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What is the literal opinion of Imam Al-Shafi'i, Abu Hanifa, and Malik concerning the circumstances under which lying is permissible?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Lying is forbidden and is not permitted except out of necessity or an urgent need, while adhering to the narrowest of limits. "Al-Ma'areedh" (euphemisms or double entendre) can be used to avert harm or achieve a benefit, by saying a word that bears two meanings, where the speaker intends one and the listener understands the other. It has been established that lying is permissible in three situations: war, reconciling people, and a man's conversation with his wife and a wife's conversation with her husband. Scholars have unanimously agreed on the permissibility of lying in these cases to achieve a benefit or avert harm.

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

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