May ALLAH guide us towards right path Ameen
Praise be to Allaah, we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides, none can lead astray, and whomsoever He sends astray, none can guide.
One of the things that have become widespread among the common people is the so called “April Fool’s Day”, where they claim that the first day of the fourth solar month is a day when lying is permitted without being subject to any shar’i guidelines.
The prohibition of lying:
1. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is only those who believe not in the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allaah, who fabricate falsehood, and it is they who are liars”.
[al-Nahl 16:105]
2. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted with something, he betrays that trust.” [Bukhaari, Muslim]
The most evil kinds of lies are:
1. Lies told about Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
This is the most serious kind of lie, and the one who does this is subject to a severe warning. Some of the scholars said that the one who does this is to be denounced as a kaafir. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say: ‘Verily, those who invent a lie against Allaah will never be successful’” [Yoonus 10:69]
It was narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:‘Do not tell lies about me. Whoever tells lies about me, let him enter the Fire.’” [Bukhaari].
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever tells lies about me, let him take his place in Hell.” [Bukhaari, Muslim]
2. Lying in buying and selling.
It was narrated from Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three to whom Allaah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection and He will not look at them or praise them, and they will have a painful torment.”
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repeated this three times. Abu Dharr said: “May they be doomed and lost, who are they, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said,“The one who lets his garment hang below his ankles, the one who reminds others of his favours, and the one who disposes of his goods by swearing a false oath.” [Narrated by Muslim]
3. The prohibition on lying about visions and dreams.
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever tells of a dream that he did not see will be commanded [on the Day of Resurrection] to tie two grains of barley together, but he will never be able to do it…….” [Bukhaari]
4. The prohibition of speaking about everything that one hears.
It was narrated that Hafs ibn ‘Aasim said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘It is sufficient lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears.’” [Muslim].
5. Lying in jest (joke)
Some people think that it is permissible to tell lies if it is in jest. This is the excuse that they use for telling lies on April 1stor on other days. This is wrong. There is no basis for this in the pure sharee’ah. Lying is haraam whether the one who does it is joking or is serious.
Lying in jest is haraam just like other kinds of lies.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘I joke, but I speak nothing but the truth.’” [Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer]
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “They said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, you joke with us.’ He said, ‘But I only speak the truth.’” [al-Tirmidhi]
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Laylaa said: the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that they were travelling with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “What are you laughing at?” They said, “Nothing, except that we took the arrows and he got alarmed.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is not permissible for a Muslim to frighten another Muslim.” [Abu Dawood & Ahmad – this version narrated by Ahmad].
6. Lying when playing with children
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against doing that. It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “My mother called me one day when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sitting in our house. She said, ‘Come here, and I will give you (something).’
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘What do you want to give him?’
She said, ‘I will give him a date.’
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If you had not given him something, you would have been lying.’”
7. Lying to make people laugh
It was narrated that Mu’aawiyah ibn Haydah said: “I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:‘Woe to the one who talks to make the people laugh and tells lies, woe to him, woe to him.’” [Tirmidhi. He said: this is a hasan hadeeth. Abu Dawood]
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]
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.’”[Bukhaari, Muslim]
3. His testimony will be rejected
4. Blackening of the face in this world and in the Hereafter
5. The liar will have the flesh of his cheeks torn to the back of his head
(as narrated in a long hadeeth by al-Bukhaari)
Permissible kinds of lies
Lying is permissible in three cases: war; reconciling between two disputing parties; and a husband lying to his wife or vice versa for the sake of love and harmony.
It was narrated from Umm Kalthoom bint ‘Uqbah that she heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “He is not a liar who reconciles between people and narrates something good or says something good.” [Bukhaari, Muslim]
It was narrated that Asmaa’ bint Yazeed said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:‘It is not permissible to tell lies except in three (cases): when a man speaks to his wife in a way to please her; lying in war; and lying in order to reconcile between people.’” [Tirmidhi]
April fool
But with regard to “April Fool”, (in Arabic, Kidhbat Neesaan or the lies of April), the origin of this lying is not known for sure. There are differing opinions concerning that.
I say: it does not matter what the origins of April fool are. What matters more is knowing the ruling on lying on this day, which we are sure did not exist during the first and best generations of Islam. It did not come from the Muslims, but rather from their enemies.
The things that happen on April fools’ day are many. Some people have been told that their child or spouse or someone who is dear to them has died, and unable to bear this shock, they have died. Some have been told that they are being laid off, or that there has been a fire or an accident in which their family has been killed, so they suffer paralysis or heart attacks, or similar diseases. Some people have been told about their wives, that they have been seen with other men, and this has led them to kill or divorce their wives.
These are the endless stories and incidents that we hear of, all of which are lies which are forbidden in Islam and unacceptable to common sense or honest chivalry.
We have seen how Islam forbids lying even in jest, and it forbids frightening a Muslim whether in seriousness or in jest, in words or in actions.
This is the law of Allaah in which is wisdom and care for people’s circumstances.
And Allaah is the Source of Strength.
