The Sin of lying.

[Ismail Dalbani]

Bismillah Ar-RaHman Ar-RaHeem wa AlHamdu lillahi rabil ^alameen waSalatu wassalamu ^ala sayyidina muHammadin ashrafil mursaleen wa Habeebi rabil ^alameen.

Lying is among the sins of the tongue. It is to utter false information while knowing what one is saying is not the truth. It is sinful (haram) whether done seriously or jokingly.

The Prophet, ^alayhi Assalam, said what means:" Lying is not good, whether in seriousness or joking."(Related by al-Bayhaqiyy).

The Prophet, ^alayhi Assalam, also said what means:"Truthfulness leads to piety and piety leads to Paradise. The Muslim who continues to be truthful will then be recorded as a truthful person. Do not ever lie, because lying leads to very abhorrent sins, and those in turn lead to Hellfire. One keeps on lying and seeks to do that until one is recorded as a liar in some books of Allah." (Narrated by Ibn Majah).

In this honorable saying, the Prophet ^alayhi Assalam, urged us to speak the truth and warned us against lying. Lying is saying what is different from the truth. This act is forbidden in serious and joking matters.

If a Muslim knowingly says what is different from the truth, then he has fallen into the sin of lying. An example of a lie is for a person to say, 'I hit that person,' when the truth is, he did not do that.

If a lie causes harm to another Muslim, then this is a great sin.

There are many things that are among the sins of the tongue and fall under the category of lying. They include: swearing by Allah to a lie, false testimony, and falsely attributing something to Allah and His Prophet.

So, it is important to train your tongue to speak the truth and to avoid lying. Lying is an ugly habit. There are many people who have the habit of lying a lot. Their habit causes others to call them liars and be unable to trust them.

May Allah protect us and keep us steadfast. And Allah knows best