1. Lying upon Allaah ~ and/or His Messenger ~

Allaah ~ informs us that it is not allowed to follow anything without knowledge. He ~ says: J ~~t ~t 2j\ 0~ ~ '-fl, Su ;:J ~ ~ ~_;~ ), ~ / J. ,. / > 7/ / ,/' / / .. " . .u ->> ,;1 1~. i"~ / Jr .,.-:: .r:.:.aH h//~ "'( O.)_,....... ~~_) j.ll l5°' 1J'. ~/ L>_r' ,, './ ~_)'J" "And you will see on the Day of Judgment, those who lie upon Allaah, their faces blackened." [Az-Zumar (39): 60] lbn AI-Jawzee, in his Tafseer said: "Many scholars of lslaam are of the opinion, that lying upon Allaah ~ and His Messenger ~ is disbelief, and that it takes one out of lslaam (i.e. it makes him a difsbeliever). Lying upon the Messenger of Allaah ~ is similarly serious, since indirectly it is lying upon Allaah 1'. The Messenger ~ emphasizing the severity of lying upon himself ~ said: ,,,. f 0 ...- ,:Ill- "" ,; ,,. o 1 .:-..4 ~~ lj. ::/u u :_;::~ ,:; 1 ;::_ ..::.i.15 ? ,; -! u / . • '-:1"" . u "Whoever knowingly lie upon me, then let him occupy his seat in the Fire.'1.541 Many Muslims would tell you that stealing, bribery, killing, adultery etc. are all prohibited (Haraam) acts.

However, when it comes to lying upon Allaah ~ and/or His Messenger ~ they are [54] Bukhaaree & Muslim. Golden Advice Series 04 not even aware that such a sin exists, and so they would indulge in it freely without worry. This complacency among Muslims regarding this sin comes about because of the great ignorance that prevails concerning i) the rights of Allaah ~ and His Messenger ~ and ii) the serious punishment that results from indulging in sin. This complacent attitude, coupled with ignorance, has been the main factors for the majority of the deviations and differences found in lslaam. Various ways in which lying upon Allaah ~ and His Messenger ~ are manifested. a) Describing Allaah without proof from the Qur'aan or authentic Sunnah For example, describing Allaah ~ as being everywhere is a serious misconception of which many Muslims are guilty.

The Qur'aan and authentic Sunnah are both replete with proofs which show that Allaah ~ is above and beyond His creation, and not a part of it, as the statement that 'He, is everywhere' necessitates. The following hadith clearly indicate this. Mu'aawiyah bin AlHakim said: "I had a servant girl who used to tend to my sheep in the area of Mount Uhud, near a place called AI-Jawwaareeyah. One day I came to see them only to find that a wolf had made off with a sheep from her flock. Since, I, like the rest of Adam's descendants, am prone to do regrettable acts, I gave her a terrible slap on her face.

When I came to Allaah's Messenger ~ with the story, he considered it a grave thing for me to have done. I said: 'O Messenger of Allaah ~ couldn't I free her? He replied: Guarding the Tongue "Bring her to me." So I brought her. He then asked her, i1 _;t "Where is Allaah?" And she replied: "Above the sky." Then he asked her: "Who am I?'' She replied : "You are Allaah's Messenger." So he said: "Free her; for she is a believer."l55l It must be noted that one of the duties of the Messenger ~ was to correct any mistakes anyone committed in this religion (Deen). His silence after asking her, "Where is Allaah?'' and she replied "Above the sky", is an indication that her answer is correct.

His affirming that she is a believer, at the end of the hadith, is the direct proof that her answers were correct, otherwise he would be lying, and we seek refuge with Allaah ~ for even thinking that lying is possible from the Messenger ~ - What should be noted, is the fact that the first question he asked her was: Where is Allaah? and not if she believed in Him, [55] Muslim. Golden Advice Series 04 the Most High. Since the question was: 'Where is Allaah?' great importance and attention must be given to the fact that, since he accepted that Allaah ~ is above the skies as the correct answer, that this is direct proof that this is the correct view on the question. Additionally, it establishes the importance of the issue in lslaam, contrary to the belief and attitude of many Muslims, even so-called Shaykhs, who claim that the issue is either trivial or too advanced. After all, this was the first question the Prophet ~ asked of a slave girl to determine if she was a Muslim or not! b) Explaining the Aayaat of the Qur'aan, or the hadith of the Prophet ~ with meanings other than their apparent ones, is also another way of lying upon Allaah ~ - Allaah ~ says: "(Allaah) said: 'O lblees (Shaytaan)!

What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with both My Hands ... "' [Saad (38): 75] In the above Aayah, Allaah ~ is saying that He created Aadam with His Two Hands. Yet some Muslims try to explain "Alla a h's two Hands" to mean His power. Who knows Allaah ~ better, Himself or these people? As Muslims, we have to believe in Allaah ~ as He describes Himself or as His Messenger ~ described Him.

Therefore, if He ~ says he has Two Hands, we must believe that. However, we must also believe, that they are not hands like our: He, the Sublime says: !,,_ ,? ?" ,I,_~\ ~\ ,,~,, ! , -;: ~~ /1~ "'\ . ,, . e:-;:--- yr, _J ~ ,, / ,, ~.,, Guarding the Tongue "There is nothing like Him; and He is the Hearer; the Seer of all" [Ash-Shooraa (42): 11] c) Making Haraam things Halaal This is another form of lying upon Allaah. An example of this is telling Muslims to get out of the Masjid. Since some of our brothers pray according to the way demonstrated by the Prophet ~ (i.e. according to the Sunnah), some administrators order them out of the Masjid just because of that. These arrogant leaders should remember, that amongst the greatest of oppressors, are those who prevent a Muslim from praying in the Masjid of Allaah.

This is because they are making Haraam the most Halaal of deeds, purely out of their unlawful dictatorship. Allaah ~ says: "And who is more unjust than those who forbid that Allaah's Name should be remembered in His Mosques, and strive after its destruction .. .'' [AI-Baqarah (2): 114] d) Making Halaal things Haraam This is also another way in which Muslims lie upon Allaah ~ - An example of this is that Allaah M permits a Muslim man to marry and have up to four wives, at any given time. However, if anyone attaches conditions, and throws doubt on this, he/she is in fact making something that is Halaal, Haraam. This is done by Muslims saying that a man can only marry once, and if the circumstances of necessity present itself, then the law of polygyny (i.e. a man marrying more than one wife) becomes applicable. Golden Advice Series 04 Allaah, the All-Knowing says: " ... then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three or four, but if you shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then many only one, (or the captives) that your right hands possess ...

" [An-Nisaa' (4): 3] In the aboveAayah, Allaah ~ , the Wise has legislated that a man may marry 2, 3 or 4 wives, but if he was afraid of treating them unjustly, that is, he would not be able to keep up a balanced scale of equitable treatment, then the alternative is to marry only one. This, and only this, is the condition set down by the Sharee'ah. Anyone trying to say that there are other conditions is inventing his own law. Those who propagate that the first wife must be barren or sick, or that she has to approve of the second marriage, etc., have no evidence at all to support their false claims. Even worst, are those who have adopted the orientalists' opinion, that polygyny is a lustful act.

Thus, anyone whose wife is otherwise perfect, but he still takes a second wife, is, in the orientalists' view, doing this only out of evil lust and desires. This category is worst, because their statement is blasphemy against the Qur'aan, since Allaah ~ , the Wise, promotes and encourages therein, that a man can be married to more than one woman at any given time. It is also blasphemy to the Prophet ~ , his Companions, and the scholars of lslaam, as they practiced it during their lifetime. However, even if it were done purely for lust or desire, it would still be according to the Sunnah, since the Messenger of Allaah Guarding the Tongue ~ informs us, that when someone satisfies his sexual cravings or lust in a Ha/oaf way, he will be blessed for it. He states: ..,.,,,. ,,,.

' 't.- 0: ~J..p r-5~1 ~ Jj / " ... and even when one of you cohabits (engage in sexual intercourse), he is rewarded for it." We (the Companions) said: "O Messenger of Allaah ~ ! Would one of us earn blessings and rewards for satisfying his (sexual) lusts and desires?" He said: ~).,, )~ a I'.: ~ ~ ~tsf ~ I', . 1-:: ::: ';. ' •\ •:•f,f -: ~ '" i ? c..1,- ~ _., .,., r ) , " .,, . i j ~l5 ~Jy{;j1 . 1-:: ::: ';. ' 111 dlK; _r:- , ~ ~.) ~ / " / '·Yes, don't you see that if he was to satisfy it in the Haraam way (by adultery and fornication) that he would be sinned? Similarly, when he satisfies it in the Ha/oaf way, he is rewarded."f.561 e) Using fabricated and unauthentic Ahaadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah ~ is another way of lying on Allaah and His Messenger ~ - The Messenger of Allaah ~ said: 81 : }j~ i.,::,t; 1J:..;::~ ~ \.:'..~.is -~.; --d ~ • " '-!""' (._/ "Whoever knowingly lie upon me, then let him occupy his seat in the Fire (of Hell).''f.571 [56) Muslim. [57) Bukhaaree & Muslim. Golden Advice Series 04 The Messenger of Allaah ~ also said: "Whoever relates a hadith about me, knowing it to be inauthentic, is himself a liar."l58l