Is it considered a lie to exaggerate in speech, such as saying "I waited for you a year" when intending to express a delay, or to change details of a story unintentionally and without altering its meaning?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
What is mentioned in the question is not considered a lie. The first is an exaggeration, which is a form of metaphor, like: "And the head flared up with old age." As for the second, which is narrating the story with different wording while preserving the meaning, it is not a lie. Scholars have permitted narrating by meaning, so narrating a story is even more permissible.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/57046
Where this answer came from
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 57046
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy