April Fool

Praise be to Allaah, we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides, none can lead astray, and whomsoever He sends astray, none can guide.

Lying is an evil characteristic, which all religions and systems of ethics warn against and which man's innate common sense (fitrah) agrees that it is wrong. Those who possess chivalry and sound reason also say this.

Truthfulness is one of the pillars on which the moral survival of the world depends. It is the foundation of praiseworthy characteristics, the cornerstone of Prophethood, the result of taqwaa. Were it not for truthfulness, the rulings of all divinely-revealed laws would collapse. Acquiring the characteristic of lying is akin to shedding one's humanity, because speaking is an exclusively human trait.

(Bareeqah Mahmoodiyyah, Muhammad al-Khaadimi, 3/183)

Our purely monotheistic sharee’ah warns against lying in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and there is consensus that it is haraam. The liar will have bad consequences in this world and in the next.

According to sharee’ah, lying is not permitted except in specific cases which do not lead to loss of rights, bloodshed or slander of people’s honour, etc., but which concern saving lives, reconciling between people, or creating love between husband and wife.

There is a never a day or a moment when sharee’ah permits a person to tell lies or to say whatever he wants based on lies. One of the things that have become widespread among the common people is the so called “April Fool’s Day”, where they claim that the first day of the fourth solar month is a day when lying is permitted without being subject to any shar’i guidelines.

Many bad things may result from this, some of which we will mention below.

The prohibition of lying.

1. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It is only those who believe not in the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allaah, who fabricate falsehood, and it is they who are liars

[al-Nahl 16:105]

Ibn Katheer said:

“Then Allaah tells us that His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is not a fabricator or a liar, because only the most evil of people who do not believe in the signs of Allaah, the kaafirs and heretics who are known amongst the people for telling lies, tell lies about Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the most truthful of people, the most righteous, the most perfect in knowledge, action, faith and certain belief. He was known amongst his people for his truthfulness; none of them doubted that, to such an extent that he was known amongst them as ‘al-Ameen (the trustworthy) Muhammad.’ Hence when Heraclius, the ruler of Rome, asked Abu Sufyaan about the characteristics of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), one of the things he asked was, ‘Did you ever accuse him of lying before he said what he said?’ He said, ‘No.’ Heraclius said: ‘If he refrained from telling lies about people he would not go and tell lies about Allaah.’

(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2/588)

2. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted with something, he betrays that trust.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 33; Muslim, 59)

al-Nawawi said:

“What the commentators and most of the scholars said – which is correct – is that this means that these characteristics are the characteristics of hypocrisy, and the one who has these characteristics resembles the hypocrites in this sense.

The words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), ‘he is a pure hypocrite’ mean that he strongly resembles the hypocrites because of these characteristics. Some of the scholars said: this is concerning one in whom these characteristics predominate; one in whom these characteristics rarely appear is not included in this. This is the favoured view concerning the meaning of this hadeeth. Imaam Abu ‘Eesa al-Tirmidhi (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated this meaning from the scholars and said: ‘The meaning of this according to the scholars is hypocrisy in one's actions.’”

(Sharh Muslim, 2/46-47)

The most evil kinds of lies are:

1. Lies told about Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

This is the most serious kind of lie, and the one who does this is subject to a severe warning. Some of the scholars said that the one who does this is to be denounced as a kaafir.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: ‘Verily, those who invent a lie against Allaah will never be successful’”

[Yoonus 10:69]

It was narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Do not tell lies about me. Whoever tells lies about me, let him enter the Fire.’”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 106).

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever tells lies about me, let him take his place in Hell.”

(narrated by al-Bukhaari, 110; Muslim, 3).

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“… ‘Whoever tells lies about me, let him take his place in Hell’, i.e., let him take his place in Hell where he will abide and settle; it is not like a manzil or camp where he stays for a while and then moves on.”

The liar is warned of destructive punishment in this world, and humiliating punishment in the Hereafter. These include:

1. Hypocrisy in the heart.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that (covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to Him and because they used to tell lies

[al-Tawbah 9:77]

‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: “You may know the hypocrite by three things: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted with something he betrays that trust.”. He said: “Recite this aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

‘And of them are some who made a covenant with Allaah (saying): “If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will verily, give Sadaqah (Zakaah and voluntary charity in Allaah’s Cause) and will be certainly among those who are righteous.”

Then when He gave them of His Bounty, they became niggardly [refused to pay the Sadaqah (Zakaah or voluntary charity)], and turned away, averse.

So He punished them by putting hypocrisy into their hearts till the Day whereon they shall meet Him, because they broke that (covenant with Allaah) which they had promised to Him and because they used to tell lies

[al-Tawbah 9:75-77].”

(Musanaaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, 6/125)

2. Guidance to evildoing and to the Fire

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said:

“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Truthfulness is righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. A person will continue to tell the truth until he is written with Allaah as one who tells the truth. Lying is evildoing, and evildoing leads to Hell. A person will keep on telling lies until he is written as a liar.’”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5743; Muslim, 2607)

al-San’aani said:

This hadeeth indicates that whoever continues to speak the truth, it will become a feature of his, and whoever deliberately tells lies and persists in it, it will become a feature of his. This is the same as any other good or evil characteristic, if a person persists in it, it becomes a feature of his.

This hadeeth indicates how serious the matter of telling the truth is, and that it may lead a person to Paradise, and it indicates how ugly lying is and how it may lead a person to Hell. This is in addition to the consequences in this world, for the one who tells the truth will have his words accepted by people, and his testimony will be accepted by judges and he will be liked for what he says, whereas for the liar the opposite will be the case.

Subul al-Salaam, 2/687

3. His testimony will be rejected

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

[The reason why the testimony of the liar is rejected]

The strongest reason why testimonies, fatwas and reports may be rejected is lying, because it corrupts the very essence of the testimony, fatwa or report. It is like the testimony of a blind man concerning sighting the new moon, or the testimony of a deaf man concerning having heard the admission of someone. The lying tongue is like some faculty that is no longer working, indeed it is even worse than that, for the most evil thing a man may possess is a lying tongue.

A’laam al-Muwaqqi’een, 1/95

‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: “A man may speak the truth and persist in doing so until there is in his heart not even room for evil the size of a needle. Or a man may tell lies and persist in doing so until there is in his heart not even room for truth the size of a needle.

2. And it was narrated that he said: “It is not correct to tell lies whether in jest or in seriousness,” then ‘Abd-Allaah recited the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allaah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds)”

[al-Tawbah 9:119]

3. Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq said: “Beware of lying, for it has nothing to do with faith.”

4. It was narrated that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas said: “The believer may acquire all sorts of characteristics except treachery and lying.”

5. It was narrated that ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “True faith is not achieved until one gives up lying in jest.”

(Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, 5/235, 236)

But with regard to “April Fool” (in Arabic, Kidhbat Neesaan or the lies of April), the origin of this lying is not known for sure. There are differing opinions concerning that:

Some of them said that it developed from the celebrations of spring at the equinox on March 21.

Some of them said that this innovation appeared in France in 1564 CE, after the introduction of a new calendar, when a person who had refused to accept the new calendar became the victim of some people who had subjected him to embarrassment and made fun of him, so he became a laughing-stock for others.

Some of them said that this innovation goes back to ancient times and the pagan celebrations connected to a specific date at the beginning of spring, so this is the remnant of pagan rituals. It was said that hunting in some countries was unsuccessful during the first days of the hunt in some countries. This was the origin of these lies which are made up on the first day of April.

Le poisson d’avril

The Europeans call “April Fool” le poisson d’avril (lit. “April fish”). The reason for this is that the sun moves from the zodiacal house of Pisces to the next house, or because the word poisson, which means fish, is a distortion of the word passion, which means suffering, “so it is a symbol of the suffering endured by Jesus (peace be upon him), according to the claims of the Christians, and they claim that this happened in the first week of April.

Some of the kuffaar call this day All Fools’ Day, as it is known to the English. That is because of the lies that they tell so that those who hear them might believe them and thus become a victim for those who are making fun of him.

The first mention of April Fool in the English language was in a magazine known as Dreck Magazine. On the second day of April in 1698 CE, this magazine mentioned that a number of people were invited to come and watch the washing of black people in the Tower of London on the morning of the first day of April.

One of the most famous incidents that happened in Europe on April 1st was when the English newspaper, the Evening Star, announced in March 1746 CE that the following day – April 1st – that there would be an parade of donkeys in Islington, in England. The people rushed to see these animals and there was a huge crowd. They continued waiting and when they got tired of waiting, they asked about when the parade would be. They not find anything, then they knew that they had come to make an exhibition of themselves, as if they were the donkeys!

‘Aasim ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Qurawayti

One of them wrote about the origin of these lies, saying:

Many of us celebrate what is known as April fool or, if it is translated literally, the “trick of April”. But how much do we know of the bitter secret behind this day?

When the Muslims ruled Spain, approximately one thousand years ago, they were a force that could not be destroyed. The western Christians wished that they could wipe Islam from the face of the earth, and they succeeded to some extent.

They tried to limit the spread of Islam in Spain and to put an end to it, but they did not succeed. They tried numerous times and never succeeded.

After that, the kuffaar sent their spies to Spain to study and find out the secret of the Muslims’ strength which could not be defeated. They discovered that adhering to taqwa (piety or consciousness of Allaah) was the reason.

When the Christians discovered the secret of the Muslims’ strength, they started to think of strategies to break this strength. On this basis they began to send wine and cigars to Spain for free.

This tactic on the part of the west produced results, and the faith of the Muslims began to weaken, especially among the young generation in Spain. The result of that was that the western Catholic Christians subdued the whole of Spain and put an end to the Muslim rule of that land which had lasted for more than eight hundred years. The last stronghold of the Muslims, in Grenada, fell on April 1st, hence they considered this to be the “trick of April.”

From that year until the present, they celebrate this day and consider the Muslims to be fools. They do not regard only the army at Granada to be fools who are easily deceived, rather they apply that to the entire Muslim ummah. It is ignorant of us to join in these celebrations, and when we imitate them blindly in implementing this evil idea, this is a kind of blind imitation which confirms the foolishness of some of us in following them. Once we know the reason for this celebration, how can we celebrate our defeat?

After knowing this reality,let us make a promise to ourselves never to celebrate this day. We have to learn from the Spanish and adhere to the reality of Islam and never allow our faith to be weakened again.

I say: it does not matter what the origins of April fool are. What matters more is knowing the ruling on lying on this day, which we are sure did not exist during the first and best generations of Islam. It did not come from the Muslims, but rather from their enemies.

The things that happen on April fools’ day are many. Some people have been told that their child or spouse or someone who is dear to them has died, and unable to bear this shock, they have died. Some have been told that they are being laid off, or that there has been a fire or an accident in which their family has been killed, so they suffer paralysis or heart attacks, or similar diseases.

Some people have been told about their wives, that they have been seen with other men, and this has led them to kill or divorce their wives.

These are the endless stories and incidents that we hear of, all of which are lies which are forbidden in Islam and unacceptable to common sense or honest chivalry.

We have seen how Islam forbids lying even in jest, and it forbids frightening a Muslim whether in seriousness or in jest, in words or in actions.

This is the law of Allaah in which is wisdom and care for people’s circumstances.

And Allaah is the Source of Strength.