Today: Reflections Arising from Private and In-Person Conversations

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

“It was said in the transmitted statements of wisdom: The liar is a thief, because the thief steals your money, while the liar steals your mind”. [1]

Today, in one of the private WhatsApp groups, the topic was briefly about Sidq. Then a brother gave an example of how we witness shameless sinners- compulsive liars known to many in public. Another brother said: “Even more strange is why people follow them. No checking of reality, deceivers not presenting the full evidence.” Another brother said: “It’s ridiculous behaviour. It has affected people a lot. Mentally justify actions instead of calling a spade a spade.”

After this conversation, I engaged with another one outside the WhatsApp group who once studied Psychology-related subjects. He mentioned the above transmission of Al-Maawardee, then went on to make some interesting remarks about the behaviour of some people in our time on social media. He spoke and I listened as he is an eloquent and interesting conversation companion. He said:

It’s amazing indeed how some people, in the name of religion, rectification, welfare, or sincere advice, can be extraordinarily convincing liars. We all know that lying is not just about inventing false facts. Rather, it becomes more disgusting when mixed with psychology, performance, memory management, emotional control, and social intuition. It becomes so mesmerising that experienced observers become gobsmacked as to whether they have met someone so deceitful, but as for the unsuspecting observer, he is completely impressed. A confident liar is extremely persuasive because he uses confidence as a shortcut for truth. He may even speak calmly, answer quickly, maintain constant eye contact, and his body language may even make you more hesitant to disbelieve him than someone telling the truth nervously.

What we see today with skilled deceivers on social media, podcasts, video messages, and recorded devices is even more disturbing because they mix truth with fiction. The most believable lies are not the ones that are devoid of some facts; instead, the liar adds some real facts and vague language into the falsehood, making the story feel cognitively “smooth” to the listener. Furthermore, these habitual liars are great at reading reactions, understanding what builds trust, what people want to hear, what they fear, and where their blind spots are, allowing them to adjust the lie in real time based on the feedback. Moreover, they use constant repetition to create a sense of familiarity until the lie begins to seem true because the brain confuses familiarity with credibility – this is known as the “illusory truth effect.” Also, strong emotions like hope, fear, admiration, sympathy, or attraction can easily override critical thinking, along with name-dropping and past credentials, among other tactics.

Then he said: When you come across the historical account of some liars, you think to yourself, this skilled liar has timelines set, emotional responses practiced, backup stories ready, evasion strategies rehearsed, and a strong grasp of selective memory. Even a careful observer might feel it’s not worth confronting the lie because it becomes too exhausting. You chuckle and say: What a skilled charmer and manipulator this person is, but the most surprising part is that he can lie with minimal anxiety and no guilt.

He said to me: “Do you remember that incident when person C said: “It’s acceptable to do such and such as long as you believe that everything you do is under Allah’s will” and person D replied: “I agree that if someone believes their actions are effective on their own without Allah’s will, that is a destructibe belief”. Then remember when the spiteful one said: “Your statement implies that those who permit that action have opened a door to that harmful belief.” Person G then got very upset and said: “You are shamefully trying to twist his statement into something he did not mean. You are a disgraceful manipulator trying to change the topic from a conditional statement to an accusation against him that he implies that everyone who holds this view is guilty of paving the way to that destructive belief. All you are doing is replacing a real argument with a more extreme version that is easier to attack, making two statements seem the same when they have already been clarified and explained, and trying to incite anger against others, while using the word ‘necessitate’ to suggest something he did not allude to in the lest.

We shared a laugh and said: We are currently witnessing unscrupulous characters who beautify themselves with knowledge, eloquence, and credentials that have been completely destroyed in the eyes of honest observers. I said: Remember, it used to be said: Whoever commits these three actions will be haunted by them.

Rebellion Against Allah’s Commandments: Allah, The Most High, said:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ

O mankind! Your rebellion (disobedience to Allah) is only against your ownselves. [Yunus: 23]

Evil Plotting: Allah, The Most High, said:

وَلَا يَحِيقُ الْمَكْرُ السَّيِّئُ إِلَّا بِأَهْلِهِ
But the evil plot encompasses only him who makes it. [Fatir 43]

Breaking Pledges: Allah, The Most High, said:

فَمَنْ نَكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنْكُثُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ
Then whosoever breaks his pledge only breaks it to his own harm. [Al-Fath 10] [2]

[1] Adab Ad-Dunya Wad-Deen page 269 by Al-Maawardee]

[2] Kitab Uyun Al-Akhbar 1/149 by Al-Allamah Ibn bn Qutaybah, may Allah have mercy upon him.