Part 26

And at the end of the hadith, the Prophet #% related that he said :

“You took me about tonight, so now inform me about what I ") Related by Bukhaaree (6095), Muslim (59), Ahmad (8470), At-Tirmidhee (2631), and An-Nassaaee (5021).

saw.” They answered him, ‘“Yes, as for the one you saw having his mouth ripped apart, he is a liar; he speaks a lie, and it is conveyed from him until it reaches the various regions [of the earth]. That (i.e., what you saw being done to him) will be done to him until the Day of Resurrection...)

Related Issue: The greatest lies are to lie upon Allah, to lie upon His Messenger #s, and to lie when swearing by Allah 4 in order to cheat a Muslim out of his wealth (or rights).

But what does it mean to lie upon Allah 3¢? One lies upon Allah by interpreting His Speech without knowledge. Our pious predecessors avoided interpreting Allah’s Speech without knowledge, which they made evident in practice and in many of their sayings. Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq # said, “What earth will carry me and what sky will give me shade if I say about Allah’s Book that which I do not know.” Masroog said, ‘“Be afraid of AtTafseer (explaining the meaning of the Quran), for it is narrating from Allah 4.” After relating these and other similar sayings, Ibn Taymiyyah said, ‘These and similar narrations from the Imams of our pious predecessors illustrate the care they took not to say in Tafseer that regarding which they had no knowledge. But if one speaks about something he knows - for example, a language related issue or a point from the Shariah - then there is no sin upon him.”

And how does one lie upon the Messenger of Allah #? One lies upon him 2% by fabricating a hadith and then falsely ascribing it to the Prophet #, by claiming that the Prophet #% said certain words or did a certain deed. The person who lies upon the Prophet #% is promised the Hellfire. ‘Alee Ibn Abee Taalib reported that the Prophet 2% said,

GO gil gle 215 ff 28 “Do not lie upon me, for whosoever lies upon me enters the Hellfire.”

" Related by Bukhaaree (1386) and Ahmad (19652). "I Related by Bukhaaree (106), Muslim (1), Ahmad (630), At-Tirmidhee

I mentioned that taking a false oath in order to take possession of a Muslim’s wealth is one of the worst forms of lying. ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood reported that the Prophet #% said,

“Whoever swears a false oath in order to take possession of the wealth of a Muslim man...then he will meet Allah 3%, and Allah 3€ will be angry with him...’")

‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr 4 reported that the Prophet 2% said,

“The Kabaair (major sins) - [they are] associating partners with Allah, undutifulness to one's parents, killing a person, and Al-

Yameen Al-Ghamoos”! (to take a false oath in order to take possession of the wealth of one’s Muslim brother).""9

And it is related that Ibn Mas’ood 2 said, “We would consider Al-Yameen Al-Ghamoos a sin for which there is no atonement: it is for a man to swear upon the wealth of his brother, lying in order to take possession of it”!

(2660), and Ibn Maajah (31). The wording mentioned above is from Bukhaaree’s narration of the hadith.

"I Related by Bukhaaree (6659), Muslim (138), Ahmad (3566), At-Tirmidhee (1269), Abu Daawood (3243), and Ibn Maajah (2323), And the wording mentioned above is from Bukhaaree’s narration of the hadith.

1 Ghamoos is from the verb Ghamasa, which means to plunge or immerse.

This kind of false oath is called Ghamoos because it plunges or immerses

its perpetrator into the Hellfire.

Related by Bukhaaree (6675), Ahmad (6845), At-Tirmidhee (3621), An-

Nassaaee (4011), and Ad-Daarimee (2360). And the wording mentioned

above is from Bukhaaree’s narration of the hadith.

4] Tbn Hajr said, “Adam Ibn lyaas related this in the Musnad of Sho’bah, and Ismaa’eel Al-Qaadee related it in Al-Ahkaam from Ibn Mas‘ood .” (Fathul-Baaree 11/566)

Another Related Issue: Lying is permissible in three matters:

1) Bringing people together and resolving differences between them.

2) Lying during war.

3) When a man speaks to his wife or when a woman speaks to her husband (to appease him or her and to bring harmony to their relationship, by expressing a great deal of love even if one does not feel all of that love).

The basis for this ruling is the hadith of Umm Kalthoom Bint “‘Ugbah Ibn Abee Mu’eet #, in which she %& said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah # say,

.4 of eet a By ee . 4 Sat wit Oy STE god ON BS ALA! cdl Sts pty

“He is not a liar who resolves differences between people, promoting goodness or saying good words. va

In Abu Daawood’s narration, she % said, ‘I have not heard the Messenger of Allah #& license people to lie in anything except for three matters. The Messenger of Allah ¢ would say,

LNG Oy b8 Oi ge Atl Leon Ge et

Wasi) bs “T do not consider to be a liar a man who resolves differences between people: he who says something, intending nothing other than to bring harmony between them; a man who speaks about war; and a man who speaks to his wife or a woman who speaks to her husband (words with which he or she intends to increase the love that exists between them).’"7!

The people of knowledge disagree about the intended meaning of the hadith. The majority of scholars hold that it is permissible to lie in the three said matters; some scholars are of the view that

the meaning of lying is not outright lying, but playing on words, whereby the literal meaning of what one says is true, though there are two possible meanings that one intends, one that is for the listener and one is a meaning that he keeps hidden in his breast. The former view, that of the majority of scholars, is the correct view in this issue.

Other Ahadeeth attest to Abu Daawood’s narration; one example is the above-mentioned narration of Umm Kalthoom 4, in which the Prophet 2 said, “He is not a liar who resolves differences between people, promoting goodness or saying good words”; another example is the following hadith, which is related by Jaabir Ibn ‘Abdullah . In it, the Prophet #% was seeking the death of Ka’ab Ibn Al-Ashraf, who had cursed the Prophet and deceived him by breaking his promise not to help outside forces against the Muslims. Muhammad [bn Musailamah 2 volunteered to punish Ka’ab for his treachery, and after speaking in private with the Prophet #, he 4 announced, “Wa ‘Annaanaa,”” which literally means ‘he has burdened us and charged us with a task.’ The meaning Muhammad Ibn Musailamah # intended to convey to those nearby was that the Prophet #% had charged him with a burdensome, boring task; he was not lying, for the Prophet #% had indeed charged him with a task, but it was neither burdensome nor boring; instead, it was important and pleasing. This example relates to lying or playing on words during war or for a war-like purpose.

There is even a narration that attests to the last part of Abu Daawood’s narration: about lying to one’s spouse in order to appease him or her. ‘Ataa Ibn Yasaar said, “A man went to the Prophet # and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, is there sin upon me for lying to my wife?’ He #¢ said,

“Allah does not love lying.’

He said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, [it was] to make peace with her and placate her soul.’ The Prophet #¢ said,

Chapter - 8 The Manners Of Speech

“{Then] there is no sin upon you.)

An-Nawawee said, “Concerning a man lying to his wife and her lying to him, what is meant is a demonstration or a show of love, a promise of what is not binding, or something similar. On the other hand, lying to deceive - when he or she is trying to withhold the other’s right -is Haram (forbidden) by the consensus of the Muslims. And Allah 3% knows best.”

And Al-Albaanee said, “It is not a form of permissible lying for a man to promise his wife something when he does not intend to fulfill that promise. Nor is it permissible for him to tell her that he bought something for a certain price, telling her so in order to please her, when he really paid a lesser sum. If she were to find him out, she would begin to harbor suspicious about him, and so his lie ends up not in reconciliation, but in distrust and strife.”

8) The Prohibition Of Lewdness, Obscenity, And Foul Language

Having the most complete set of manners and characteristics, the Prophet #% was furthest from base and foul language. He 2% forbade lewdness, cursing, and all falseness in speech. Ibn Mas’ood 4 reported that the Prophet # said,

tesa pod V5 ot V5 cots 3.4 och “The believer is not a Ta’aan (slanderer; one who attacks the

honor of others through disparaging words and backbiting); nor is he a curser or [a speaker] of lewd and base language.)

Al-Fuhsh, the Arabic word for lewdness, can be used to signify different meanings. It can, in a general sense, mean cursing and

‘| Al-Albaanee said in As-Saheehah, “Related by Al-Humaidee in his Musnad (# 329) (As-Silsilah, 1/817) (#498). The hadith is Mursal, but one may refer to the said reference to see why Al-Albaanee included the narration in his As-Silsilah As-Saheehah.

I Related by Ahmad (3938), At-Tirmidhee (1977), and Bukhaaree in AlAdab Al-Mufrad. The wording mentioned above is from Bukhaaree’s narration, which Al-Albaanee ruled to be authentic.

lewd language, as in the hadith of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr 4. He said, ‘The Prophet #% was neither Faahish nor Mutafaahish (i.e., he did not curse or speak lewdly), and he #% used to say, ‘Verily, from the best among you is the one who is best among you in manners./”"1]

Al-Fuhsh can also mean, transgressing the boundaries of good etiquette in conversation, a connotation of Fuhsh that is intended in the following hadith. ‘Aaisha ‘ said, “A group of Jews came and said, ‘As-Saam (i.e., death; however it is close in pronunciation to ‘As-Salaam,’ which means peace; so they were trying to trick the Prophet #%)’ upon you, O Abul-Qaasim (i.e., Muhammad #%).’ The Prophet #% answered, ‘And the same upon you.’ I then said to them, ‘Rather, upon you As-Saam (death) and Adh-Dhaam (shame, disgrace).’ The Messenger of Allah #8 said,