Page 36 - What the Qur'an Says about Liars and Their Methods
P. 36

WHAT THE QUR'AN SAYS ABOUT LIARS AND THEIR METHODS
                 Out of fear of other people:

                 People also lie when they are nervous about those around
             them. For example, a child who breaks a vase lies because he is
             afraid of his mother. A secretary who mixes up files in the of-
             fice is afraid of her boss and lies to protect herself. On the other
             hand, believers only fear Allah and think only about whether
             they will or will not gain His good pleasure. As a result, they
             tell the truth whatever the circumstances and put their faith in
             Allah.
                 When, for example, they break a valuable object, those
             who are nervous about other people shy away from being
             called clumsy or careless. Since they make the great error of
             setting other people's ideas about them above Allah's ap-
             proval, they base their decisions upon acquiring other people's
             approval and so usually lie to cover up their mistakes.
                 In the Qur'an, Allah warns us that Satan wants people to
             fear each other and so commands the believers to fear Him
             alone, as follows:
                 That was only Satan who intimidated his adherents.
                 But do not fear them—fear Me if you are believers.
                 (Surah Al `Imran. 3:175)
                 Is Allah not enough for His servant? Yet they try to
                 scare you with others apart from Him. If Allah does
                 not guide someone, he has no guide. (Surat az-Zumar,
                 39:36)
                 In another verse, Allah refers to the believers as those who
             "do not fear the blame of any censurer" (Surat al-Ma'ida, 5:54).
             In all circumstances, the believers rely on and trust Allah and
             behave according to His will, not according to the opinions of
             other people.
                 Fearing other people and not doing what is right is a kind
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