Imagine someone standing before Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) and telling him a word different from the truth. Imagine that he was doing this while he realized that he, the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) was receiving revelations from Allaah the Most High and that his secrets might be exposed. At another time, picture a person addressing a companion about the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) and saying evil things about him. Then when he is confronted with those facts he denies the charge! Picture this man and guess who he was! This is the true story of a man called Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, them Chief of the hypocrites who lived in al-Madeenah.
Zaid bin Arqam (RA) a true companion of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him) related that "While I was taking part in a battle with the Prophet, I heard Abdullah bin Ubayy saying, "Dont spend on those who are with Allaah s Messenger, that they may disperse and go away from him. If we return (to Madeenah), surely, the more honourable will expel" the meaner amongst them." I reported that (saying) to my uncle or to Umar (RA) who, in his turn, informed the Prophet (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him) of it. The Prophet (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him) called me and I narrated to him the whole story. Then Allaah s Messenger sent for Abdullah bin Ubayy and his companions, and they took an oath that they did not say that.
So Allaah's Messenger disbelieved my saying and believed his. I was distressed as I never was before. I stayed at home and my uncle said to me, "You just wanted Allaah s Messenger to disbelieve your statement and hate you." So Allaah revealed: "When the hypocrites come to you (O Muhammad) they say: "We bear witness that you are -indeed the Messenger of Allaah." Allaah knows that you are indeed His Messenger and Allaah bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeed." (AI-Munaafiqun [63]: 1)
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) then sent for me and recited it and said, "O Zaid! Allaah confirmed your statement. "(Bukhari) So, how do you want to be known with Allaah? As a truthful person or a liar? Even before the people we respect, we would always want to be known as someone truthful, trustworthy and dependable. In fact some of the lies we tell is to make us appear truthful. What an irony.
Now, that is before a creation of Allaah, how about our status before Allaah, the Lord of all creation? The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him)informed us of the fruits of telling the truth and the consequence of telling lies when he said: "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to wickedness and evil-doing, and wickedness and evil doing leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allaah, as a liar." (Bukhari).
Lying is from hypocrisy: Lying is an attribute of the hypocrite. This is known with the saying of Allaah that "The hypocrites are liars indeed." (AI-Munaafiqun [63]:1)
Also, Allaah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whosoever possesses these four characteristics, is a sheer hypocrite; and anyone who possesses one of ,them, possesses a characteristic of hypocrisy till he gives it up, (These are:) , When he talks, he tells a lie; when he makes a covenant or promise, he acts treacherously; and when he quarrels, he utters foul language, "(Bukhari)
A sincere believer is truthful: For every individual, there are differences in their character traits, Some have being endowed with sublime manners while others have acquired destructive tendencies, For the true believer, he may have some bad character traits; certainly lying is not a character that should be found in him, Safwan bin Sulaym (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him), was asked, Can the believer be a coward? He said, Yes, He was asked, Can the believer be a miser? He said, Yes. He was asked, Can the believer be a liar? He said, No" (Muwatta),
Since the heart of the believer is filled with eemaan faith), he will not be at rest with falsehood, It will continue to prick him except he abandons it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Give up what is doubtful for you for that which is not doubtful; for truth is peace of mind and falsehood is doubt"(Tirmidhi), He says the truth about Allaah.
In his truthfulness, the believer will avoid saying anything except the Truth about Allaah and His Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said, "Allaah said: The son of Aadam tells a lie against Me, though he hasnt the right to do so. He abuses me though he hasnt the right to do so. As for his telling a lie against Me, it is his saying that I will not recreate him as I created him for the first time. In fact, the first creation was not easier for Me than new creation. As for his abusing Me, it is his saying that Allaah has begotten children, while I am the One, the Self-Sufficient Master Whom all creatures need, I beget not, nor was I begotten, and there is none like unto Me." (Bukhari), He speaks the truth about Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) Whoever realizes a thing to be false but attributes it to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him) has done a great injustice deserving of punishment in the hereafter.
Alee bin Abi Taalib (RA) related that tile Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "Do not tell a lie against me for whoever tells a lie against me intentionally then he will surely enter the Hell-fire. "(Bukhari) He does not lie to his brother. Whoever lies in order to deceive a Muslim is not a true believer, Narrated Sufyan bin Asid al-Hadrami (RA): "I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him) saying: "It is great treachery that you should tell your brother something and have him believe you when you are lying, " (Abu Dawood), If lying is done intentionally on oath against a Muslim, it is a serious crime.
Abdullah bin Masud (RA) related that: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "He who swears an oath, in which he tells a lie to take the property of a Muslim by unfair means, will meet Allaah while He is angry with him. "(Bukhari) Even in his jokes! Quite a number of people lie while joking or conversing with people in order to make them laugh and some earn their living from this means, As for the true believer, it is alright for him to crack jokes, however he should avoid lying in it.
Abu Umamah (RA) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I guarantee a house in the surroundings of Paradise for a man who avoids quarrelling even if he were in the right, a house in the middle of Paradise for a man who avoids lying even if he werejoking, and a house in the upper part of Paradise for a man who made his character good. "(Abu Dawood) The worst form of falsehood. Why is this so? It is so, because it is impossible for any other person to know that it is a lie.
When people lie about Allaah and His Messenger, the text of the Quraan and the Sunnah will quickly show up the falsehood. The falsehood of other types of lie can also be known but how will you know when someone lies about his dream? Abdullah bin Umar (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "The worst lie is that a person claims to have seen a dream which he has not seen." (Bukhari)
And for whoever does this, Allaah will exact His retribution from such on the Day of recompense. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "He who narrates a dream which he has not seen will be put to trouble to join into a knot two barley seeds which he will not be able to do; and he who seeks to listen to the talk of a people (secretly) will have molten lead poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection; and he who makes a picture (of people or other creatures with a soul, such as animals and insects) will be (severely punished), and he will be asked to infuse spirit therein, which he will not be able to do."(Bukhari).
Being truthful brings blessings. Truthfulness will never go unrewarded no matter how long it takes. So do not tell a lie in order to acquire the temporary benefits of this life, Hakim bin Hizam (RA) related that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon mm) said, The buyer and the seller have the option to cancel or to confirm the deal, as long as they have not parted or till they part, and if they spoke the truth and told each other the defects of the things, then blessings would be in their deal, and if they hid something and told lies, the blessing of the deal would be lost." (Bukhari).
But the curse of Allaah is upon the liar. Lying is from hypocrisy and a form of hypocrisy will land its people in the fire. along with those who deny Allaah. None would deny true faith in Allaah except the liars. Those who claim that they have not been created from anything, those who deny His Lordship and that He will not bring them forth on the day of Resurrection. Allaah says, "Cursed be the liars" (Adh-Dhaariyaat [51]: 10). And He also said: "Woe to every sinful liar" (Jaathiyyah [45]: 7). The curse of Allaah is not invoked on many one except that the crime is a very grievous one. Such is the position of one who is a liar, Not only that, Allaah does not guide the liars to the truth. Allaah says; "Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever. " (Zumar [39]: 3)
However, lying is allowed in three conditions. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him) permitted lying in three situations. A man spending time with his wife, a man deceiving the enemy forces in a war situation and a man seeking to reconcile two disputing parties. Asma bint Yazid (RA) narrated that Allaahs Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) said, "Lying is not appropriate except in three cases: When a man chats with his wife to please her, falsehood or lying to the enemy in war, and falsehood to put things right between people." (Ahmad) Abandon lying and enter Paradise.
Anas bin Malik (RA) related that Allaahs Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "He who abandons lying, having been false, will have a castle built for him just within Paradise. He who abandons disputing, having been speaking the truth, will have one built for him in the middle of Paradise. He whose character is good will have one built for him in the highest part of it.(Tirmidhi).
Similarly Ubaadah bin Samit (RA) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "ff you .guarantee me six things on your part I shall guarantee you Paradise. Speak the truth when you talk, keep a promise when you make it, when you are trusted with something fulfill your trust, avoid sexual immorality, lower your eyes, and restrain your hands from injustice." (Tirmidhi)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited