 


 

Prepared by Shawana A. Aziz for Quraan Sunnah Educational Programs
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Distributed by Enlightenment into Islam Study Circle - Women’s committee

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True belief in Allah and the Day of Judgment implies that the believer is truthful in his speech. Because if
he truly believes that Allah Hears and Sees everything he does and a Day will come when he will be
accounted for his actions, then he will restrain himself from doing any act that Angers Allah. The
Messenger of Allah  said, ‘Let he who truly believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good or be silent.’
[Saheeh al-Bukharee]

It is from the tricks of Shaytan that he first makes sins look insignificant and minor in the eyes of the
believers, and then gradually deceives them into commit those sins - Lying is one of those sins. People do
not show much concern about its prohibition, though lying is a characteristic of hypocrisy. Abdullah Ibn
Amr Ibn Amr al-Aas  narrated that the Prophet  said, ‘Whoever has the following four characteristics
will be a pure hypocrite; and whoever has one of these four characteristics will have one characteristic of
hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up; whenever he is entrusted he betrays, whenever he speaks he
tells a lie, whenever he makes a covenant he proves treacherous, and whenever he quarrels he behaves in
a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner.’ [Saheeh al-Bukharee]

Allah’s Messenger  has discouraged us against lying by describing the severe punishments of Allah for
the liars. He related a dream in which he  saw people being punished; among them were two persons,
whose cheeks were torn away from the mouth to the ear. He said, ‘I saw (in a dream), two men came to me.
They said, ‘The person, the one whose cheek you saw being torn away (from the mouth to the ear) was a
liar and used to tell lies and the people would report those lies on his authority till they spread all over the
world. So he will be punished like that till the Day of Resurrection.’’ [Saheeh al-Bukharee (vol. 8, no: 118)]

The Prophet  explained that lying could cause one to end up in the Hell Fire, he  said, ‘Avoid falsehood,
for falsehood leads to wickedness, and wickedness to Hell; and if a man continues to speak falsehood and
makes falsehood his object, he will be recorded in Allah’s presence as a great liar. And adhere to the truth,
for truth leads to good deeds, and good deeds lead to Paradise. If a man continues to speak the truth and
makes truth his object, he will be recorded in Allah’s presence as eminently truthful.’ [Abu Dawood
(Sunan Abu Dawood vol. 3, no. 4971)]

Allah's Messenger  strictly forbade lying at all times, but he  specifically cursed the person who lies to
make people laugh, he  said, ‘Woe be on one who speaks and lies in order to make people laugh, woe be on
him.’ [Abu Dawood] This Hadeeth shows the gravity of lying in jokes, which has today become a very
common behavior. People appreciate and encourage false jokes claiming that it brings joy and
amusement - But in the above Hadeeth, the Prophet  forbade lying even if the intention of the person is
to amuse people, because one who habitually lies for sake of amusement, loses the fear of lying and he is
very likely to later fall into harmful lies. So, the Prophet  blocked this path from the beginning because
of the bad it may lead to.

A dishonest Tradition: 1st April - a day when people lie, play jokes and mock in the name of
entertainment. Though considered mere humor, such jokes are known to have caused great harm to
many - even trauma and deaths. Still this dishonest tradition is not only practiced among the common
masses, but also newspapers and magazines participate in it by publishing false news and untrue stories
on the first day of April!

Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Laylaa said, ‘The companions of the Messenger of Allah  told us that they were
traveling with the Messenger of Allah . A man among them fell asleep and some of them went and took
his arrows. When the man woke up, he got alarmed (because his arrows were missing) and the people
laughed. The Prophet  said, ‘What are you laughing at?’ They said, ‘Nothing, except that we took the
arrows and he got alarmed.’ The Messenger of Allah  said, ‘It is not permissible for a Muslim to frighten
another Muslim.’ [Abu Dawood (5004) and Musnad Ahmad. Authenticated by Shaikh al-Albanee in
Saheeh al-Jamee (7658)] This Hadeeth shows that the false tradition of April Fool directly contradicts
the teachings and morals of Islam.

Islam does not prohibit joking. It is known through many narrations that Allah's Messenger 
approved joking, and he  would himself play and joke with his companions and small children. Simak
ibn Harb asked Jabir ibn Samurah , ‘Did you sit in the company of the Messenger of Allah ?’ He said,
‘Yes, very often. He (the Prophet) used to sit at the place where he observed the morning or dawn prayer
till the sun rose or when it had risen; he would stand, and they (his Companions) would talk about
matters (pertaining to the days) of ignorance, and they would laugh (on these matters) while (the
Prophet) only smiled.’ [Saheeh Muslim (1413)] So, joking is permitted in Islam but with some necessary
guidelines,

(a) Joking should not involve lying, Abu Hurayrah  said that the Prophet  was told, ‘O Prophet ,
you are joking with us.’ He  said, ‘I only say what is true.’ [Tirmidhee] Also, listening to jokes that
involve lies is forbidden, because silence in Islam indicates consent. Allah’s Messenger  has ordered us
to stop evil or at least speak out against it, if it occurs in one's presence. If one cannot gather the courage to
speak against the one who lies, then he should leave such people who engage in sinful acts like lying just
to kill time.

(b) Joking should not involve bad language or abusing people: Allah says in the Qur'aan, ‘O you
who believe! A group of people should not scorn another group, for it may be that (the scorned person) is
better than the other…’ [Soorah al-Hujurat (49): 11]

May Allah protect us from indulging ourselves in such dishonest activities and may He give us the
strength to withstand such practices when they tend to infect our Muslim Society. Ameen!

Always Remember
Before you speak!

Everything we say is being recorded in our book of deeds and one wrong word can drag us to the Fire
of Hell. Allah says in Soorah al- Qaf (50): 18, ‘Not a word he utters but there is a watcher by him
ready (to record it).’

The Messenger of Allah  said, ‘Sometimes, a person says a thing which pleases Allah, and in return
Allah raises his status (rewards him), and sometimes a persons says something which displeases
Allah, and it takes him to Hell.’ [Saheeh al-Bukharee]