April fools!

A Dishonest Tradition

1st April - a day when people lie, play jokes and mock in the name of
entertainment. This ugly practice of lying, which is considered to be
merely a humor, is known to have caused great harm to many. Even trauma and
deaths. Still this dishonest tradition is not only practiced among the
common masses, but also newspapers and magazines participate in it by
publishing false news and untrue stories on the first day of April!

Much is said about the origin of this practice, however what concerns the
most to the Muslims is that it is a tradition which directly contradicts
the teachings and morals of Islam.

Lying is a characteristic of hypocrisy and Allah's Messenger (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) strictly forbade lying at all times. He (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) said: "Let he who truly believes in Allah and the Last
Day speak good or be silent." [Saheeh al-Bukharee] Moreover, he (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) has specifically cursed the person who lies to make
people laugh, he said: "Woe be on one who speaks and lies in order to make
people laugh, woe be on him." [Abu Dawood]

The above Ahaadeeth show the gravity of participating in the false
tradition of April Fool, which the Western tradition appreciates and
encourages claiming that it brings joy and amusement, whereas the Prophet
(sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) forbade lying and deceiving even if the
intention of the person is to amuse people.

Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Laylaa said: "The companions of the Messenger of
Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) told us that they were traveling with
the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). A man among them fell
asleep and some of them went and took his arrows. When the man woke up, he
got alarmed (because his arrows were missing) and the people laughed. The
Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: "What are you laughing at?"
They said, "Nothing, except that we took the arrows and he got alarmed."
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: "It is not
permissible for a Muslim to frighten another Muslim." [Abu Dawood (5004)
and Musnad Ahmad.]

He (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) described the severe punishments for the
liars and said: "I saw (in a dream), two men came to me. They said, 'The
person, the one whose cheek you saw being torn away (from the mouth to the
ear) was a liar and used to tell lies and the people would report those
lies on his authority till they spread all over the world. So he will be
punished like that till the Day of Resurrection.'" [Saheeh al-Bukharee
(vol. 8, no: 118)]

May Allah protect us from indulging ourselves in such dishonest activities
and may He give us the strength to withstand such practices when they tend
to infect our Muslim Society. Ameen!

شكراً ليك على هذا المجهود الجميل