On the way, he met the slave girl who asked: ‘What is the letter about?

On the way, he met the slave girl who asked: ‘What is the letter about?’ Ahmad said: ‘It is very important. The Amir has given it to me.’ The slave girl took the letter and gave it to the same person with whom she had had sexual relation. She meant to increase the Amir’s anger. The servant took the letter by accident and gave it to the meant person, who, after reading the letter, beheaded the servant immediately and brought his head to the Amir.

The Amir called Ahmad and asked him to tell what he had seen. Ahmad told the story of the servant with the slave girl. The Amir ordered the slave girl to be killed. Ahmad found a good position with the Amir where he was appointed as the governor of Egypt and Damascus.”[^9] Telling lies affects speech as well as deeds and character. Sometimes, a human being does something that indicates his good nature, whereas his intention is not good. May God save us from such people who are like hypocrites.

Sometimes, a man may pretend to be God-fearing, one who remembers God a lot, who asks for forgiveness, who thanks God, who surrenders himself to God, who is a man of knowledge and piety, whereas he is really not so. It is for the same reason that when some man, in the presence of Imam Ali (AS), said: “I seek forgiveness of Allah”. Imam Ali (a.s.) said to him: You’re your mother lose you! Do you know what the asking for Allah’s forgiveness is?

It is the degree of the exalted ones (in Paradise).”[^10] Sometimes, one may give a false testimony, may pretend not to know what he knows and has not to conceal, may break his promise, may take a false oath, and may deny the truth, though he has seen it with his own eyes. All these cases will disrupt the society. Social ‘Taqwa’ requires man to refrain from practicing such acts; otherwise, he has not observed ‘Taqwa’.

It is worth mentioning that sometimes telling a lie is permissible and even necessary. The late Allamah Majlisi has written: “Some scholars have said: telling lies is not forbidden by itself, rather it is forbidden because it entails losses. Hence, if it entails no loss, or if it entails benefits for human beings, it is not only not unlawful, but recommended and sometimes obligatory. Examples on this are that when you make peace between two persons.

When you play a trick on the enemy in Jihad … and when you ward off a loss from yourself or another Muslim whether it is a life loss or something financial or related to the honor of some one.