The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Adhere to truthfulness, for truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man continues to speak the truth and strives for truthfulness until he is recorded as a truthful person before Allah.
And beware of lying, for lying leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Hellfire. A man continues to tell lies and strives for falsehood until he is recorded as a liar before Allah.”
— Fath al-Bari
The Severity of Lying
Lying rots the person who speaks it from within. God does not permit lying, even for the sake of a joke or amusement. The Prophet (ﷺ) strictly warned that a believer (Mu’min) should never be a liar.
If the Prophet (ﷺ) came to know that someone had lied, he would neither initiate Salam (greeting) to him nor respond to his Salam. Furthermore, he would turn his face away from that person, refusing to even look at them. From this, we must understand just how dreadful and abhorrent an act lying truly is.
However, lying has become incredibly casual among us today. To make others believe them, people pretend to have seen things they never saw, exaggerating by adding extra words and mixing falsehoods into their speech. It is critical that we closely watch our words.
- False Attribution: Attributing something to someone that they never said also constitutes a lie.
- The Ironic Lie: It is a strange irony when some people claim, “I never lie,” which itself is often a lie. The truth does not need to be strained or falsely defended.
- Loss of Blessings: Lying distances a person from Rizq (sustenance) and the blessings they are destined to attain.
Deception in Business
Lying just to earn money or making false oaths to sell goods brings nothing but ultimate loss. When selling items to a customer, lying about the quality or price of the product plunges that entire transaction into sin. Believing that one can only make a sale by lying should never be part of a believer’s faith.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“A false oath and dishonest promise may help sell a commodity, but it wipes out the earnings and destroys its blessings (Barakah).”
— Ahmad
Similarly, justifying one’s own falsehood by asking, “Who doesn’t lie these days?” is a grave mistake.
On one hand, we make Du’a (supplications) for our needs to be fulfilled and beg God to alleviate our hardships; on the other hand, we habitually tell lies. Under such conditions, how can our prayers be answered?
The Narration of Asma bint Yazid (RA)
A female companion (Sahabiyyah), Asma bint Yazid (RA), narrates: “I once asked the Prophet (ﷺ), ‘If one of our women desires something but says she does not desire it, is that considered a lie?'”
The Prophet (ﷺ) replied:
“A lie is written down as a lie. A major lie is recorded as a major lie, and a minor lie is recorded as a minor lie.”
The Narration of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA)
The companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (RA) said:
“A man continues to lie and makes dishonesty his habit until a black spot forms on his heart. Gradually, because of this, the entire heart turns dark. In this state, his name is registered in the list of liars before Allah.”
A person who does not carefully watch what his tongue utters will face immense hardship during the final moments of death.
Conclusion
Truth is an actual event that occurred, whereas a lie is merely an illusion. Trying to give life to an illusion and turn it into reality is absolute foolishness.
- A liar loses the good things written in his destiny.
- A liar incurs afflictions that were not originally written for him.
Lying completely consumes one’s Iman (faith).