When it comes to religion, there are different categories of people. There are those who are followers of the religion, then there are those who are followers but they are skeptic of it and then there are people who are open haters of the religion and hate it in every possible way. However, there is another category of people that is perhaps the most crude and detrimental to the image of the religion, that category is of the hypocrites.
The hypocrites are the ones who harm the religion most, as they are the ones who apparently accept the religion but inwards they are against it and whenever they find the chance they harm the religion. In Islam also there have been hypocrites since the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and since then they have been harming the religion whenever they find the chance available. One of the important tools they utilize in achieving their hideous objectives is the tool of lying.
In addition to spreading false news about the religion and defaming it in seemingly odd ways, the hypocrites spread lies about the verses of Quran. There is no denying the truth of the verses of Quran to a Muslim, however, the hypocrites deliberately associate false information with the verses of Quran and this falsehood is primarily incorporated in the interpretation of the verses of Quran. Thus, the lying added in the interpretation of the verses leads to a Muslim getting the wrong message and hence straying from the right path.
In Quran, Allah Almighty says:
“Among them is a group who distort the Book with their tongues so that you think it is from the Book when it is not from the Book. They say, ‘it is from Allah’, but it is not from Allah. They tell a lie against Allah and they know it.” (3:78)
From this ayah of the Quran it is clear that there is a group of people who lies about Quran. The lying which they undertake pertaining to Quran comprises of the following attempts as explained in the ayah.
- The first kind of lying the hypocrites do pertinent to Quran is presenting to people things and instructions that are not from Quran. They present it to people as verses of Quran, which the learned scholars know are not from Quran hence they are saved from their lying.
- The second kind of lying is that they associate things with Allah Almighty. They would say that a particular thing is said by Allah Almighty either in Quran or in revelation to Prophet (PBUH), however, in fact there would be no such thing and will have no factual evidence of it being from Allah.
Above all the other most important thing imperative from the ayah is the fact that these people are not unintentional liars, who associate falsehood with Quran out of some mistake, rather it is something that is done by them deliberately and they properly prepare for their lie so that it couldn’t be detected by a layman.
Pertinent to the reason behind these hypocrites associating lying with Quran, Allah Almighty says in Quran:
“It is only those who believe not in the Ayah (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, who fabricate falsehood, and it is they who are liars.” (16:105)
From this ayah of Quran the motives of the people associating falsehood with Quran are clear. All of this is done out of the pretence that they do not believe in Quran or the truth that Allah Almighty has bestowed upon people. Therefore, if they do not regard something as true or they do not believe in Almighty, then it is quite natural that they would try to defame His Word by associating lies with it. Therefore, one name for such people is hypocrites but in actuall, they are the people who never believed at all.
The questions left for Muslims to ask is that how can they differentiate between a believer and a hypocrite? It is only Allah who knows the condition of the heart of a person, therefore, how can one distinguish between the ones who are true at heart and the ones who carry malice for the religion. The answer to this is simple and that is by relying on any source of information that comes to a Muslim after verifying it. In Quran, Allah Almighty says:
“O you who believe! If a Fasiq (liar – evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done.” (49:6)
From this ayah of Quran there are two things that are obvious. The first thing is that there are evil person or those who lie. The people who lie develop a reputation, therefore, sooner or later everyone knows a liar. The second thing that the ayah makes clear is that when a liar comes to someone with a news, what should he or she do. The answer to it is verify the news. If a Muslim adopts the habit of verifying, then the truth will be known to them and the chances of them falling stray will be minimal.
The ayah shows the right method of protecting one’s self from falling prey to the tricks and lies of the hypocrites who associate falsehood with Quran, in addition to the way in which one can protect one’s self from becoming one of them unintentionally. Therefore, whatever a Muslim hears from someone about Quran, especially if that someone is a non-believer, then he or she needs to verify what they quote about Quran and after verification see whether the person referring to it was saying the truth or using the ayah in the way it was supposed to be used.
Conclusion:
In a nutshell, no Muslim can dare associate falsehood with Quran or think that the verses of it are untrue in some way. However, in the world of technology where everyone can produce information, it is imperative that before believing in something related to Quran a Muslim must first verify the information and then use it for further desired purposes.
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