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April Fool - Part 2
The punishment for
lying:
The liar is warned of destructive punishment in this world, and humiliating
punishment in the Hereafter. These include:
1. Hypocrisy in the heart:
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “So He punished
them by putting hypocrisy into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet
Him, because they broke that (covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to
Him and because they used to tell lies. [al-Tawbah 9:77]
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: “You may know the hypocrite by three things: when
he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is
entrusted with something he betrays that trust.”. He said: “Recite this aayah
(interpretation of the meaning): "And of them are some who made a covenant with
Allaah (saying): 'If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will
verily, give Sadaqah (Zakaah and voluntary charity in Allaah’s Cause) and will
be certainly among those who are righteous.' Then when He gave them of His
Bounty, they became niggardly [refused to pay the Sadaqah (Zakaah or voluntary
charity)], and turned away, averse. So He punished them by putting hypocrisy
into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke
that (covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to Him and because they used
to tell lies." [al-Tawbah 9:75-77]. (Musanaaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, 6/125)
2. Guidance to evildoing and to the Fire:
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Truthfulness is
righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A person will continue to
tell the truth until he is written with Allaah as one who tells the truth. Lying
is evildoing, and evildoing leads to Hell. A person will keep on telling lies
until he is written as a liar." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5743 & Muslim, 2607)
Al-San’aani said: 'This hadeeth indicates that whoever continues to speak the
truth, it will become a feature of his, and whoever deliberately tells lies and
persists in it, it will become a feature of his. This is the same as any other
good or evil characteristic, if a person persists in it, it becomes a feature of
his.
This hadeeth indicates how serious the matter of telling the truth is, and that
it may lead a person to Paradise, and it indicates how ugly lying is and how it
may lead a person to Hell. This is in addition to the consequences in this
world, for the one who tells the truth will have his words accepted by people,
and his testimony will be accepted by judges and he will be liked for what he
says, whereas for the liar the opposite will be the case.' Subul al-Salaam,
2/687
3. Having one's testimony rejected:
Ibn al-Qayyim said under "The reason why the testimony of the liar is rejected":
'The strongest reason why testimonies, fatwas and reports may be rejected is
lying, because it corrupts the very essence of the testimony, fatwa or report.
It is like the testimony of a blind man concerning sighting the new moon, or the
testimony of a deaf man concerning having heard the admission of someone. The
lying tongue is like some faculty that is no longer working, indeed it is even
worse than that, for the most evil thing a man may possess is a lying tongue.' (A’laam
al-Muwaqqi’een, 1/95)
4. Blackening of the face in this world and in the Hereafter:
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "And on the Day
of Resurrection you will see those who lied against Allaah (i.e. attributed to
Him sons, partners) their faces will be black." [al-Zumar 39:60]
Ibn al-Qayyim said: 'Hence on the Day of Resurrection Allaah will make blackened
faces the sign of the one who told lies about Him and His Messenger. Lying has a
great effect in blackening the face and covering it with a mask of shame which
every truthful person will be able to see. The feature of the liar is clearly
visible in the face, and everyone who has the eyes to see can see it. But Allaah
will bless the truthful person with dignity and respect, so whoever sees him
will respect him and love him, and He will give the liar humiliation and shame,
so whoever sees him will loathe him and despise him. (A’laam al-Muwaqqi’een,
1/95)
5. Having the flesh of one's cheeks torn to the back of his head:
It was narrated that Samurah ibn Jundub said: “The Messenger of Allaah (PBUH)
often used to say to his companions, ‘Has anyone among you seen a dream?’ Then
whoever Allaah willed would tell of his dream. One day he said to us, ‘Two
(angels) came to me last night and woke me up, then they said to me, ‘Let’s
go!’… so we set out and came to a man who was lying flat on his back and another
man standing over his head with an iron hook, and behold, he would put the hook
in one side of the man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back
(of the neck) and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eye from
front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did just
as he had done with the other side. Hardly had he completed this side when the
first side was restored to its normal state. Then he went back and did that all
over again. I said to my two companions, 'Subhaan Allah! Who are these two
persons?'
They said to me, ‘Move on, move on!' (Then he said, describing how the two
angels explained the things that he had seen): ‘As for the man you came across,
the sides of whose mouth, nostrils and eyes were being torn off from front to
back, he is the symbol of the man who goes out of his house in the morning and
tells so many lies that it spreads all over the world.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
5745)
The comments of the Salaf on lying:
1. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: “A man may speak the truth and persist in doing
so until there is in his heart not even room for evil the size of a needle. Or a
man may tell lies and persist in doing so until there is in his heart not even
room for truth the size of a needle.
2. And it was narrated that he said: “It is not correct to tell lies whether in
jest or in seriousness,” then ‘Abd-Allaah recited the aayah (interpretation of
the meaning): “O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah, and be
with those who are true (in words and deeds).” [al-Tawbah 9:119]
3. Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq said: “Beware of lying, for it has nothing to do with
faith.”
4. It was narrated that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas said: “The believer may acquire all
sorts of characteristics except treachery and lying.”
5. It was narrated that ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “True faith
is not achieved until one gives up lying in jest.” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah,
5/235, 236)
Permissible kinds of lies:
Lying is permissible in three cases: war; reconciling between two disputing
parties; and a husband lying to his wife or vice versa for the sake of love and
harmony.
It was narrated from Umm Kulthoom bint ‘Uqbah that she heard the Messenger of
Allaah (PBUH) say: “He is not a liar who reconciles between people and narrates
something good or says something good.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2546; Muslim,
2605)
It was narrated that Asmaa’ bint Yazeed said: “The Messenger of Allaah (PBUH)
said: ‘It is not permissible to tell lies except in three (cases): when a man
speaks to his wife in a way to please her; lying in war; and lying in order to
reconcile between people.’” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1939. This hadeeth was
classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7723)
History of April fool:
But with regard to “April Fool”, the origin of this lying is not known for sure.
There are differing opinions concerning that:
- Some of them said that it developed from the celebrations of spring at the
equinox on March 21.
- Some of them said that this innovation appeared in France in 1564 CE, after
the introduction of a new calendar, when a person who had refused to accept the
new calendar became the victim of some people who had subjected him to
embarrassment and made fun of him, so he became a laughing-stock for others.
- Some of them said that this innovation goes back to ancient times and the
pagan celebrations connected to a specific date at the beginning of spring, so
this is the remnant of pagan rituals. It was said that hunting in some countries
was unsuccessful during the first days of the hunt in some countries. This was
the origin of these lies which are made up on the first day of April.
- The Europeans call “April Fool” le poisson d’avril (lit. “April fish”). The
reason for this is that the sun moves from the zodiacal house of Pisces to the
next house, or because the word poisson, which means fish, is a distortion of
the word passion, which means suffering, “so it is a symbol of the suffering
endured by Jesus (PBUH), according to the claims of the Christians, and they
claim that this happened in the first week of April.
- Some of the disbelievers call this day All Fools’ Day, as it is known to the
English. That is because of the lies that they tell so that those who hear them
might believe them and thus become a victim for those who are making fun of him.
- The first mention of April Fool in the English language was in a magazine
known as Dreck Magazine. On the second day of April in 1698 CE, this magazine
mentioned that a number of people were invited to come and watch the washing of
black people in the Tower of London on the morning of the first day of April.
- One of the most famous incidents that happened in Europe on April 1st was when
the English newspaper, the Evening Star, announced in March 1746 CE that the
following day – April 1st – that there would be an parade of donkeys in
Islington, in England. The people rushed to see these animals and there was a
huge crowd. They continued waiting and when they got tired of waiting, they
asked about when the parade would be. They not find anything, then they knew
that they had come to make an exhibition of themselves, as if they were the
donkeys!
Another Narration about April Fool:
Some wrote about the origin of these lies, saying: Many of us celebrate what is
known as April Fool or, if it is translated literally, the “Trick of April”. But
how much do we know of the bitter secret behind this day?
When the Muslims ruled Spain, approximately one thousand years ago, they were a
force that could not be destroyed. The western Christians wished that they could
wipe Islam from the face of the earth, and they succeeded to some extent. They
tried to limit the spread of Islam in Spain and to put an end to it, but they
did not succeed. They tried numerous times and never succeeded.
After that, the Christians sent their spies to Spain to study and find out the
secret of the Muslims’ strength which could not be defeated. They discovered
that adhering to Islam was the reason. When the Christians discovered the secret
of the Muslims’ strength, they started to think of strategies to break this
strength. On this basis they began to send wine and cigars to Spain for free.
This tactic on the part of the west produced results, and the faith of the
Muslims began to weaken, especially among the young generation in Spain. The
result of that was that the western Catholic Christians subdued the whole of
Spain and put an end to the Muslim rule of that land which had lasted for more
than eight hundred years. The last stronghold of the Muslims, in Grenada, fell
on April 1st, hence they considered this to be the “Trick of April.”
From that year until the present, they celebrate this day and consider the
Muslims to be fools. They do not regard only the army at Granada to be fools who
are easily deceived, rather they apply that to the entire Muslim Ummah (nation).
It is ignorant of us to join in these celebrations, and when we imitate them
blindly in implementing this evil idea, this is a kind of blind imitation which
confirms the foolishness of some of us in following them. Once we know the
reason for this celebration, how can we celebrate our defeat?!
Some Tremendous consequences of April Fool:
It does not matter what the origins of April fool are. What matters more is
knowing the ruling on lying on this day, which we are sure did not exist during
the first and best generations of Islam. It did not come from the Muslims, but
rather from their enemies.
The things that happen on April fools’ day are many. Some people have been told
that their child or spouse or someone who is dear to them has died, and unable
to bear this shock, they have died. Some have been told that they are being laid
off, or that there has been a fire or an accident in which their family has been
killed, so they suffer paralysis or heart attacks, or similar diseases.
Some people have been told about their wives, that they have been seen with
other men, and this has led them to kill or divorce their wives.
These are the endless stories and incidents that we hear of, all of which are
lies which are forbidden in Islam and unacceptable to common sense or honest
chivalry.
We have seen how Islam forbids lying even in jest, and it forbids frightening a
Muslim whether in seriousness or in jest, in words or in actions. This is the
law of Allaah in which is wisdom and care for people’s circumstances.
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April Fool (Part 1)
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