• Licking fingers after a meal
It is said that the Prophet used to lick his fingers after eating and he has recommended his followers to do so. Is it true that this prevents intestine trouble?
It is true that the Prophet used to lick his fingers after he finished his meal, and he used to wipe the plate clean, using his fingers to lick out what remains in the plate. This he did by way of showing gratitude to Allah for His grace in providing food. His action was also meant to teach us that part of being grateful to Allah is to take care of what He was provided. We should not throw away or waste any small portion of food.
The Prophet's action does not have any medical connotation. It is not true that if you lick your fingers after a meal, you do not get intestine trouble. If the germs which cause such a complaint are present in your food, then you will get it, whether you lick your fingers or not.
[People who have food which they no longer need or require should give it away to those who are in need of it. They should not throw it in the dustbin. That is the least they could do by way of thanking Allah for His grace and giving them abundance.]
• Lies: Ambiguity for avoidance of lies1. What should one do if one's spouse or employer asks one to fib for them? A case in mind is when they ask you to say that they are not in when they are actually in.
2. In my sort of job, I am sometimes asked questions to which I cannot give direct answers. My initial reaction is to tell my questioner not to ask such a question. However, I am reluctant to do so, since it may be construed as impolite. Yet I do not wish to commit the sin of telling a lie. What should I do?
1. We have a general rule which says: "No one may be obeyed in what constitutes disobedience to the Creator." Telling a lie is forbidden, so it comes under "disobedience to God." It may not be done to please another person, even if that person is one's superior at work, or one's father or spouse.
Having said that, let me remind you of the Hadith which suggests that ambiguity may be used to spare oneself having to tell a lie. In the example you have mentioned, you may tell the caller that the person he is asking about is "not available," rather than saying that he is "not in." Your answer would not deny his presence, but it would mean that you cannot put the call through. Alternatively, you may tell the caller that your boss has expressly asked not to be disturbed. If you think on these lines, you will be able to come up with a variety of statements which would serve you in different situations without telling a deliberate lie. Remember that if you tell a lie because your boss or spouse asks you to do so, you have to account for it yourself. So, do not do it. You should not displease God for the sake of pleasing a human being.
2. [To the second reader] To tell a lie is forbidden. The Prophet, peace be upon him, was once asked about all sorts of cardinal sins and whether they may be committed by a believer. He answered that a believer may at one time or another commit any of those sins. However, when he was asked whether a believer may tell a lie, the Prophet's answer indicated that lying is incompatible with faith.
That serves to show how seriously Islam views lying. However, one may find oneself in an embarrassing position, having to answer a certain question, yet unable to give a straightforward answer. Islam teaches us that lying may be resorted to in specific cases. Umm Kulsoom bint Uqbah reports that she heard Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, saying: "A person who tries to bring about reconciliation between people and says or reports something good is not a liar." Umm Kulsoom states: "I have never heard him (meaning the Prophet, peace be upon him,) allowing any concession with regard to what lies people may tell, except in three situations: to achieve reconciliation between two people, and in a man's conversation with his wife and in a wife's conversation with her husband." (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others).
The case you have mentioned is different. A lie is unacceptable. However, in order to deal with such difficult situations, the Prophet, peace be upon him, tells us that we may give an ambiguous answer which the questioner may interpret as he wishes. Our answer, however, must be true, although unclear. It could, for example, hint at only one part of the subject of the question. Let us take one example. You come home one day and you find your brother outside the house, having just emerged and going somewhere. He greets you and insists that you tell nobody that you have seen him. Later on, your father asks you whether you have seen your brother. If you know the whole situation to be harmless and you do not wish to be in breach of your brother's trust, you may give your father this answer: He was not in when I came. Your father is likely to understand that you have not seen him, but you have not told him so. You simply said that your brother was not in when you arrived. That is correct because you saw him outside the house. There is nothing wrong with this. Indeed the Prophet, peace be upon him, recommends us to resort to such ambiguities in order to avoid lying when we find ourselves in an embarrassing situation.
• Lies: Situations where lies are acceptable
It is stated that telling lies cannot be sanctioned whether in earnest or in jest. Yet there may be situations where one is motivated to tell a lie in order to avoid an unpleasant situation or to obtain a collective benefit without causing harm to others. Please comment.
It is important to have an overall view of what the Prophet may have said about a particular subject before arriving at a final judgment on what may be sanctioned by Islam and what may not be, in connection with that particular subject. In order to answer the point which may be raised about situations where a lie seems to serve a more important purpose than what may be served by telling the truth, we need to find out whether the Prophet has made any relevant statement.
Umm Kulsoom bint Uqbah reports that she heard Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, saying: "A person who tries to bring about reconciliation between people and says or reports something good is not a liar." Umm Kulsoom states: "I have never heard him (meaning the Prophet) allowing any concession with regard to what lies people may tell, except in three situations: to achieve reconciliation between two people, and in a man's conversation with his wife and in a wife's conversation with her husband." (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others).
The points are perhaps best explained by Imam Al Ghazali who says that words are only a means leading to certain objectives. When either telling the truth or telling a lie may result in the achievement of a particular good objective, then resorting to lies in order to achieve it is forbidden. If that good objective can only be attained by lying, then to tell a lie is not sinful provided the attainment of that particular objective is permissible If that objective is essential, then lying in order to achieve it is required, particularly when failing to secure it will cause certain harm. Take for example the case of a Muslim who goes in hiding in order to avoid the soldiers of a tyrant. If one knows his hiding place and happens to be asked about it, he must lie in order not to give that man away. Similarly, if he has been given something by a neighbor for safekeeping and someone who wrongfully wants to take it away asks him about it, he should tell a lie in order to prevent its confiscation. If he is asked to swear that he does not know where it is, he should do so. Again, if one tells a lie in order to prevent a quarrel or to achieve peace between two quarreling families or to persuade someone to forgo his right of retaliation, that sort of lie is not forbidden, especially when the purpose cannot be achieved otherwise. Another case in which lying is permissible is when a governor asks a person whether he may have committed a grave sin which is unknown except to himself and to Allah, and no one is harmed by it, then he should deny having committed it. The point here is that if it is left to Allah, he may forgive him. If the ruler knows of it, he must punish him for that. Islam does not like to exact punishment. It prefers that people repent of their sins and be forgiven by Allah.
All these are good examples of situations in which telling a lie is acceptable, because it ensures that a worse situation is avoided. In other words, [it is acceptable in situations when] telling a lie is the lesser of two evils.
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