Here, let me show you how to accept responsibility for your own errors and be honest: Yes, there is only one plural noun. I concede that.
Thank you.
I would ask you a question about deceit being justified in Islam, thus Muslims having no cred with me, but this tells me all I need to know about your practice of deceit:
Oh, a blog post. How lovely.
Islamic ethics is based upon dualism. There is one set of rules for the Muslim and another set of rules for the kafir. Islamic ethical dualism extends to truth and deceit.
TRUTH
In Islam something that is not true is not always a lie.
Bukhari 3,49,857 Mohammed: "A man who brings peace to the people by making up good words or by saying nice things, though untrue, does not lie."
Narrated Umm Kulthum bint Uqba: That she heard Allah's Apostle saying, "He who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or saying good things, is not a liar." - Sahih Bukhari, Peacemaking, no. 857
A distinction must be made between equivocation and lying outright. The former is permitted only in three specific circumstances according to the authentic hadith collections recognized by the Ahl as-Sunnah (Sunnis). The latter is explicitly prohibited according to the same authentic ahadith.
The circumstances:
Humaid b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf reported that his mother, Umm Kulthum, daughter of 'Uqba b. Abu Mu'ait and one among the first emigrants who pledged allegiance to Allah's Apostle, as saying that she heard Allah's Messenger saying, "A liar is not one who tries to bring reconciliation amongst people and speaks good or conveys good." Ibn Shihab said that he did not hear that exemption was granted to what is spoken dishonestly but in three cases: in battle, for bringing reconciliation amongst persons, and the narration of the words of a husband to his wife, and the narration of the words of a wife to her husband (in a twisted form in order to bring reconciliation between them). - Sahih Muslim; Virtue, Good Manners, and Relationships; no. 6303
As you can see, Muslims, or at least the Ahl as-Sunnah, are not given free license to lie to people simply because they're non-Muslims. Habitual dishonesty and equivocating in inappropriate situations are grave sins:
Narrated 'Abdullah: The Prophet said, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to wickedness, wickedness leads to the Fire, and a man who persists in telling lies is recorded before Allah as a liar." - Sahih Bukhari, Good Manners, no. 116
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; whenever he promises, he breaks his promise; and whenever he is entrusted, he betrays." - Sahih Bukhari, Good Manners, no. 117
Narrated Samura bin Jundub: The Prophet said, "I dreamt that two men came to me." Then the Prophet narrated the story: "They said, 'The person whose cheek you saw being torn away was a liar and used to spread falsehood, and the people would report those lies on his authority until they spread all over the world. Thus, he will be punished like this until the Day of Resurrection."' - Sahih Bukhari, Good Manners, no. 118
The viewpoints and interpretations I've presented seem to be in line with those promulgated by some of Islam's foremost scholars, including the eminent and somewhat controversial
Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
See:
Lying Is Not a Trait of the Muslim - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
Lying When Speaking to Non-Muslims - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
An oath by a Muslim is flexible.
Bukhari 8,78,618 Abu Bakr faithfully kept his oaths until Allah revealed to Mohammed the atonement for breaking them. Afterwards he said, "If I make a pledge and later discover a more worthy pledge, then I will take the better action and make amends for my earlier promise."
Narrated 'Aisha: Abu Bakr As-Siddiq had never broken his oaths until Allah revealed the expiation for the oaths. Then he said, "If I take an oath to do something and later on I find something else better than the first one, then I do what is better and make expiation for my oath." - Sahih Bukhari, Oaths and Vows, no. 618
The quoted text at the end of the hadith above is a direct reference to an incident involving one such oath made by Muhammad (SAWS). Initially, Muhammad refused to supply a group of immigrants with mounts. When additional camels were brought to him, however, he changed his mind to reflect the change in circumstances and provided them with mounts. These "oaths" are not binding agreements made with other people, but pledges one makes about one's own conduct. The Qur'an itself makes this clear:
O Prophet, why dost thou forbid (thyself) that which Allah has made lawful for thee? Thou seekest to please thy wives, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Allah indeed has sanctioned for you the expiation of your oaths; and Allah is your Patron, and He is the Knowing, the Wise. - 66:1-2
From the Qur'anic commentary of Maulana Muhammad 'Ali:
"It is wrong to suppose that this verse sanctions the expiation of all kinds of oaths. Reading it along with the previous verses shows that the oaths referred to are in relation to vows, etc., by which one forbids oneself what is otherwise lawful. The injunction at the end of this verse, keep your oaths, also shows that oaths cannot be violated generally, and therefore expiation is only allowed in the case of oaths by which a man deprives himself of some lawful thing or of an occasion of virtue, as in 2:226. It is further evident that the Book which lays stress upon the faithful performance of all kinds of engagements could not allow the violating of agreements which had been confirmed with oaths."
It is made abundantly clear that agreements with others are to be upheld as long as they're respected by the other party:
Except those of the idolaters with whom you made an agreement, then they have not failed you in anything and have not backed up any one against you; so fulfil their agreement to the end of their term. Surely Allah loves those who keep their duty. - 9:4
And if thou fear treachery on the part of a people, throw back to them (their treaty) on terms of equality. Surely Allah loves not the treacherous. - 8:58
When deception advances Islam, the deception is not a sin.
Bukhari 5,59,369 Mohammed asked, "Who will kill Ka'b, the enemy of Allah and Moham-med?"
Bin Maslama rose and responded, "O Mohammed! Would it please you if I killed him?"
Mohammed answered, "Yes."
Bin Maslama then said, "Give me permission to deceive him with lies so that my plot will succeed."
Mohammed replied, "You may speak falsely to him."
Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was a tribal leader who provided assistance to the forces of the enemy Quraysh and who organized a plot to assassinate Muhammad. Of course it was necessary to dispose of him; the suggestion that dishonesty toward him was permitted to "advance Islam" rather than to eliminate a person who threatened to destroy it is laughable.
"Now Aus had killed Ka'b b. al-Ashraf before Uhud because of his enmity toward the Apostle and because he had instigated men against him..." - Sirat Rasul Allah, 714
Ali was raised by Mohammed from the age of ten and became the fourth caliph. Ali pronounced the following on lies and deception.
Bukhari 9,84,64 When I relate to you the words of Mohammed, by Allah, I would rather die than bear false witness to his teachings. However, if I should say something unrelated to the prophet, then it might very well be a lie so that I might deceive my enemy. Without question, I heard Mohammed say, "In the final days before Redemption there will emerge groups of foolish youths who will say all the right things but their faith will go no further than their mouths and will flee from their religion like an arrow. So, kill the apostates wherever you find them, because whoever does so will be rewarded on Judgment Day."
Narrated 'Ali: Whenever I tell you a narration from Allah's Apostle, by Allah, I would rather fall down from the sky than ascribe a false statement to him, but if I tell you something between me and you then it was indeed a trick. No doubt I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "During the last days there will appear some young foolish people who will say the best words but their faith will not go beyond their throats, and they will go out from their religion as an arrow goes out of the game. So, where-ever you find them, kill them, for who-ever kills them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection." - Sahih Bukhari, Dealing with Renegades, no. 64
I don't see anything here other than 'Ali implying that he deceives his enemies. It would be a bit ridiculous to demand that people tell the truth to their enemies during battle, would it not?
Deceit is part of Islamic war against the kafirs.
Bukhari 4,52,267 Mohammed: "The king of Persia will be destroyed, and no one shall assume his throne. Caesar will certainly be destroyed and no Caesar will follow him; his coffers will be spent in Allah's cause [jihad]." Mohammed cried out, "Jihad is deceit."
Emphasis mine. Most of the renderings used by your blog are inaccurate to some degree, but this is downright misleading. The word used is not "jihad", though that is the name of the book in which the hadith can be found.
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Khosrau will be ruined, and there will be no Khosrau after him, and Caesar will surely be ruined and there will be no Caesar after him, and you will spend their treasures in Allah's Cause." He called, "War is deceit'. - Sahih Bukhari, Jihad, no. 267
The blog dishonestly implies that deceit can be used against all "kafirs." It is quite clear in this hadith that deceit is being used only against those with whom the Muslims were at war.
Deceit in war, the community and marriage:
Already addressed.
TAQIYYA
The name for deception that advances Islam is taqiyya (safeguard, concealment, piety). But a Muslim must never lie to another Muslim. A lie should never be told unless there is no other way to accomplish the task. Kitman is a form of deceit that consists of not telling the whole truth.
Incorrect. "Taqiyya" is the name that the Shi'iat 'Ali gave to a doctrine that allows Muslims to conceal their true religious beliefs if failure to do so will lead to their death. I see nothing wrong with that and I have no real interest in defending or discussing Shi'ite beliefs anyway.
Here are two examples of sacred deceit, taqiyya. They are taken from Ishaq (the Sira, Mohammed's biography):
Ishaq 224 A member of the Abyssinian royalty, called the Negus, became convinced of the truth of Islam. He was accused by the Christians of leaving his religion. The Negus wrote on a piece of paper, "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet. Jesus was a Muslim, born of Mary, conceived without a father." He then pinned the statement under his shirt over his heart. When the other Abyssinians accused the Negus of leaving Christianity and they said, "Jesus was the Son of God." The Negus placed his hand over his heart (and the paper with the statement) and told the Christians, "I testify that Jesus was no more than this." The Christians took him at his word and left him. When Mohammed heard this, he prayed for the Negus when he died.
The Negus was threatened with death if he failed to give the impression that he supported Christian beliefs. Moreover, the text says that Muhammad (SAWS) "begged that his (the Negus's) sins might be forgiven." Why was this left out?
Ishaq 771 After the conquest of the Jews at Khaybar, al Hajjaj asked Mohammed if he could go to Mecca and get money owed to him by merchants there. He told Mohammed that he would have to tell lies in order to get his money. Mohammed told him to tell the lies.
According to the text, al-Hajjaj ibn 'Ilat al-Sulami gave the Makkans the impression that he was not a Muslim and told them that Muhammad (SAWS) had been captured. This was permissible because the Makkans (Quraysh) were at war with the believers and because al-Hajjaj's deception prevented him from being harmed on account of his beliefs.
There is a special case of deception mentioned in the Koran. It is acceptable to be deceptive about Islam as long as there is belief in the heart.
16:106 Those who disbelieve in Allah after having believed [became apostates], who open their hearts to disbelief, will feel the wrath of Allah and will have a terrible punishment--except there is no punishment for anyone who is compelled by force to deny Allah in words, but whose heart is faithful .
See above. Of course we aren't expected to tell our enemies that we're Muslims if doing so will cause us to be harmed or killed.
This material is not all of the doctrine on deceit, but it is enough to make the case that deceit is part of Islamic ethics.
It's about what I'd expect from a blog. A bit better than Evangelical Christian sites like "Answering Islam", but dishonest and generally ignorant of Islamic scripture and teachings nonetheless.
