The Ruling of April ‘Fools Day’-Part 2
In previous article we talked about different lies which regarded as bad. These were lying to make people laugh, lying when playing with children, Lying in jest, the prohibition of speaking about everything that one hears and the prohibition on lying about visions and dreams. So in this part, we will talk about the dangerous of lying and the punishment that may result because of acting such a sin.
The punishment for lying:
The liar is warned of destructive punishment in this world, and humiliating punishment in the Hereafter. These include:
1. Hypocrisy in the heart.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that (covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to Him and because they used to tell lies
[al-Tawbah 9:77]
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: “You may know the hypocrite by three things: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted with something he betrays that trust.”. He said: “Recite this aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
‘And of them are some who made a covenant with Allaah (saying): “If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will verily, give Sadaqah (Zakaah and voluntary charity in Allaah’s Cause) and will be certainly among those who are righteous.”
Then when He gave them of His Bounty, they became niggardly [refused to pay the Sadaqah (Zakaah or voluntary charity)], and turned away, averse.
So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that (covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to Him and because they used to tell lies
[al-Tawbah 9:75-77].”
(Musanaaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, 6/125)
2. Guidance to evildoing and to the Fire
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Truthfulness is righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A person will continue to tell the truth until he is written with Allaah as one who tells the truth. Lying is evildoing, and evildoing leads to Hell. A person will keep on telling lies until he is written as a liar.’”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5743; Muslim, 2607)
al-San’aani said:
The above saheeh hadeeth tells us that whoever continues to speak the truth, it will become a feature of his, and whoever deliberately tells lies and persists in it, it will become a feature of his. This is the same as any other good or evil characteristic, if a person persists in it, it becomes a feature of his.
It is also indicates the seriousness of telling the truth , and that it may lead a person to Paradise, and it indicates how ugly lying is and how it may lead a person to Hell. This is in addition to the consequences in this world, for the one who tells the truth will have his words accepted by people, and his testimony will be accepted by judges and he will be liked for what he says, whereas for the liar the opposite will be the case.
Subul al-Salaam, 2/687
3. His testimony will be rejected
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
[The reason why the testimony of the liar is rejected]
The strongest reason why testimonies, fatwas and reports may be rejected is lying, because it corrupts the very essence of the testimony, fatwa or report. It is like the testimony of a blind man concerning sighting the new moon, or the testimony of a deaf man concerning having heard the admission of someone. The lying tongue is like some faculty that is no longer working, indeed it is even worse than that, for the most evil thing a man may possess is a lying tongue.
A’laam al-Muwaqqi’een, 1/95
4. Blackening of the face in this world and in the Hereafter
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who lied against Allaah (i.e. attributed to Him sons, partners) their faces will be black”[al-Zumar 39:60]
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Hence on the Day of Resurrection Allaah will make blackened faces the sign of the one who told lies about Him and His Messenger. Lying has a great effect in blackening the face and covering it with a mask of shame which every truthful person will be able to see. The feature of the liar is clearly visible in the face, and everyone who has the eyes to see can see it. But Allaah will bless the truthful person with dignity and respect, so whoever sees him will respect him and love him, and He will give the liar humiliation and shame, so whoever sees him will loathe him and despise him. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
A’laam al-Muwaqqi’een, 1/95
5. The liar will have the flesh of his cheeks torn to the back of his head
It was narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) often used to say to his companions, ‘Has anyone among you seen a dream?’ Then whoever Allaah willed would tell of his dream. One day he said to us, ‘Two (angels) came to me last night and woke me up, then they said to me, ‘Let’s go!’… so we set out and came to a man who was lying flat on his back and another man standing over his head with an
iron hook, and behold, he would put the hook in one side of the man’s mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the neck) and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eye from front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man’s face and did just as he had done with the other side. Hardly had he completed this side when the first side was restored to its normal state. Then he went back and did that all over again. I said to my two companions, ‘Subhaan Allah! Who are these two persons?’ They said to me, ‘Move on, move on!’ (Then he said, describing how the two angels explained the things that he had seen): ‘As for the man you came across, the sides of whose mouth, nostrils and eyes were being torn off from front to back, he is the symbol of the man who goes out of his house in the morning and tells so many lies that it spreads all over the world.’”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5745)
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To Be continued…
