The hadith then clarifies: “he neither wrongs him, nor betrays him, nor lies to him.”

“Does not betray him” means that he does not act treacherously in any matter that has been entrusted to him—whether property, a secret, or anything else. Betrayal is to treat a person treacherously in a situation of trust, and it is impermissible for anyone to betray his Muslim brother, even if that brother has betrayed him. In other words, even if your Muslim brother wrongs you in this way, you must not repay him in kind, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Render the trust to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrayed you.”

Suppose someone betrayed you in a financial matter: you loaned him money, and he later denied it, claiming, “You never lent me anything.” It would not be lawful for you to retaliate by borrowing money from him and then denying the debt. Rather, return the trust to him and ask Allah to restore your right, in obedience to the Prophet’s words, “Do not betray the one who betrays you.”

Likewise, “he does not lie to him”—that is, he does not address him with falsehood. Lying is forbidden, and the more harmful its consequences, the graver the sin. There is no form of lying that is lawful. Some laypeople claim that lies are of two kinds, black and white—the black being forbidden and the white permissible. The answer is that every lie is black; none is white. However, the degree of sin increases in proportion to its results: if it leads to consuming a Muslim’s wealth or endangering a Muslim, the sin is more serious; if no harmful outcome follows, the sin is lighter, yet it remains prohibited.

It is, nevertheless, reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he granted a concession to lie when reconciling between