Psychologists acknowledge that lying can be addictive and destructive, capable of destroying communities and even whole countries. Telling lies, being dishonest and receiving and giving bribes in any form are prohibited in Islam as they are evil acts that can destroy society. All religions, for that matter, are against these negative traits.

The Quran says: “In their hearts is disease, so God has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they used to lie” (2:10).

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang should stop avoiding the question of whether he gave his “blessings” for Nik Abduh Nik Aziz to lie about receiving money from Umno. Being the supreme leader of what he describes as an “Islamic party”, he should be forthright in telling the truth, and nothing but the truth, to gain respect from his followers.

This has nothing to do with being compelled to tell lies to save a victim from a criminal. It is not an issue of telling a “white lie” to prevent someone from getting hurt or to protect oneself. The issue is more serious as it involves the integrity and trustworthiness of a political party and its leaders who claim to champion Islam.

Islam clearly rejects lying and deception in all forms. The Quran says: “O you who believe! Fear God, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds)” (9:119).

Nik Abduh has reportedly admitted that he was indeed the person heard in an audio recording released last year, where he spoke about receiving funds from Umno. He said after the recording was leaked, PAS leaders, including Hadi, as reported, told him to deny that it was his voice in the clip.

PAS leaders should be reminded that it is not related to lying to save grace in this context as it involves the “transaction of money for political expediency”, as heard confessed in the video recording. The Prophet said: “Lying is not permitted except in three cases: a man speaking to his wife to make her happy; lying in times of war; and lying in order to reconcile between people” (Tirmidhi).

While these types of lying are tolerated, it is crucial not to overstep the bounds of what is and is not acceptable, what more by invoking the names of others or one’s parents to justify one’s wrong deed. This is absolutely unacceptable in Islam. The Quran is clear on this matter, too: “And when they commit an immorality, they say, ‘We found our fathers doing it, and God has ordered us to do it.’ Say, ‘Indeed, God does not order immorality. Do you say about God that which you do not know?'” (7:28).

There are reportedly speculations that the funds, if any, could be linked to a lawmaker’s allegation in 2017 that large amounts of money originating from SRC International Sdn Bhd were channelled to a former PAS member. SRC International is a former subsidiary of 1MDB, which has been embroiled in an international financial scandal.

In Islam, telling lies is tantamount to hypocrisy. “There are four characteristics, whoever has them all is a pure hypocrite, and whoever has one of them has one of the characteristics of hypocrisy, until he gives it up: when he is entrusted with something, he betrays that trust, when he speaks he lies, when he makes a covenant he betrays it, and when he disputes he resorts to obscene speech” (al-Bukhaari and Muslim).

Lies told to cover up “an act of receiving political bribes” are more evil and salacious. Hiding the truth for fear that a party or person would lose out on position by simply not being more truthful are lies concocted against God. Being truthful and trustworthy is among the greatest virtues a human can possess. Lying leads to corruption and deceit. Just look at the narratives of many politicians who have been elected as props of trust by the denizens only to be sent to jail during and towards the end of their tenure due to corruption and blatant lying. They lied to get elected and those lies swelled into other vices like embezzling government assets or engaging in illicit activities.

The Prophet said: “You must be truthful, for truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man will keep speaking the truth and striving to speak the truth until he will be recorded with God as a siddeeq (speaker of the truth). Beware of telling lies, for lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to hellfire. A man will keep telling lies and striving to tell lies until he is recorded with God as a liar” (Muslim).

Let this be a reminder to PAS leaders that a true Muslim leader should be known as Al Amin, or “the faithful and trustworthy” that can be commended by the community. The consequences of telling lies can cause leaders to lose their self-worth. PAS leaders claiming to represent Islam should not try to be evasive when it comes to telling the truth. They have to be reminded that being truthful is an endearing quality that should be hallowed to attain blessings from God and respect from the voters.

To the deceivers among them, the Quran has this say: “And, do not cloak (and confuse) the truth with falsehood. Do not suppress the truth knowingly” (2:42).

Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.