The Quran is the book of complete truth, and language is a tool to uncover this truth. The Quran has given great importance to the methodology of language in revealing the truth, following every misleading and false discourse by exposing and clarifying its reality to people. It scrutinizes what is contained within such discourse, uncovering the lies and deception.

The Quran supports the language of truth in many ways. It demonstrates certainty over doubt or suspicion; “Indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.” (An-Najm: 28) It negates blind imitation of ancestors; “And when it is said to them, 'Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger,' they say, 'Sufficient for us is that upon which we found our fathers.' Even though their fathers knew nothing, nor were they guided?” (Al-Ma'idah: 104) It calls for verification through rational and sensory evidence before making judgments; “And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.” (Al-Isra: 36) It places importance on rational proof; “Say, 'Produce your proof.'” (An-Naml: 64) It commands traveling through the land to seek signs of certain knowledge and not to accept impressions blindly; “So proceed throughout the earth and observe.” (Aal-Imran: 137)

The Quran criticizes those who reject its truth, describing them as having abandoned the natural processes of cognition in the human mind, addressing them with a critical language: “Then will you not see?” “Then will you not use reason?” “Have they not traveled?” “Have they not looked?” and so on.

Hypocrites and Linguistic Deception

Hypocrites attempted to subject the logic of prophecy and revelation to the factors of deception by using misleading language to obscure the truth, deceiving the believers with their false words. They claimed faith while they were truly disbelievers in revelation. They adopted a functional language approach (hypocritical), choosing words and phrases that suited each situation to gain benefit and avoid harm.

They alter the names and real meanings of words. For instance, they sometimes claim to believe in Allah and the Last Day and sometimes claim to be reformers on earth. Then they would say that those who believed were the foolish and weak, not worthy of respect, while they consider themselves the elite due to their wealth and influence.

They tried to change the established meanings and significations of words, believing they owned the media and cultural space, the power, and influence in society. They thought only they could determine the appropriate meanings and significations of the words used, and no one could change these meanings or redefine the names they assigned.

However, the Quran revealed the falsehood of their language and words that did not correspond to the meanings they referred to. It clarified in a statement until the Day of Resurrection that they were not believers and that their linguistic deception only deceived themselves by persisting in this misguidance. Their actions among people and on earth – in all its forms – were never acts of reform but of corruption. They persistently tried to portray corruption as reform by altering the meanings and significations of the terms “reform” and “corruption.”

The Quran defines the practice of linguistic deception in society by the hypocrites and the Quranic language’s defense in restoring the meanings and significations of names and terms, i.e., restoring the truth that the hypocrites attempted to obscure in perceptions and concepts. This Quranic clarification partly appears at the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah: “And of the people are some who say, 'We believe in Allah and the Last Day,' but they are not believers. They [think to] deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not. In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie. And when it is said to them, 'Do not cause corruption on the earth,' they say, 'We are but reformers.' Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not. And when it is said to them, 'Believe as the people have believed,' they say, 'Should we believe as the foolish have believed?' Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.” (Al-Baqarah: 8-13)

The Bedouins and Linguistic Errors

The Quran also records another scene of linguistic manipulation, using language as desired for deception and general misguidance. This is the scene of the Bedouins claiming faith by saying, “We believe.” Allah says, “The Bedouins say, 'We have believed.' Say, 'You have not [yet] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts.” (Al-Hujurat: 14)

This group submitted out of fear of the Muslims’ power and did not believe as required by faith. Fear drove them to say the Shahada (testimony of faith) “There is no deity but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” They wanted to be treated as the emigrants who left their wealth and possessions for the sake of Allah and proved sincere in their migration when migration was considered a bond among the emigrants.

However, these Bedouins remained inwardly disbelievers and deniers of the prophethood and the Quran. They claimed Islam during a difficult year in which they spoiled the pathways to Medina with their filth and raised its prices. They would say to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): “We came to you with our burdens and dependents and did not fight you as others did, so give us from the charity.” They would boast about it! Using the language of faith, the Quran revealed their reality, stating that they had not believed but only submitted out of fear and greed. The term “faith” means obedience to Allah and His Messenger in both private and public, in heart and outward behavior, which was not present in these lying Bedouins’ claim of faith.

The Quran and the World of Anti-truth Language

The Quran clarifies that each word and term has a place, value, position, signification, and meaning. The deceivers replace all these ranks and significations in their discourse to distort human cognition and manipulate the established ranks and significations of words, constructing a language world different from the truth. The danger lies in leaving these manipulators of words and terms in their deceit and deception of the human mind, threatening individual and societal awareness formed through the discourse of truth and threatened by the discourse of lies, linguistic hypocrisy, errors, and manipulation of names and terms.

The deceptive discourse constructs a language world targeting the human mind, building its misleading concepts and terminologies, diverging from the true and accurate meanings and significations of words and terms.

The Quran’s criterion for revealing the errors of this hypocritical language world is the manifestation of behavior, i.e., the expression of the connection between speech and action. The agreement between them means the intrinsic truth of the statement and word, and the disparity between them means the intrinsic falsehood in the sentiment and discourse as a whole; “Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do.” (As-Saff: 3)

The second criterion is the sentiment criterion; “For faith has not yet entered your hearts.” (Al-Hujurat: 14), which aligns with the first criterion and leads to it because a healthy person acts in accordance with what he believes in and avoids everything that contradicts his sentiment and does not believe in its worthiness and merit to strive for it with his limbs and exert effort and sacrifice.

Thus, the Quran’s language reveals the language of this misleading world, which targets the truth primarily, not wanting the mind to reach or believe in any truth. Then it targets human awareness, which is fundamentally based on three truths: the divine truth, the universal truth, and the social truth. If we follow the Quran, we find that the misleading language world seeks to distort these three truths, causing confusion in the human mind in its perception of these truths, preventing the formation of true awareness towards these major truths.

The Quran was aware of these deceptive attempts and sought to clarify, deconstruct, and show their fallacies according to fixed criteria based on reason, nature, and history.

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Some people tend to remain silent about many current events, claiming that silence ensures safety from dangers and protection from harm. The truth, however, is that when a person recognizes what is right, it is obligatory for them to adhere to it and declare their support and defense for it through all possible means. If the truth is not clear to them, they must seek it out to support and stand by it. Withdrawing and resorting to silence has significant dangers for both individuals and society, as follows:

First: Disobeying Allah's command to enjoin good and forbid evil:

Allah Almighty says, “And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful.” (Al-Imran: 104) This ayah encourages enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, which is a sign of a believer’s faith. Those who do this will be successful, and those who abandon it will be among the losers.

Second: Ignoring the prophetic guidance:

The noble Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ is filled with many instructions that emphasize enjoining good and forbidding evil and urge changing evil through all possible means. In Sahih Muslim, Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.”

The Prophet ﷺ warned against remaining silent about the truth. In Musnad Ahmad, Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Do not let the fear of people prevent you from speaking the truth when you see it or witness it. Verily, it does not bring one closer to death nor push away sustenance to speak the truth or remind others of the greatness of Allah.”

Third: Encouraging sinners to commit more sins:

Remaining silent about the truth encourages the people of falsehood to persist in their wrongdoing. Shaitan beautifies their evil deeds for them, making them believe their actions are good, while they are actually not. These are the worst of people, as Allah the Almighty says, “Say, [O Muhammad], 'Shall We [believers] inform you of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds? [They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work.' Those are the ones who disbelieve in the verses of their Lord and in [their] meeting Him, so their deeds have become worthless; and We will not assign to them on the Day of Resurrection any importance.” (Al-Kahf: 103-106)

When evil increases and becomes widespread without resistance, it becomes a norm for people, making them feel no shame in committing and promoting it until they no longer recognize good or denounce evil.

In Sahih Al-Jami', Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The temptations are presented to the hearts one after another like a reed mat. Thus, any heart that accepts them will have a black spot embedded in it, and any heart that rejects them will have a white spot. Until the heart becomes as white as a clean sheet, it will not be harmed by any temptation as long as the heavens and the earth exist. However, the other heart is black, filthy, like a dirty pot. It does not recognize goodness nor does it reject evil, except for what it desires.”

Fourth: Distorting the truth:

Repeated sins committed by many people without being denounced by knowledgeable individuals can lead some to believe that these actions are not sinful. This results in distorting the truth, seeing falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood, as happened with the people of Lot when they said: “Expel the family of Lot from your city. Indeed, they are people who keep themselves pure.” (An-Naml: 56) They reversed the truth, considering purity a flaw because they did not denounce each other's evil deeds.

Fifth: Beautifying sin in people's hearts:

People tend to follow the example of those around them. When they see sins being committed without condemnation, they are encouraged to imitate these actions and enjoy the pleasure of sin. As sinners find enjoyment in their sins and see them spreading among people, their fear of committing these sins diminishes until they openly commit and proclaim them.

Sixth: Delaying the declaration of truth is not permissible:

When a person witnesses an evil, they must denounce it immediately, as this is the time when denunciation is needed. Delaying the declaration of truth is not permissible unless denouncing the evil would lead to a greater evil. A person who remains silent about the truth might claim that the time is not right for denunciation, but when the time comes, their voice will be heard proclaiming the truth. The reality is that there are degrees of denouncing evil: if someone can change it with their hand, they should; if they cannot, then with their tongue; and if they cannot, then with their heart, but they should never be content or accept it, instead their face should show anger if they are unable to speak or act.

Here, we must clarify this issue clearly: if a person fears harm if they denounce the evil, they have two options; the first: if they can endure the harm for the sake of Allah, they should denounce the evil according to the Sharia guidelines, and they will have their reward. The second: if they cannot endure the harm, they are permitted to remain silent (as they are considered coerced), while still condemning the evil in their heart and not being content with it, let alone participating in it.

Seventh: Resembling Shaitan:

A Muslim should not be content to see Allah's sanctities being violated while remaining silent, as by doing so they contribute to spreading these violations. In this, they resemble the accursed devil. Abu Ali Al-Daqqaq rightly said: “Whoever remains silent about the truth is a mute devil.” ⁽¹⁾

Eighth: The spread of tyranny:

When tyrants find no one to stop them or object to their evil actions, they increase in tyranny and despotism. Therefore, Allah the Almighty says about Pharaoh: “So he bluffed his people, and they obeyed him. Indeed, they were [themselves] a people defiantly disobedient [of Allah].” (Az-Zukhruf: 54)

Ninth: Exposure to Allah's curse and being expelled from His mercy:

Allah the Almighty cursed the Children of Israel when they committed sins without enjoining good and forbidding evil among themselves. He said, “Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed. They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.” (Al-Ma'idah: 78-79) Although the ayah specifically refers to the Children of Israel, it generally applies to any nation that commits sins without enjoining good and forbidding evil among themselves.

Tenth: Exposure to divine punishment:

Abu Dawood reported from Abu Bakr As-Siddiq that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When people see an oppressor but do not prevent him from (doing evil), it is likely that Allah will punish them all.” In another narration, Abu Bakr said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'If acts of disobedience are done among any people and do not change them though the are able to do so, Allah will soon punish them all.'”

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(1) Imam Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim (2/ 20).

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