Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (6/155)

Chapter: The Prohibition of Lying

Allah the Exalted says, “Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart—each of those will be called to account” (Q 17:36). He also says, “No word does a person utter but that with him is an ever-present watcher” (Q 50:18).

[Explanation]

The author, al-Nawawi—may Allah have mercy on him—opens his book, Riyadh al-Salihin, with the chapter entitled “The Prohibition of Lying.” Lying is for a person to report something contrary to reality: he claims that such-and-such happened when it did not, or alleges that so-and-so said something when he did not, and the like. In short, it is to convey information that does not correspond to the facts.

Know that lying occurs in several forms.

Lying about Allah and His Messenger. This is the gravest form of falsehood, for Allah, exalted is He, says: “Who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah so that—by it—he might lead people astray without knowledge? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing folk” (Q 6:144). The preposition lam (ل) in the phrase “so that he might lead people astray” is the lam of consequence, not of causation. It is like His statement about Moses, peace be upon him: “The family of Pharaoh picked him up so that he might become for them an enemy and a source of grief” (Q 28:8). They did not pick him up for that purpose; rather, Allah ordained that the outcome would be his becoming their enemy and a cause of sorrow. Likewise, whoever fabricates lies about Allah ends up, by that very fabrication, leading people astray without knowledge.

Fabricating lies about Allah falls into two categories. The first is for someone to say, “Allah said such-and-such,” while he is lying; Allah said no such thing.

باب تحريم الكذب قال الله تعالى: ﴿ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسؤولاً﴾ وقال تعالى: ﴿ما يلفظ من قول إلا لديه رقيب عتيد﴾ [الشَّرْحُ] قال المؤلف النووي ﵀ في كتابه (رياض الصالحين) باب تحريم الكذب، الكذب هو أن يخبر الإنسان بخلاف الواقع، فيقول: حصل كذا، وهو كاذب، أو قال فلان كذا، وهو كاذب وما أشبه ذلك، فهو الإخبار بخلاف الواقع. واعلم أن الكذب أنواع: الأول: الكذب على الله ورسوله، وهذا أعظم أنواع الكذب، لقول الله تعالى فمن أظلم ممن افترى على الله كذبًا ليضل الناس بغير علم إن الله لا يهدي القوم الظالمين واللام في قوله ﴿ليضل الناس بغير علم﴾ اللام لام العاقبة وليست لام التعليل، فهي كقوله تعالى في موسى ﷺ ﴿فالتقطه آل فرعون ليكون لهم عدواً وحزنًا﴾ وهم ما التقطوه لهذا، ولكن الله تعالى جعل العاقبة أن كان لهم عدوًا وحزنًا، وهكذا من افترى على الله كذبًا، فإنه بافترائه يضل الناس بغير علم. والافتراء على الله نوعان: النوع الأول أن يقول: قال الله كذا، وهو يكذب، كاذب على الله، ما قال الله شيئًا.