Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2692
sahih

Narrated Um Kulthum bint `Uqba:

That she heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "He who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or saying good things, is not a liar."

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ صَالِحٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَنَّ حُمَيْدَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ أُمَّهُ أُمَّ كُلْثُومٍ بِنْتَ عُقْبَةَ أَخْبَرَتْهُ أَنَّهَا، سَمِعَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏

‏ لَيْسَ الْكَذَّابُ الَّذِي يُصْلِحُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ، فَيَنْمِي خَيْرًا، أَوْ يَقُولُ خَيْرًا ‏

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References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 53, Hadith 3
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 3, Book 49, Hadith 857 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Islamic Laws of Islam urges Muslims to reconcile and make peace between disputing people, even if it had to be achieved through lies, considering the benefits it involvesregarding quarrels and disputing people, by quelling the spirit of enmity and settling their disputes. In this hadeeth, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stated that the blameworthy lying, about which stern warnings are reported and for which a punishment is designated as per the laws of Islam does not apply to the situations when a person says what is contrary to the truth to reconcile between disputing people, as encouraged by the enjoined sincerity towards one’s fellow Muslims. Rather, he ﷺ described such an act as ‘good;’ he ﷺ said: “…inventing good information or saying good things,” meaning that such a person tries to reconcile between the disputing people by saying to one of them, for example, ‘Your friend is praising you and saying good things about you,’ which is untrue. There is no sin in making this up for the purpose of reconciling between them. A person may need to tell some lies with good intentions to make peace between disputing people. It is noteworthy that this is allowable provided that it does not involve nor entail denying a person his due rights or helping one take what he is not entitled to take. The same ruling applies to lying at times of war, meaning to say what helps Muslims appear strong and undermine their enemies’ resolve, even if it is untrue. The same also goes for lying to one’s wife, verbally expressing his affection for her beyond his actual feelings for her to retain her love, ensure the stability of their marriage, and refine her conduct. It should be noted that the hadeeth does not suggest that these false statements that are contrary to the reality are not labelled as lies as per the laws of Islam; a lie is a lie regardless of the purpose. Rather, it means that a person bears no sin for making up such lies in those specified situations, as a legal concession, enduring the lesser evil to realize the greater good. The hadeeth urges Muslims to reconcile between disputing people and make peace between them. .
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