Allah Has Forbidden Perjury: What Is the Reason for This Prohibition?
حرم الله عز وجل شهادة الزور فما سبب ذلك التحريم؟
Why is perjury prohibited?
The answer gives three reasons: perjury is among the greatest major sins because it leads to injustice and the loss of people's rights; Allah commands shunning false speech together with the filth of idols (22:30); and the Prophet warned against it repeatedly.
The strict prohibition of perjury in Islam is rooted in the ultimate protection of justice. Falsehood destroys the integrity of society by enabling oppression and depriving rightful owners of their dues.
The Reasons for Prohibition
1. Injustice and Loss of Rights
Falsehood and perjury are considered among the greatest sins. This is primarily because perjury leads directly to severe injustice and the complete loss of rights for innocent people.
2. The Quranic Command
Allah explicitly commands believers to avoid false words, pairing false speech with the impurity of idolatry. (So shun the impurity of idolatry, and shun words of falsehood.) Surah Al Hajj 22:30.
3. The Prophetic Warning
The Prophet pbuh powerfully warned his companions about this act. He asked them three times: "Should I tell you the greatest of the great sins?" They said, "Yes, Messenger of Allah!" He said, "Taking partners with Allah, and being undutiful to one's parents." He was reclining, so he sat up and said: "Indeed, and false speech!" He kept repeating it until we said: we wish he would stop (Sahih al-Bukhari 2654).
حرم الله عز وجل شهادة الزور فما سبب ذلك التحريم؟
يذكر الجواب ثلاثة أسباب: أن شهادة الزور من أعظم الكبائر لأنها تؤدي إلى الظلم وتضييع الحقوق، وأن الله أمر باجتناب قول الزور مع اجتناب الرجس من الأوثان (الحج 22:30)، وأن النبي ﷺ حذر منها وكررها.
ينبع التحريم القاطع لشهادة الزور في الإسلام من مبدأ حماية العدالة. فالكذب يدمر نزاهة المجتمع من خلال تمكين الظلم وحرمان أصحاب الحقوق من حقوقهم.
أسباب التحريم
1. الظلم وتضييع الحقوق
شهادة الزور من أعظم الكبائر، وذلك لأن شهادة الزور تؤدي إلى الظلم وتضييع الحقوق.
2. النهي القرآني
لقول الله تعالى: (فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ) الحج: 30.
3. التحذير النبوي الشديد
يقول الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم: "ألا أنبئكم بأكبر الكبائر" ثلاثا، قلنا: بلى يا رسول الله! قال: "الإشراك بالله، وعقوق الوالدين"، وكان متكئا فجلس فقال: "ألا وقول الزور" فما زال يكررها حتى قلنا: ليته سكت (صحيح البخاري 2654).
1. Why the Prophet Sat Up | لماذا جلس النبي ﷺ
Ibn Hajar explains that the Prophet sat up from reclining to stress the gravity of false speech because people fall into it more easily and take it more lightly: the heart of a Muslim recoils from associating partners with Allah, and human nature turns away from disobeying parents, while the motives for false speech, such as enmity and envy, are many. He adds that this was not because it is graver than associating partners with Allah, but because its harm reaches others beyond the witness (Fath al-Bari).
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ (سورة الفرقان: 72)
قال ابن حجر: وسبب الاهتمام بذلك كون قول الزور أو شهادة الزور أسهل وقوعا على الناس والتهاون بها أكثر، فإن الإشراك ينبو عنه قلب المسلم، والعقوق يصرف عنه الطبع، وأما الزور فالحوامل عليه كثيرة كالعداوة والحسد، "وليس ذلك لعظمها بالنسبة إلى ما ذكر معها من الإشراك قطعا، بل لكون مفسدة الزور متعدية إلى غير الشاهد" (فتح الباري).
2. False Speech and Fasting | قول الزور والصيام
The Prophet said that whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up his food and drink (Sahih al-Bukhari 1903). The prohibition of false speech therefore reaches beyond the courtroom into a believer's daily speech and even into the value of his worship.
وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ (سورة الحج: 30)
قال النبي ﷺ: "من لم يدع قول الزور والعمل به فليس لله حاجة في أن يدع طعامه وشرابه" (صحيح البخاري 1903). فتحريم الزور يتجاوز ساحة القضاء إلى كلام المؤمن اليومي، بل يمس ثمرة عبادته.
3. Justice Even Toward Those You Dislike | العدل ولو مع البغضاء
Allah commands believers to stand firm for Allah as witnesses in justice, and not to let hatred of a people lead them away from justice: be just, that is nearer to piety (Al-Ma'idah 5:8). Enmity is one of the motives for false testimony that Ibn Hajar names, and this verse closes that door.
وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا ۚ اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ (سورة المائدة: 8)
أمر الله تعالى المؤمنين أن يكونوا قوامين لله شهداء بالقسط، ونهاهم أن يحملهم بغض قوم على ترك العدل، وقال: اعدلوا هو أقرب للتقوى (المائدة 5:8). والعداوة من الدوافع إلى شهادة الزور التي ذكرها ابن حجر، وهذه الآية تسد بابها.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why did the Prophet sit up specifically to warn about false speech?
Ibn Hajar explains that people fall into false speech more easily and take it more lightly, since its motives such as enmity and envy are many, and that its harm reaches others; so the Prophet stressed it (Sahih al-Bukhari 2654; Fath al-Bari).
How does perjury relate to idolatry in the Quran?
In Al-Hajj 22:30 Allah commands shunning the filth of idols and shunning false speech in a single sentence, which shows how serious false speech is.
Does the prohibition apply only in court?
No. The Prophet said that whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up food and drink (Sahih al-Bukhari 1903).
Is false testimony worse than associating partners with Allah?
No. Ibn Hajar states that the Prophet stressed it not because it is greater than associating partners with Allah, but because people fall into it easily and its harm spreads to others.