Punishment of telling lies in Islam

Lying is another sin which is classified among the Greater sins. The famous scholar, Shaykh Ansari (r.a.) writes in his book, Makasib al-Muharrama:

“Common sense suggests lying is Harām, all the revealed religions also say so; particularly Islam. The Qur’an is explicit in this regard. The corpus of hadith (opinion of the majority of the jurists) verifies this tenet and reason also sustains this assertion.”

Lying is listed with the greater sins in the narration of Fazl Ibn Shazān from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.).

Lying is one of the greatest sins

A tradition from the Holy Prophet (S) declares,

“Beware I inform you regarding the greatest of the mortal sins: Associating anything with Allah, disobeying parents and lying!”1

A similar tradition has been quoted from Imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s.) also,

“All the evils have been locked in a room and its key is lying.”2

Angels curse the liars

The Prophet of Islam in another tradition is quoted to have said,

“When a believer utters a lie without a valid excuse, he is cursed by seventy thousand angels. Such a stench emanates from his heart that it reaches the sky and because of this single lie Allah writes for him a sin equivalent to that of committing seventy fornications. Such fornications that the least of which is fornication with ones mother.”3

Undoubtedly, lying is the worst of sins. It is obvious that the evils of lying are more dreadful than those of adultery. Some false words lead to war between two tribes or two sections of the society. Some lies blight the honour of thousands of people or endanger their lives, or lead to economic disasters.

One kind of falsehood is that which is attributed to Allah (S.w.T.), the Holy Prophet (S) or the Holy Imams (a.s.). Understandably this is the worst kind of falsehood. Often due to lying, innocent people are sent to the gallows and their families destroyed. It is for this very reason that the traditions state:

“Lying is an evil, greater than drinking wine.”

Qur’anic verses denounce lying

Allah the Almighty says in Surah an-Nahl, verse 105:

“Only they forge the lie who do not believe in Allah’s communications, and these are the liars.”

And in Surah az-Zumar it is mentioned:

“Surely Allah does not guide him aright who is a liar, ungrateful.” (Surah az-Zumar 39:3)

It can be understood from the verses of the Qur’an that a liar calls for divine curse and invites the anger of Allah (S.w.T.).

For example:

“... and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars.” (Surah Āli- Imrān 3:61)

And also:

“... the curse of Allah be on him if he is one of the liars.” (Surah an-Nūr 24:8)

A large number of Qur’anic verses and traditions condemn the sin of lying and describe its evil consequences. The late Haji Nūri has collected these verses and traditions and classified them into forty points for easy recalling and reference. We shall quote them for the benefit of our readers.

1. Lying is transgression

Allah (S.w.T.) says in Surah al-Baqarah:

“...there shall be no intercourse nor transgression nor quarreling amongst one another (during Hajj).” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:197)

The word “transgression” in this ayat refers to falsehood or lying.

Again in Surah al-Hujurāt it is mentioned:

“O you who believe! If an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done.” (Surah al-Hujurāt 49:6)

This ayat was revealed for Walid, who is mentioned as an “evil-doer”; i.e. a liar.

2. Meaning of the term “false words”

Alongwith the prohibition of worshipping idols it is ordered by Allah (S.w.T.) to abstain from falsehood.

“...therefore avoid the uncleanness of the idols and avoid false words.” (Surah Hajj 22:30)

In this verse ‘false words’ mean lying.

3. The liar is not a believer

One of the verses quoted above demonstrates that a liar is not a believer and one who is a believer never speaks a lie. The verse pronounces:

“Only they forge the lie who do not believe in the signs of Allah.” (Surah an-Nahl 16:l05)

For it is clear that one who disbelieves in the divine communications cannot be a Mu’min (believer).

4. Lying is an evil and a sin

Traditions have mentioned lying as a sin and an evil. For example, Hazrat Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) says:

“Falsehood is absolutely an evil and a sin.”

5. The Liar is accursed

The liar is eligible for divine curse and Allah (S.w.T.) causes His retribution to descend upon him.”

For example:

“...the curse of Allah be on him if he is one of the liars.” (Surah an-Nūr 24:8)

6. The blackened face of the liar

The Holy Prophet (S) says:

“Beware of falsehood! Because falsehood blackens the face.”4

An interesting incident is found in the book, Habibus Sayr:

Sultan Husain Mirza, the king of Khorasan and Zāblistan, sent one of his envoys to Sultan Yaqūb Mirza, the king of Azerbaijān and Iraq. The envoy carried with him books and other gifts. The Sultan had ordered the inclusion of the book Kulliyat al-Jami in the set of books. It was a very popular book in those days. Amīr Husain Abīravi, the envoy, in his haste packed the book Futūhat al-Makki instead of Kulliyat al-Jami. On reaching Iraq, he found a hospitable host in the ruler of Iraq. He was asked, “You must have been bored during this long journey?”

The envoy replied, “Not at all! The Sultan has sent for you Kulliyat al-Jami. So whenever we halted, I read some portions of it and passed my time.”

Sultan Yaqūb was eager to see the book. But, when he ordered for it, it was not found to the embarrassment of the envoy.

The king demanded, “Aren’t you ashamed to utter such a lie?”

The envoy says, “I left the court ashamed and returned home without a reply to my Sultan’s letter. I did not even halt or rest during the journey to Khorasan. I felt death would have been better for me, rather than uttering such a lie.”

 

No falsehood should be regarded as insignificant

It is commonly seen that when the host asks his guests to stay on for dinner or lunch, the guests say, “we are not hungry;” although in reality it is not so. Consequently it is a lie. People tend to ignore such lies and consider them insignificant. The traditions denounce them in unequivocal words, and their prohibition is clearly established in the Islamic law.

Asma Binte Umais says:

“On the first night of Ayesha’s wedding, the Holy Prophet (S) gave me a bowl of milk and told me to give it to the ladies. The women said, “we are not hungry.” When the Holy Prophet (S) heard this, He said:

“Do not bring together hunger and falsehood.”

Asma asked the Prophet (S),

“O Messenger of Allah (S), if we desire something but verbally refuse it, is it a lie?”

The Holy Prophet (S) said,

“Yes! Certainly every kind of falsehood is recorded, (in the scroll of deeds) even the smallest of the small lies is written.”32

If a person, just for the sake of formality, invites others, “Please come, and visit us sometimes,” when he actually does not desire so, it is not a lie. Because the word “come” is conditional and uncertain. It is neither a truth nor a falsehood. But it is better to refrain from such a show of politeness, because to say something which you do not mean is a sign of hypocrisy.

One day, Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) was seated with his son Ismail when one of his followers arrived, saluted him and sat down. When the Imam (a.s.) stood up and walked towards the ladies portion, the man also followed till the door. Imam (a.s.) bid farewell to him from there. Later, Ismail asked his father, “Why didn’t you invite him inside just for the politeness sake?”

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said,

“It was not proper to invite him inside. I did not wish him to come inside. Neither did I wish that Allah should include me among those who say one thing and wish another.”33

Source: al-islam.org