Telling children untrue stories to encourage them to love prayer, honesty, and good deeds; is this considered lying? They are young and do not understand or reason.

The questioner : May Allah preserve you. The questioner says: I tell children untrue stories to encourage them to love prayer, honesty, and good deeds. Is this considered lying? They are young and do not understand or reason, and these are stories of the prophets and the righteous.

The Shaykh : If the stories are realistic, there is nothing wrong with them. However, if they are not realistic, such as attributing to a person that he prayed the Fajr prayer and such and such happened to him, when it is not true, then it is not permissible, because this is lying.