True belief in Allah and the
Day of Judgment implies that the person is truthful in his speech 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 not lie. The Messenger of
Allah (saws) 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
Shaytaan that he first makes sins look insignificant and minor in the eyes of
the believers, and then gradually deceives them to commit those sins. Lying is
one of them, and people do not show much concern about its prohibition,
however, lying is a characteristic of hypocrisy, Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn Amr al-Aas
(ra) narrated that the Prophet (saws)
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 (saws) warned us against lying by describing the severe punishments
of Allah for the liars. He (saws) related a dream in
which he (saws) 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 (saws) explained that lying could cause one to end up in the Hell
Fire, he (saws) 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 (saws) has strictly forbade lying at all times, but he (saws)
specifically cursed the person who lies to make people
laugh, he (saws) said: "Woe be on one who speaks and
lies in order to make people laugh, woe be on him." [Abu Dawood vol: 3,
no. 4972.] 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 (saws) 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 (saws) blocked this path
from the beginning because of the bad it may lead to.
Islam does not prohibit
joking. It is known through many narrations that Allah's Messenger (saws) approved joking, and he (saws) would
himself play and joke with his companions and small children. Simak ibn Harb
asked Jabir ibn Samurah (ra), "Did you sit in the company of
the Messenger of Allah (saws)?" 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 (ra) said that the Prophet (saws) was told, "O Prophet (saws), you are
joking with us." He (saws) 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 (saws) 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 lies
to pass their 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]
Always Remember Before you speak!
Everything we say is being
recorded in our actions and that one wrong word can take us to Hell Fire.
Allah says in Soorah Qaf (50): 18: "Not a word he utters but there is a
watcher by him ready (to record it)."
The Messenger of Allah (saws) 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]
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