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Is it permissible to lie to one's grandmother about the price of an expensive medicine, and give it to her at a reduced price, knowing that she will not accept financial assistance?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Fear of lying and eagerness to honor your grandmother, Mahmud, are commendable. Lying is forbidden and among the ugliest of deeds. However, in such a situation, one can use allusions (ma'areedh) and double meanings (tawriya) instead of lying to achieve the desired outcome. Allusions are sufficient for a Muslim to avoid lying. Tawriya means that the speaker intends a correct meaning with their statement, which is not a lie from their perspective, even if it appears to be a lie based on the literal wording. For example, one could say to the grandmother, "I paid (so much) for this medicine," stating a low amount, while intending that this amount is only part of the price.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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