Ask our children:

1. Are we allowed to lie when we speak?

2. Will people trust us if we are untruthful?

Now tell them the story:

Taahir was a little boy who had a very bad habit – he would always speak lies! If you asked him his name, he would lie and tell you the wrong name. If you asked him how old he was, he would lie and tell you the wrong age. In fact, he lied about almost everything!

Taahir’s parents would always remind him that lying is haraam and a Muslim does not speak lies. They would remind him that Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was called ‘Al-Ameen’ because he never ever spoke a lie. They reminded him that when a person lies, the angels run away because the mouth of the liar starts to stink and smell bad. But, no matter what they told him, he continued to lie when he spoke, until nobody trusted him and believed him anymore.

One day, when Taahir was in the lounge at home, a breeze blew in through the window, lifting the curtain and making it knock his mother’s favourite vase onto the floor. “Crash!” went the vase, shattering into pieces. Taahir’s mother ran into the room shouting, “What happened? What happened?” Taahir explained to his mother that the wind had caused the curtain to knock the vase onto the floor, but his mother did not believe him. “Taahir, you naughty boy! You are always speaking lies! I don’t believe you! You must have broken it! Go and sit in the naughty corner!” Poor Taahir! Because he was always lying, his mother did not believe him!

The next day, when Taahir went to madrasah, his friends were eating a chocolate behind their desks, where Moulana couldn’t see them. His friend Nadeem asked him, “Do you want a piece Taahir?” The chocolate looked so yummy that Taahir couldn’t resist. He took the piece and gobbled it up!

A few minutes later, Moulana looked up and shouted, “I can smell chocolate! Who’s eating chocolate?” Everyone was too scared to own up, so they all remained silent. Moulana stood up and went to Naseerah. He asked, “Naseerah! Were you eating chocolate?” She immediately lied and said, “No Moulana!” but Moulana caught her and said, “You are lying! I can see a chocolate stain on your chin! Go stand in the naughty corner and keep reading ‘astaghfirullah’!” Then, Moulana went to Nadeem and asked, “Nadeem! Were you eating chocolate?” Nadeem also lied and said, “No Moulana!” But Moulana caught him and said, “You liar! I can see the chocolate wrapper under your desk! Go stand in the naughty corner and keep reading ‘astaghfirullah’!”

Finally, Moulana came to Taahir and asked, “Taahir! Did you also eat chocolate with Nadeem and Naseerah?” Taahir thought to himself, “I am a Muslim! I shouldn’t lie! And besides, lying always gets me into more trouble!” So, Taahir looked at Moulana and said, “Moulana, I did eat some chocolate in class, and I am very, very sorry.”

Moulana looked at Taahir, and then hugged him and said, “Taahir! I am so happy with you for telling the truth today! Because you told the truth, and did not speak any lies, I will not punish you – but make sure that you don’t do it again!”

That night, when Taahir went home, his father gave him a big hug and said, “Taahir! Your Moulana phoned and told us how you spoke the truth today! We are all so happy, and Allah Ta‘ala and the angels are happy with you as well!” His mother also hugged him and said, “I am so happy with you that I even made your favourite dessert – chocolate volcano!”

Taahir was delighted, and as he enjoyed his dessert, he realized something – whenever he spoke a lie, he got into more trouble! As he thought about it, he made himself a promise. Taahir promised himself that no matter what happened, he would never ever lie again.

Lessons:

1. A Muslim should never ever lie.

2. No matter what happens, we must always tell the truth.

3. If we lie, nobody will trust us or believe us.

4. Speaking lies will make us get into even more trouble.

Click here for the audio version of this story.