Page 29 - What the Qur'an Says about Liars and Their Methods
P. 29
Why People Lie
by several partners in dispute with one another and
another man wholly owned by a single man. Are they
the same? Praise be to Allah! The fact is that most of
them do not know. (Surat az-Zumar, 39:29)
To ensure advantage and profit:
Many people commit sins and behave badly in their quest
for profit. Such immoral characteristics as disloyalty, selfish-
ness, aggressiveness, jealousy, hypocrisy, and slyness mostly
result from a desire for personal gain. One of the most impor-
tant reasons why people lie is their ambition for personal ad-
vantage and profit.
Especially in business, some people believe that lying is
absolutely necessary to make a profit. They present their goods
as being more valuable than their real worth by lying about the
correct price, measure, and amount. In the Qur'an, Allah tells
those engaged in business to behave justly and honestly:
Give just weight—do not skimp in the balance.
(Surat ar-Rahman, 55:9)
In another verse, Allah reminds dishonest merchants
about the Day of Judgment:
Woe to those who defraud [when measuring]! Those
who, when they take a measure from people, exact
full measure, but when they give them a measure or
weight, hand over less than is due. Do such people
not realize that they will be raised up on a Terrible
Day, the Day mankind will stand before the Lord of
all the worlds? (Surat al-Mutaffifin, 83:1-6)
People who do not stand in awe of Allah, believe in the af-
terlife, and doubt its existence and the accounting after death
always regard worldly benefits as being the most important
27