Professor Nourmifidi in His Advanced Lecture: Forwarding False Information in Cyberspace is an Instance of Transmitting Lies, Which is the Worst Kind of Transmission

The Noble Prophet of Islam (PBUH) states:

“Beware of falsehood, for falsehood leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Fire.”

Avoid lying and falsehood, because lying drives human beings toward sins, wickedness, and vices, and sins guide them toward the fire of Hell.

This narration and dozens of other similar ones indicate the key role of lying in the wretched end of human beings in this world or the hereafter. The extent to which lying has been prohibited and the degree of negative impacts it leaves on the individual and social life of human beings is perhaps unmatched by many other sins. The Prophet states: Lying leads human beings to “yahdi ila al-fujur”, meaning lying is the gateway to sins, not merely that it is a single sin in itself that leads us to Hell; rather, he states that it causes numerous sins, and it is obvious that anyone who accumulates many sins belongs in the fire of Hell. The fact that lying and falsehood are referred to as the key to all evils is precisely due to this reason.

I do not wish to elaborate on this impact, but rather to explain that lying is indeed something that destroys the foundation of a society. In the family environment, lying weakens the foundation of the family. The first impact of lying manifests in children. The most important pillars of human morality are formed during childhood, in the environment of family, school, and friends. Thus, you see that children in their early childhood do not know how to lie and are quickly exposed. This is because their innate nature (fitrah) and disposition have not been mixed with worldly attachments, and they speak the truth based on their fitrah. When it is said, “hear the truth from a child,” this is what is meant. However, they observe in the family environment that their father and mother speak contrary to reality, even over trivial matters or in jest. They tell themselves that such things can happen. In the school environment and among friends, these all have an impact. Therefore, we must make great efforts to substitute truthfulness (sidq) for falsehood (kidhb), for truthfulness and honesty are the key to all prosperity and the salvation of mankind.

Unfortunately, today it has become such that we both lie and transmit lies. These are two distinct issues. At times, a person lies, and at other times, a person transmits a lie. That is, someone else has uttered the lie, and we transmit it. Transmitting a lie, in the words of the Messenger of God, is the worst of transmissions.

On the authority of Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), he said: The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) said:

“The worst of narrations is the narration of falsehood.”

The worst of transmissions is the transmission of a lie. This means we have two types of transmission: good transmission and bad transmission. Among bad transmissions, the worst is the transmission of a lie. For instance, in talebearing (namami), transmission takes place—meaning you transmit the words of one person to another, gossiping, which causes sedition, division, and conflict. This is one of the problems in human societies; however, worse than all is the transmission of a lie. This is because the transmission could be the transmission of a slander, and transmitting slander is itself the transmission of a lie.

Unfortunately, today the tools for transmitting lies have multiplied. At times it is oral transmission, but today in this cyberspace, the forwardings that take place are such that as soon as something reaches individuals, they resend it to one another. This is an instance of transmitting lies. Let us not immediately send whatever reaches our hands to one another in these virtual networks, whether as a joke or in earnest. This itself is the dissemination of lies and damages society in several ways.

I hope we realize the importance of truthfulness and honesty in society, and God willing, avoid the key to evil and the gateway to entering the fire of Hell.