The perils of lying

Lying is a reprehensible quality against which the Islamic Sharee'ah
(Islamic legislation) hasissued severe warnings.; Man's sound nature
is instinctively repelled by such a quality and all sound-minded and
noble people refuse it to indulge in it.
Truthfulness is one of the pillars of the survival of the Universe,
the origin of all praiseworthy qualities, the cornerstone of
Prophethood and a natural fruit of piety. Lying, on the other hand,is
an act by which one breaks away from the sound innate human nature.
In Islam, lying has been warned against and prohibited in the Quran,
the Prophetic Sunnah (tradition) and the consensus of the Muslim
scholars. Lying has very evil consequences in both this life and the
life to come.
Lying has only been permitted under very stringent conditions and in
particular situations when it does not result in depriving anyone from
his/her rights, shedding blood or slandering others and the like. In
fact, lying has only been permitted in a situation to save someone's
life, reconcile between two disputing parties or bring about more love
and compassion between spouses.
There is no special day or time during which Islam permits people to
lie and say whatever they wish. On the first day of April(what is
known as April Fools' Day), people deem lying and saying anything they
wish lawful,without having any basis to their claims. There is a great
deal of evil resulting from such a practice, which we will mention
later.
The words of the Salaf (pious predecessors) regarding lying:
· Ibn Mas`ood said, "Truthfulness leads to piety and piety leads to
paradise. A man persists in speaking the truth until no trace of evil
will be left inhis heart nor can transgression remain therein. A man
continues to lie until not so much as the space that a needle occupies
of piety would be left in his heart."
· Ibn Mas`ood said, "Lying is not accepted in jest or seriousness."
Then he recited the verse (which means): } O you who have believed,
fear Allaah and be with those who are truthful { [Quran 9:119]
· Abu Bakr said, "Beware of lying as it opposes faith."
· Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaas said, "A believer can get accustomed to all
qualities except lying and deception."
· Ibn 'Umar said, "One will never achieve the reality of faith until
he refrains from lying even ifit is in jest."
Permissible lying:
Lying is considered lawful in Islam for three different reasons: war,
reconciling between disputing people and between spouses for the
purpose of arousing love and compassion and to prevent disputes. It is
alsolawful to tell a lie under extenuating circumstances. An example
of this is the case of a Muslim who hides himself or his money from a
tyrant who is bent on killing him or taking his money from him by
force. If one knows the whereabouts of this Muslim or his money and is
askedabout it, it is permissible to a lie in this case to save a
Muslim's lifeor his property. However, it is better to give an
equivocal answer (that is, one which is not clear or definite in
meaning), and that can be interpreted in more than one way in order to
shun lying altogether.
The sum and substance of this discussion has been derived fromthe
narration ascribed to Umm Kulthoom who said, "The Messenger of Allaah
said: "A liar is not the one who tries to bring about reconciliation
between the people and speaks good to avert dispute or to convey
good." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim].
Asmaa' bint Yazeed, , who said: "The Messenger of Allaah said: "Lying
is not permissibleexcept for three reasons: lying to one's wife to
please her (for the purpose of arousing love and compassion and
prevent disputes), lying during war and lying when reconciling between
disputing people." [At-Tirmithi-Albaani: Sound].