The Light of the Holy Qur'an — Page 107
T H e J O u r NA l—F AT e H M A S IH T H e J O u r NA l—F AT e H M A S IH 107 have all kinds of material—accurate and inaccurate. One who uses the hadith as a criterion faces the need to scrutinize them. And this is a very delicate matter to find the authentic a ha d i th from among all sorts of a ha d i th , and then try to ascertain its true mean- ing and then to search for its correct context. The Qur’an has cursed the liars. Furthermore, it states that liars are the companions of Satan, that liars are devoid of faith, and that satans descend upon the liars. And it does not just say ‘do not lie’, it also says that you should eschew even the company of liars, not take them as your friends and comrades—fear God and associate with the truthful. At one place it says that when you speak, your speech should be all truth, and should not be admixed with falsehood even jokingly. Now, tell me where do we find such teachings in the Gospel? Had there been such teachings, why would such gross practices as ‘April Fools’ persist among the Christians to this day? Note how terrible a practice April Fools is in which it is considered dec- orous to tell a lie. Such are the Christian values, and such are the teachings of the Gospel! It appears that the Christians really love falsehood a great deal. Accordingly, their practical condition bears witness to it. For example, while there is only one Qur’an in the hands of all Muslims, the number of Gospels is said to be somewhat in excess of sixty. Bravo, Christian clergy! This is what is called attaining proficiency in falsehood. Perhaps you have heard the saying of one of your holy elders that lying is not only permissible, it is worthy of divine reward. With respect to justice, which cannot be achieved without strict adherence to the path of truthfulness, God Almighty says: