is lying about people, and lying about people is also of two types:
Lying in which a person appears to be from the people of goodness, righteousness, piety, and faith, while he is not so, but rather he is from the people of disbelief and tyranny, may Allah protect us. This is hypocrisy, the major hypocrisy, about whom Allah said:[Al-Baqarah 2:8] But they say with their tongues and swear oaths over lies while they know. There are many proofs of this in the Qur'an and the Sunnah that they, I mean the hypocrites, are people of lying; they lie to people regarding faith, in claiming faith, and they are liars.
And look at the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Munafiqun, where He began this surah by clarifying their lying, and He said:[Al-Munafiqun 63:1] They affirmed this phrase with what? With three affirmations. We bear witness. The lam in “that you are” is three affirmations. They affirm that they bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. So Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Munafiqun 63:1] In their saying, “We bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah,” you are liars. This is also one of the types of lying, and it is the most severe type of lying about people, because its doer, may Allah protect us, is a hypocrite.
And the third type: lying in conversation between people, the conversation that goes on between people. He says, “I said to so-and-so such and such,” when he did not say it. He says, “So-and-so said such and such,” when he did not say it. “So-and-so came,” when he did not come. And so on. This is also forbidden and is one of the signs of hypocrisy, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 59a Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) listed the evidence for the prohibition of lying, among which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Isra 17:36] Meaning, do not follow [Al-Isra 17:36] And if this is a prohibition against that which you do not encompass with knowledge, what about that which you do encompass with knowledge and you report contrary to it? This would be more severe and greater. And by this we know that when a person speaks,
either he has encompassed it with knowledge, in which case his speech is permissible in principle, as long as it does not lead to harm.
The second is that he reports what he knows to be contrary to the truth, so this is clear, explicit lying.
And the third is that he reports what he has not encompassed with knowledge and does not know that the matter is contrary to it, so this is also prohibited.[Al-Isra 17:36] It prohibits a person from speaking in two matters in two states:
The first state: that he knows that the matter is contrary to what he spoke of.
And the second: that he speaks of a matter he does not know. All of this is prohibited. But if he speaks of what he knows, that is a matter with no harm. And he mentioned the other verse:[Qaf 50:18] An indefinite noun in the context of negation, and its generality is affirmed by [Qaf 50:18] Meaning, whatever word you say, there is an observing recorder with you, meaning present, watching, writing down what you say. [Qaf 50:17-18] [Az-Zukhruf 43:80] Meaning, we hear their secrets and their whispers. [Az-Zukhruf 43:80] How great is the matter! Every word that comes out of you is written, it is recorded, and you will meet that on the Day of Resurrection, as He said: [Al-Isra 17:13] You are your own accountant; sufficient for you today as an accountant over yourself. Some of the Salaf said: “By Allah, He has been just to you in making you an accountant over yourself.” So the result is that Allah says: [Qaf 50:18] This observing recorder, meaning the present one, writes everything, every word, whether it is for you or against you, or from idle talk that is neither for you nor against you.
And when it was said to Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and he was ill, groaning from his illness, it was said to him, “So-and-so, and I think it was Tawus, says that the angel writes even the groaning of the sick person, his groaning while he is groaning from the illness and its severity, and it is written against him.” He (may Allah have mercy on him), I mean Imam Ahmad, stopped groaning and began to be patient and did not groan, out of fear of what? Of it being written against him. Those who guard their tongues and limbs and know the weight of matters stopped even from groaning. As for us, we ask Allah to treat us and you with forgiveness, for the release of the tongue is much with us. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2500Sahih (Darussalam) We ask Allah to help us and you with ourselves and to guide us to what He loves and is pleased with in speech and action.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Chapter on the Prohibition of Lying. Allah the Exalted said:
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge
ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علمMan does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].
ما يلفظ من قول إلا لديه رقيب عتيدFrom Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Truth leads to piety and piety leads to Jannah. A man persists in speaking the truth till he is recorded with Allah as a truthful man. Falsehood leads to transgression and transgression leads to the Hell-fire. A man continues to speak falsehood till he is recorded with Allah as a great liar.
إن الصدق يهدي إلى البر وإن البر يهدي إلى الجنة وإن الرجل ليصدق حتى يكتب عند الله صديقا وإن الكذب يهدي إلى الفجور وإن الفجور يهدي إلى النار وإن الرجل ليكذب حتى يكتب عند الله كذاباThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: “Chapter on the Prohibition of Lying”. Lying is when a person reports something contrary to reality, saying that such and such happened when he is lying, or that so-and-so said such and such when he is lying, or the like of that. It is reporting contrary to reality. Know that lying has types:
The first is lying about Allah and His Messenger, and this is the greatest of the types of lying, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Then who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah to mislead the people by [something] other than knowledge? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people."
ومن أظلم ممن افترى على الله كذبا ليضل الناس بغير علم إن الله لا يهدي القوم الظالمينto mislead the people by [something] other than knowledge
ليضل الناس بغير علمAnd the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief
فالتقطه آل فرعون ليكون لهم عدوا وحزناAnd fabricating about Allah is of two types:
The first type is to say, “Allah said such and such,” while he is lying, a liar about Allah; Allah did not say anything.
And the second is to interpret the speech of Allah other than what Allah intended, because the purpose of speech is its meaning. So if he says, “Allah intended by such and such this and that,” he is lying about Allah, bearing witness for Allah to what Allah the Mighty and Majestic did not intend. But the second type, if it is due to ijtihad, permissible ijtihad, and he erred in interpreting the verse, then Allah the Exalted forgives him, because Allah said:
and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty
وما جعل عليكم في الدين من حرجAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعهاHe who lies about me deliberately will certainly come to his abode in Hell.
من كذب علي متعمدا فليتبوأ مقعده من النارAs for the second category of lying, it is lying about people, and lying about people is also of two types:
Lying in which a person appears to be from the people of goodness, righteousness, piety, and faith, while he is not so, but rather he is from the people of disbelief and tyranny, may Allah protect us. This is hypocrisy, the major hypocrisy, about whom Allah said:
And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allah and the Last Day," but they are not believers.
ومن الناس من يقول آمنا بالله وباليوم الآخر وما هم بؤمنينAnd look at the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Munafiqun, where He began this surah by clarifying their lying, and He said:
When the hypocrites come to you, [O Muhammad], they say, "We testify that you are the Messenger of Allah."
إذا جاءك المنافقون قالوا نشهد إنك لرسول اللهAnd Allah knows that you are His Messenger, and Allah testifies that the hypocrites are liars.
والله يعلم إنك لرسوله والله يشهد إن المنافقين لكاذبونAnd the third type: lying in conversation between people, the conversation that goes on between people. He says, “I said to so-and-so such and such,” when he did not say it. He says, “So-and-so said such and such,” when he did not say it. “So-and-so came,” when he did not come. And so on. This is also forbidden and is one of the signs of hypocrisy, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Three are the signs of a hypocrite: when he spoke he told a lie
آية المنافق ثلاث إذا حدث كذبAnd do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسؤولاDo not stand
لا تقفthat of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
ما ليس لك به علم إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسؤولاeither he has encompassed it with knowledge, in which case his speech is permissible in principle, as long as it does not lead to harm.
The second is that he reports what he knows to be contrary to the truth, so this is clear, explicit lying.
And the third is that he reports what he has not encompassed with knowledge and does not know that the matter is contrary to it, so this is also prohibited.
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge
ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علمThe first state: that he knows that the matter is contrary to what he spoke of.
And the second: that he speaks of a matter he does not know. All of this is prohibited. But if he speaks of what he knows, that is a matter with no harm. And he mentioned the other verse:
Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].
ما يلفظ من قول إلا لديه رقيب عتيدof a word
من قولMan does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].
ما يلفظ من قول إلا لديه رقيب عتيد(17) When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left. (18) Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].
إذ يتلقى المتلقيان عن اليمين وعن الشمال قعيد ما يلفظ من قول إلا لديه رقيب عتيدOr do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private conversations? Yes
أم يحسبون أنا لا نسمع سرهم ونجواهم بلىand Our messengers are with them recording.
ورسلنا لديهم يكتبونAnd [for] every person We have imposed his fate upon his neck, and We will produce for him on the Day of Resurrection a record which he will encounter spread open.
وكل إنسان ألزمناه طائره في عنقه ونخرج له يوم القيامة كتابا يلقاه منشورا اقرأ كتابكMan does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].
ما يلفظ من قول إلا لديه رقيب عتيدAnd when it was said to Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and he was ill, groaning from his illness, it was said to him, “So-and-so, and I think it was Tawus, says that the angel writes even the groaning of the sick person, his groaning while he is groaning from the illness and its severity, and it is written against him.” He (may Allah have mercy on him), I mean Imam Ahmad, stopped groaning and began to be patient and did not groan, out of fear of what? Of it being written against him. Those who guard their tongues and limbs and know the weight of matters stopped even from groaning. As for us, we ask Allah to treat us and you with forgiveness, for the release of the tongue is much with us. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: