As-Salam ‘Alaykum,

 

Shokran for writing to our live session with your most serious concern.  As you know, lying is extremely haram.  In a hadith by Abdullah bin ‘Amr it states that “The Prophet said, “Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up.

 

1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays.
2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.
3. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous.
4. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner.”

 

As we can see it’s very serious.  I would kindly suggest that you ask this person if he is aware of the grave sin he is committing by lying.  If need be, go over the Qur’an with him as well as hadiths showing him points to the gravity of his sin of lying.  I would kindly suggest that you also find out if he is aware of all of his lying.  Often times lying becomes a habit, a compulsion and the person just tells lies without even thinking twice. In fa,ct he may not even realize just how many lies he tells in a day.  It kind of becomes second nature.  In order to help him overcome lying, you must first ensure he is aware of the grave sin he is committing, help him to become conscious of everything he says to ensure it is truthful and finally ensure that he does indeed want to stop the lying.

 

For those that are compulsive liars, therapy is usually recommended as it is treated as any other addiction. I do not know if this is his case but perhaps you can tell if it is a compulsion or if it is an occasional lie. I would kindly suggest that you do address these points with him and see if he is ready to become truthful not only with others but with himself as well. People lie for many reasons. Some lie to protect themselves, to make them look better or to hide things they do not want to be revealed.  An example of this would be a man who forgot to get his wife a bag of groceries so he tells her he got robbed. Others may lie to avoid hurting someone by the truth.  A husband may lie to his wife about how she looks to him to avoid hurting her feelings.  Instead of saying oh, that new dress doesn’t look good on you,  he may say-oh you look beautiful.

 

Whatever the case may be, insha’Allah you can sort out the types of lies he says and why, if he is a compulsive liar or one who lies occasionally and be able insha’Allah to encourage him to get help if he cannot stop.  You may find more tips here when confronting him. We wish you the best.