Reconciling Quranic Verses: Lying on the Day of Judgment
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Can you explain the apparent contradiction between verses saying people will lie on the Day of Judgment and those saying no one will lie?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
There are many ways to look at the verses regarding the Day of Judgment and the seemingly contradictory responses of the Disbelievers therein.
The First Way
Although the verses in their outward wording seem general, they may refer to a specific subset of disbelievers: the hypocrites, the polytheists, and those who rejected faith.
An example of this is the following verse:
Allah (Most High) says, “Their only argument will be: “By Allah, our Lord! We were never polytheists.” [Qur’an; 6:23]
The people in this verse who lie on the Day of Judgment are hypocrites. Just as they lied in the world about their beliefs, they will opportunistically lie on the Day of Judgment when they see that the sinners attain forgiveness but polytheists do not. [Qurtubi]
The Second Way
The reality of the Day of Judgment is such that even if someone speaks falsely with their tongue – their truth will come to the fore regardless of their desire or attempt to lie. [Qurtubi]
This is the meaning of the verse: “On that Day, those who denied ˹Allah˺ and disobeyed the Messenger will wish they were reduced to dust. And they will never be able to hide anything from Allah.” [Quran; 4:42]
How is it that they will not be able to hide anything via their lies?
Allah (Most High) says, “On this Day We will seal their mouths, their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify to what they used to commit.” [Quran; 36:65]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
