Questioner:

A person asks about April Fools Day which has become widespread nowadays. Perhaps you have something to say about this?

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Hādī al-Madkhalī:

All praise is for Allāh ﷻ, and may Allāh extoll and protect our prophet Muḥammad, his household and companions. Certainly Allāh has commanded us in His Book with truthfulness and to be with the truthful ones, as He – the Might and Majestic said;

۞ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ

“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allāh, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).” (Q 9:119)

Likewise the Prophet prohibited lying and made it a major sins. He said: “Beware of lying for verily lying guides to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to the Fire. And a man does not cease to tell lies until he is written with Allāh as a liar.”

So if this is the case, then upon the Muslim is to fear Allāh ﷻ and to abide by Allāh’s command, and to obey His Messenger and to be very cautious of lying, because lying in all its forms is forbidden, and it is more severe in prohibition when it is done to make people laugh. What we know about this affair in question (April Fools Day) – which has unfortunately spread among the Muslims today, is that its origin returns back to the Jews and Christians and the lands of the East and West, because they make up these lies to make people laugh and to be remembered and to seek fame and to be known. As for us Muslims, then the Prophet said: “Woe to the man who makes up a lie to make the people laugh, Woe to him and again Woe to him” So upon us all is to be careful of this, and what has been asked about which is April Fools day is forbidden from two angles:

First Angle: It is a lie, and Allāh has forbidden lying and we all heard the statement of the Prophet  “Beware of lying for verily lying guides to sinfulness and sinfulness leads to the Fire. And a man does not cease to tell lies until he is written with Allāhas a liar.” [al-Bukhāri no.6134]. This is from one angle.

Second Angle: Its forbiddance becomes more severe on top of its original forbiddance, is that it is imitating the disbelievers, because those disbelievers lie, and do this and that, and perhaps even make up a big lie and a great catastrophe which will be spread and broadcasted.

Especially via the media, so it (the joke or lie) spreads to the east and west, causing much horror, and  thereafter it becomes clear that it has no basis. Likewise when the Muslim makes up a lie which frightens his Muslim brother, and his fear has an affect on him and his fright becomes severe because of it, and perhaps he may fall ill when he is told for example, so and so has died – from those who are precious to him – like his father, or brother, or son or daughter, or that it is said to him your house has been burgled or your house has burnt down, or the likes of these great affairs, he may also  become confused due to it and he may lose his mind and senses, or even become severely ill, so whose responsibility is this? This liar is responsible for what happens (to the person).

So this kind of lie becomes worse in its forbiddance  due to what it contains of tremendous evil, and also imitating the disbelievers. So upon the Muslims is to beware of this to his best, and that they do not follow the disbelieving enemies of Allāh, because Allāh ﷻ has commanded them to be with the truthful;

۞ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ

“O you who believe! Be afraid of Allāh, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds)” (Q 9:119)

Similarly the Prophet said: “The true Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe.” So if the person makes up a lie to frighten the people, then the Muslims have not been safe from his tongue.

I ask Allāh to grant us all understanding and insight of His religion, to follow the Messenger of Allāh and be very careful of imitating the disbelievers of the West or the East and of following the tradition of the Jews and Christians, and this – in actuality, has been informed by the Prophet so it is not strange that the Islamic Ummah fall into imitating the Jews and Christians step by step. They shall follow them handspan by handspan and an arms length by another, even if they enter into a lizard’s hole, we will follow them. I ask Allāh to grant us all the following of His Messenger, and be very careful of that which angers our Lord by staying far away from these sort of things and the imitation of the disbelieving enemies of Allāh, and by sticking to the path of the correct Islam and by following Allāh’s ﷻ straight path, He is the most Bounteous and Most Generous. And may Allāh extoll and protect His slave and messenger, our Prophet Muḥammad, his household, his companions and those who follow him in precision.