In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, respected viewers brothers and sisters in Islam peace and blessings be upon you.

It is regarded as the source to all sins, and the first step down a very harmful and dangerous path. This path Allah has warned us from.

The 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.

Many of us don’t quite know the effects of lying, and its impact on our daily lives. In the dictionary lying is defined as “to make a false statement with the intention to deceive”. Lying is not considered a negative characteristic because Islam said or because the Prophet (PBUH) said, it is regarded as a negative characteristic because common sense says so.

Lying is typically used as a defense mechanism. A liar tells a lie for the purpose of concealing the truth, since they are afraid of truth or punitive actions by law or individuals once the truth is established, 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.", or for cheating and deceiving others and enjoying their misery like Satan did to Prophet Adam (pbuh), and short-term worldly gains i.e., gaining their favors or monetary gains until the lies are not exposed as a lie.

Lying can be regarding serious and not so serious matters, Imam Ali Ibn al-Hussain (pbuh) said: "Refrain from lying in all things, big or small, in seriousness or in jest. For when one starts lying in petty matters, soon he will have the audacity to lie in important matters (as well).” For example April fools day. People regard it as funny, but Allah sees it as a sin. Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (pbuh) has said: "Lying is the most abominable trait."

Imam Hassan Al-Askari (pbuh) has said: "All spiteful traits are placed in a house and the key to this house is lying."

In order to further clarify what Imam Hassan Al-Askari (pbuh) said, we bring your attention to the following prophetic narration.

Once a man came to Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?" Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) said, "Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth." The man promised to do so and never again commit another transgression and went home.

At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought for a moment about the advice of Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) and his promise. "If tomorrow Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth, everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing."

So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit of stealing.

Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, "What shall I say to Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) if he asks me what did I do during the day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because a Muslim is not allowed to drink wine." And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine.

In this way, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered the advice of Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a good Muslim and a very good person.

If you always speak the truth, you can be a good person, a good Muslim whom Allah (SWT) likes and favours. If Allah (SWT) - our Creator - is pleased with us, He will reward us with Heaven. This is a place of permanent joy and happiness.