Islam is a religion of nature; ‘Deen-ul-Fitrah’. It enjoins what is good for the human being and forbids which is harmful. This has been proved by a recent study which revealed that lying could damage your physical and mental health. The study claims that the fewer the lies, the better will be your physical and mental health. It was found that people experienced about four fewer mental health complaints such as feeling tense or sad by telling three fewer lies in a 10-week period.
Interestingly lies can also cause physical problems including sore throats and headaches. A study was conducted on 110 people, in the age group of 18 to 71 by the University of Notre Dame researchers. About half the participants were instructed to stop telling lies during the study. The other half served as a control group that received no special instructions about lying.
Results showed the link between less lying and better health was significantly stronger for participants in the no-lie group. They experienced four fewer mental health complaints and three fewer physical problems – after telling three fewer lies.
Lying and falsehood are widespread problems and are roots of other problems that occur on an individual and public level. Lies are spoken and written in the media and in politics, in business and in personal dealings, by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, although the degree, magnitude and frequency may vary.
Lying is against human nature and physiology, and like any other disease, it has its own unique signs and symptoms. The act of lying produces inner conflicts between various control centres of the brain. The moment one begins to lie, his body sends out contradictory signals to cause facial muscle twitching, expansion and contraction of pupils, perspiration, flushing of cheeks, increased blinking of the eye, tremors of the hand, and an increased heart rate. These constitute the basis of lie detector instruments. In addition, certain unconsciously made movements are noticeable in those who lie, like the constant covering of the mouth, touching of the nose, rubbing of the eye, scratching the side of the neck, rubbing the ear, etc. One of the clearest signs is that the liar keeps his palms closed and his eyes in another direction to the person he is lying to, in an attempt to avoid eye to eye contact. A liar is aware of his body’s signals and finds lying easier when nobody can see him, such as when he is on the phone or writing.
Lying is bad for health and no wonder lying is forbidden in Islam too. Ibn Mas’ud stated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Truthfulness leads to piety and piety leads to the Garden. A man should be truthful until he is written down as truthful with Allah. Lying leads to deviance and deviance leads to the Fire. A man will lie until he is written down as a liar with Allah.”
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr is that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If anyone has four characteristics, he is a pure hypocrite, and if anyone has one of them, he has an aspect of hypocrisy until he gives it up: whenever he is trusted, he betrays his trust; whenever he speaks, he lies; when he makes an agreement, he breaks it; and when he quarrels, he deviates from the truth by speaking falsely.”
Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Anyone who relates a dream which he has not really had will have to tie a knot between two grains of barley and will not be able to do it. Anyone who listens to people talking when they do not want him to, will have molten lead poured into his ears on the Day of Rising. Anyone who makes an image will be punished and have to breathe a spirit into it but will not be able to do it.” [al-Bukhari]
Ibn ‘Umar reported said that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The worst of lies is when a man says his eyes have seen something which they have not seen.” [al-Bukhari]