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Noble Qur'an says: "O you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah and be with the true ones." (9:119)
Lying is one of the most common wrong acts that we commit throughout our daily life. Lying is a subject that we should all take some time to think and reflect on.
Lying is against human nature and physiology. Like any disease, it has its own signs and symptoms. The act of lying produces inner conflicts between various control centers of the brain. The moment one begins to lie, their body sends out contradictory signals to cause facial muscle twitching, expansion and contraction of pupils, perspiration, flushing of cheeks, increase eye blinking, tremor of the hand and rapid heart rate. These symptoms constitute the basis of lie detector instruments. In addition, you will notice that the liar is unconsciously performing some body movements, like covering the mouth, touching the nose, rubbing the eyes, scratching the side of the neck, rubbing the ear etc. One of the clearest signs is that the liar keeps their palms closed and eyes pointed to another direction rather than facing the person eye to eye when they are lying. A liar is fully aware of his body signals. Therefore they find lying easier when no one can see them, i.e. over the phone or in writing.
Most people would agree that lying is wrong but there can be exceptions when there's a good reason for it. This is then referred to as telling a 'little white lie.' Consider the case where telling a lie would mean that 10 other lies would not be told. If 10 lies are worse than 1 lie then it would seem to be a good thing to tell the first lie, but if lying is always wrong then it's wrong to tell the first lie.
However, the line between 'little white lies' and other types of lies is constantly being blurred. Why? Reason being is that it easier and sometimes quicker to simply lie rather than to engage in a more productive discourse as the saying goes ... "Constructive lying is better than the painful truth."
Dr. Raymond Peach states, "Lying is the best defensive weapon of the weak and the quickest way to avoid danger." Lying, in most cases is a reaction to weakness and failure. If you were to ask a child, 'Did you touch this candy?' or 'Did you break this vase?' If the child realizes that admitting the mistakes will result in punishment, then their natural instinct would be for them to deny it."
We can say, without any doubt that, lying is one of the most evil characteristics, of which all religions and systems of ethics warn against and which man's innate common sense (Fitrah) agrees that it is wrong. Any who possess normal chivalry and sound reason would also be obliged the same.
Truthfulness is one of the pillars on which the moral survival of the world depends. It is the foundation of praiseworthy characteristics, the foundation of prophethood, the result of Taqwa (God consciousness). Were it not for truthfulness, the rulings of all divinely-revealed laws would collapse. Acquiring the characteristic of lying is akin to shedding one's humanity, because speaking is an exclusively human trait.
Noble Qur'an says, "Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies!" (40:28). Meaning, Islam rejects lying in all forms. However, there are a few instances where even Islam not only allows but recommends lying for the sake of brotherhood, which we will discuss later. Lying is something that almost everyone does both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We sometimes lie without even meaning to do it! A good example would be when an annoying neighbour calls on the phone and you tell your child to say that you are in the shower or otherwise indisposed so you don't get stuck on the phone for an hour. That's a lie. Other lies are more evil and salacious.
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M NAJIMUDEEN
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