Changing lineage: a man passing himself off as a sayyid

Question

Question: A man is by birth of the Machhi caste (a caste of fishermen and water-carriers) of Ferozepur district, but he has begun calling himself “Sayyid Pir Shah” and goes about misleading people. What is the ruling concerning such a person?

Answer

It has come in the noble hadith that whoever changes his lineage will not enter Paradise. So for a person who is not in fact a sayyid, calling himself a sayyid is a great sin. To slander anyone without verification is also a sin.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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