Lying to Skip Classes: Allowed?

13 November, 2018
Q As-salamu `alaykum. Is it allowed in Islam to tell lies to excuse classes? For example, can I say “I am sick” so I get excused, but I am fine and I am not sick?

Answer

Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

A Muslim is not allowed to tell lies .

Therefore, you are not allowed to tell lies in order to skip school classes.


Responding to your question, Imam Dr. Wael Shihab, PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University, and currently the Imam of the Downtown Toronto Masjid in Canada, stated,

A Muslim should be truthful, faithful, and trustworthy. It’s not justified for a Muslim to tell lies.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted with something, he betrays that trust.” (Al-Bukhari)

Imam An-Nawawi said, “What the commentators and most of the scholars said – which is correct – is that this means that these characteristics are the characteristics of hypocrisy, and the one who has these characteristics resembles the hypocrites in this sense.”

Allah Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.