The Ruling on False Testimony and How to Repent from It
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
A message was sent from Ta'if, 'Asir, by our brother Hamud 'Ali Muhammad 'Asiri. Our brother wrote his message in his own style and dialect—in the colloquial dialect—the message is understandable. His Eminence the Shaykh: He testified with several people on multiple occasions that they had lands, and that there were rooms and dwellings in those lands, while they were empty lands with no dwellings—as he says. He asks about the ruling in this situation, especially since he has done this repeatedly?
Answer: We seek refuge in Allah from that. This is false testimony, in which the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, has emphasized the severity, and in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has emphasized the severity. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said: [Al-Hajj: 30]. So it is obligatory for the believer to guard against that with the utmost caution. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 5976 So false testimony is among the greatest of major sins. And he also said, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him: The major sins are: Sahih al-Bukhari 2653 So this great major sin has its sin upon him, and he has to compensate those against whom he testified for what he caused them to lose by his testimony. If his testimony caused them to lose money or cost them money, then it is obligatory for him to compensate them for what he caused them to lose by his testimony. But if it was not accepted or nothing resulted from it, then he only has to repent: returning to Allah, turning to Him, feeling remorse for what has passed, and making a sincere resolve not to return to it, and that is sufficient for him. Whoever repents, Allah accepts his repentance.
But if something of injustice to people resulted from his testimony, then he has to compensate them for what he wronged them with by the means of his testimony, along with repentance, seeking forgiveness, great remorse, abandoning this thing and not doing it in the future, along with remorse for the past and regret for what has passed, and along with a sincere resolve not to return to it out of fear of Allah and exalting Him, Blessed and Exalted is He. And if they release him and forgive him, there is nothing wrong with that. Either he gives them their right or he gets their release. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. It appears, His Eminence the Shaykh, from his message that the testimony was for a lawsuit between them and the municipality.
The Shaykh: It is not far-fetched, yes. The appearance of this... the appearance is that he testified because he inherited in the land and he is lying. We ask Allah for well-being. In any case, the ruling does not change.
The presenter: The ruling does not change. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: We seek refuge in Allah from that. This is false testimony, in which the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, has emphasized the severity, and in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has emphasized the severity. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said:
So avoid the uncleanliness of idols and avoid false statement,
فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ"Shall I not inform you of the biggest of the great sins?" We said, "Yes, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)" He said, "To join partners in worship with Allah: to be undutiful to one's parents." The Prophet (ﷺ) sat up after he had been reclining and added, "And I warn you against giving forged statement and a false witness
ألا أنبئكم بأكبر الكبائر؟ قلنا: بلى يا رسول الله! قال: الإشراك بالله، وعقوق الوالدين، وكان متكئاً فجلس، فقال: ألا وقول الزور ألا وشهادة الزور(1 ) To join others in worship with Allah, (2) To be undutiful to one's parents. (3) To kill a person (which Allah has forbidden to kill) (i.e. to commit the crime of murdering). (4) And to give a false witness.
الشرك بالله، وعقوق الوالدين، وقتل النفس، وشهادةة الزورBut if something of injustice to people resulted from his testimony, then he has to compensate them for what he wronged them with by the means of his testimony, along with repentance, seeking forgiveness, great remorse, abandoning this thing and not doing it in the future, along with remorse for the past and regret for what has passed, and along with a sincere resolve not to return to it out of fear of Allah and exalting Him, Blessed and Exalted is He. And if they release him and forgive him, there is nothing wrong with that. Either he gives them their right or he gets their release. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. It appears, His Eminence the Shaykh, from his message that the testimony was for a lawsuit between them and the municipality.
The Shaykh: It is not far-fetched, yes. The appearance of this... the appearance is that he testified because he inherited in the land and he is lying. We ask Allah for well-being. In any case, the ruling does not change.
The presenter: The ruling does not change. May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.