The Possibility of Lying (Imkan al-Kidhb)

Question

Is it correct that, according to the statement of the respected Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, the author of “Fatawa Rashidiyya”, God is able to lie? If it is correct, then does God lie? If God possesses the power to lie, then does He not lie? If He can say it, then when God says, “Worship — Paradise is for you; and if you do not, then Hell,” can this statement not be carried, out of the two sides, to one side?

Answer

Power does not entail occurrence (sudur). Lying is possible in itself (mumkin bi-al-dhat) and impossible by reason of something else (mumtani‘ bi-al-ghayr). Since lying is vile (qabih), its occurrence from the Exalted Creator never has taken place and never will; whoever asserts the occurrence of lying is a kafir, as stated in “Fatawa Rashidiyya”.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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