We all know that lying is a great sin. The bad thing is that we do not realise how often we are doing it.
Our Sixth Imam said that it is more difficult to repent for many small sins than for one big sin. Remember the story of the two men who came to Imam to repent for their sins.
Prophet Muhammad (S) has said, "Leave falsehood and make speaking the truth a habit."
"If a person has a habit of speaking lies, he is a hypocrite until he rids himself of the habit."
To lie is haraam because you are deceiving others. There are many reasons why people lie, some of them are,
- as an excuse to get yourself out of trouble,
- to cheat somebody out of something you want,
- to get someone else into trouble.
As you can see, all the above reasons are bad. If you have done something which gets you into trouble, then you should face it, and not lie your way out of it because that is being very irresponsible.
Qur'an also tells us not to lie,
"And cover not Truth with Falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when you know what it is."
Prophet Muhammad (S) has also said,
"Beware of association with the liar for he is like a mirage which draws the far one nearer to you and the nearer far from you."
If you make the habit of lying, then you will lie very often without realising. You will lie to your family, your friends and everybody you meet. Then one day you will be caught out because you will have trapped yourself in a corner, and there will be no escape.
Imam Mohammad Al-Baqir (A) says: "Allah has made locks for evil and made drinking the keys to these locks." Since drinking makes one loses his mind and ultimately commits evil.
Imam Mohammad Al-Baqir (A) added: "But lying is more evil than drinking." Drinking makes man loses his mind and unintentionally hurt others, but the liar commits evil deeds intentionally.
That is why Imam Mohammad Al-Baqir (A) says that lying corrupts belief and Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (A) says: "A person will not know the true meaning of faith until he abandons all types of lying."
Once a man came to Prophet Mohamed (S) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?" Prophet Mohamed (S) said, "Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth." The man promised to do so and never again commit another transgression and went home.
At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought for a moment about the advice of Prophet Mohamed (S) and his promise. "If tomorrow Prophet Mohamed (S) asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth, everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing."
So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit of stealing.
Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, "What shall I say to Prophet Mohamed (S) if he asks me what did I do during the day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because a Muslim is not allowed to drink wine." And so he gave up the idea of drinking wine.
In this way, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered the advice of Prophet Mohamed (S) to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a good Muslim and a very good person.
(FURTHER REFERENCE; ANECDOTES OF REFLECTION PART 2 CHAPTER19)