Lying upon Allah and/or His Messenger (peace be upon him)

Allah informs us that it is not allowed to

follow anything without knowledge, He, the Most High, said:

"And follow not, (O man i.e. do not say, act

or witness) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily! The hearing, and

the sight and the heart for each of those will you be questioned " [Al-Israa

17: 36]

And He, the Mighty also warns us not to speak

about Him without knowledge:

"Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)): indeed

the things that my Lord has forbidden are: (and from them is) saying things

about Allah of which you have no knowledge". [Al - A' araaf 7:33]

In the above aayah, Allah, the Most High, is

telling us that He has forbidden Muslims to speak about Him without

knowledge, and lying upon Allah, the Most High, is one way of doing this.

The one who lies about Allah, the Most High, is not only guilty of speaking

about Him without knowledge, but also he is amongst the most oppressive of

people as Allah Himself describes:

"And who is more oppressive than he who lies

against Allah, or who denies His signs ....." [Al - A' araaf 7:37]

Besides that, He, the Wise, also describes the

punishment, on the Day of Judgment, for anyone who involves themselves in

this dangerous practice, thus:

"And you will see on the day of judgment,

those who lie upon Allah, their faces blackened." [Al- Zumr: 60]

Ibn Al-Jawzee, in his Tafseer said: "Many

scholars of Islam are of the opinion, that lying upon Allah and His

Messenger (peace be upon him) is disbelief, and that it takes one out of

Islam (i.e. it makes him a disbeliever). Lying upon the Messenger of Allah

(peace be upon him) is similarly serious, since indirectly it is lying upon

Allah. The Messenger (peace be upon him), emphasizing the severity of lying

upon himself (peace be upon him), said: "Whoever knowingly upon me, then let

him occupy his seat in the Fire". [Bukhari, Muslim & others]

Many Muslims would tell you that stealing,

bribery, killing, adultery etc. are all prohibited (Haraam) acts.

However, when it come to lying upon Allah, the

Most High, and/or His Messenger (peace be upon him), they are not even aware

that such a sin exist, 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 Allah and His

Messenger and (ii) the serious punishment that results from indulging in

sin.

This complacent attitude, coupled with

ignorance, have been the main factors for the majority of the deviances and

differences found in Islam.

Various ways in which lying upon Allah, the

Most High and His Messenger (peace be upon him) are manifested.

(a ) Describing

Allah without proof from the Quran or authentic sunnah.

For example, describing Allah as being

everywhere is a serious misconception of which many Muslims are guilty. The

Quraan and authentic sunnah are both replete with proofs which show that

Allah, the Most High, is above and beyond His creation, and not a part of

it, as the statement that 'He, is everywhere' necessitates. The following

Hadeeth clearly indicate this. Ma'aaiyah Ibn Al- Hakim said: 'I had a

servant girl who used to tend to my sheep in the area of Mount Uhud, near a

place called Al-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 in her face. When I came to Allah 's Messenger (peace be upon him) with

the story, he considered it a grave thing for me to have done. I said: 'O

Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) couldn't I free her? He (peace be

upon him) replied: "Bring her to me." So I brought her. He (peace be upon

him) then asked

her, "Where is Allah?" And she replied: "Above

the sky." Then He (peace be upon him) asked her: "Who am I?" She replied

"You are Allah's Messenger". So he (peace be upon him) said: "Free her; for

she is a believer. " [Muslim Vol. 1 Pg. 271-2 #1094]

It must be noted that one of the duties of the

Messenger (peace be upon him) was to correct any mistakes anyone committed

in this religion (Deen). His (peace be upon him) silence after asking her,

"Where is Allah", and she replied "Above the sky", is an indication that her

answer is correct. His (peace be upon him) affirming that she is a believer,

at the end of the Hadeeth, is the direct proof that her answers were

correct, otherwise He (peace be upon him) would be lying, and we seek refuge

with Allah for even thinking that lying is possible from the Messenger

(peace be upon him).

What should be noted, is the fact that the

first question he (peace be upon him) asked her was: Where is Allah? and not

if she believed in Him, the Most High. Since the question was: 'Where is

Allah?' great importance and attention must be given to the fact that, since

he (peace be upon him) accepted that Allah 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 Islam, contrary to the belief and attitude of many Muslims,

even so-called Shaiks, who claim that the issue is either trivial or too

advanced. After all, this was the first question the Prophet (peace be upon

him) asked of a slave girl to determine if she was a Muslim or not!

(b) Explaining

the Aayaat of the Quran, or the Hadeeth of die Prophet (peace be upon him)

with meanings other than their apparent ones, is also another way of lying

upon Allah.

Allah, the Most High said:

"O Iblees (Satan)! What

prevent you from prostrating yourself to one I have created with My Two

Hands... " [Saad 38:75]

In the above Aayah, Allah, the Most High, is

saying that He created Aadam with His Two Hands. Yet some Muslims try to

explain "Allah's two Hands" to mean His power Who knows Allah better,

Himself or these people? As Muslims, we have to believe in Allah as He

describes Himself or as His Messenger (peace be upon him) described Him.

Therefore, if He, the Mighty, says he has Two Hands, we must believe that.

However, we must also believe, that they are not hands like our: He, the

Sublime said:

"There is nothing like Him; and He is the

Hearer; the Seer of all." [Shooraa 42:11]

(c) Making Haraam

things Halaal

This is another form of lying upon Allah. 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 (peace be

upon him), (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 Allah. This is because they are making

Haraam the most

halaal of deeds, purely out of their unlawful

dictatorship. Allah, the Glorious said:

"And who is more unjust than those who forbid

that Allah's Name should be remembered in His Mosques, and strive after its

destruction..." [Al-Baqarah 2: 114]

(d) Making Halaal

things Haraam

This is also another way in which Muslims lie

upon Allah, the Glorious. An example of this, is that Allah 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 which is Halaal, Haraam. This is done by Muslims saying

that a man can only marry once, and if the circumstances of necessity

presents itself, then the law of polygyny (i.e. a man marrying more than one

wife) becomes applicable. Allah, the All-Knowing said:

"...then many (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 above Aayah, Allah, the Wise has

legislated that a man should marry 2, 3 or 4 wives, but if he was afraid of

treating them unjustly, that is, he would not be able to upkeep a balanced

scale of equal treatment, then the alternative is to marry only one. This,

and only this, is the condition set down by the Shareeah. 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 Quraan,

since Allah, 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 (peace be upon him), his companions, and the scholars of Islam,

as they practiced it during their lifetime.

However, even if it was done purely for lust

or desire, it would still be according to the sunnah, since the Messenger of

Allah (peace be upon him) informs us, that when someone satisfies his sexual

cravings or lust in a Halaal way, he will be blessed for it. He (peace be

upon him) states:

"...and even when one of you cohabits (engage

in sexual intercourse), he is rewarded for it.''

We (the companions said: "O Messenger of

Allah! Would one of us earn blessings and rewards for satisfying his

(sexual) lusts and desires?

He (peace be upon him) said: "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

Halaal way, he is rewarded."

(e) Using

fabricated and unauthentic Aa-hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah (peace be

upon him) is another way of lying on Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon

him).

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

said: "Whoever knowingly lie upon me, then let him occupy his seat in the

Fire (of Hell)". [Bukhari, Muslim & others]

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

also said: "Whoever relates a Hadeeth about me, knowingly it to be

un-authentic, is himself a liar. " [Ibn Majah]