Page 88 - What the Qur'an Says about Liars and Their Methods
P. 88

WHAT THE QUR'AN SAYS ABOUT LIARS AND THEIR METHODS
                 thing, desiring the good pleasure of Allah. Allah is
                 Ever-Gentle with His servants. (Surat al-Baqara,
                 2:206-7)
                 As these verses state, arrogant people find it easy to lie on
             their own behalf. Those who do everything for Allah's ap-
             proval, however, never lie, no matter how much their own in-
             terests may be damaged.
                 Islamic scholar Mehmed Zahid Kotku explains why this is
             so and points out what happens to those who lie, as follows:
                 "A person who tells lies against the society to guard his per-
                 sonal interests must be one of those thoughtless fools, or even
                 someone who is an atheist or ignorant of the faith and has
                 lost his reason. A conscious person does not stoop to lying or
                 take notice of it, for he knows that lying is shameful and will
                 sooner or later be exposed. In contrast, a Muslim is very pure
                 in character and courteous, for he does not want his charac-
                 ter to be blemished. For this reason, he avoids lying at all
                 costs, for he knows that lies are the mark of a hypocrite. Allah
                 does not like liars at all. Our Prophet (saas) does not like
                 what Allah does not like. Of course, it is impossible for people
                 and angels to like those whom Allah and the Prophet (saas)
                 do not like.
                 This being the case, to be a liar is to be a disgraced, immoral,
                 low grade, and valueless person who is despised by every-
                 body. The liar is disgraced in this world and the next. Lying
                 is not the business of noble people, but of vulgar or, more cor-
                 rectly, despicable ones. It is out of the question for a noble
                 person, if he is a Muslim, to lie when getting down to busi-
                 ness. Because of this, a Muslim is always noble and honest.
                 He never stoops to lying." 15
                 Kotku advises the believers to adhere to honesty with

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