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Punishment for the person who falsely claims to see a vision

Question

I want to know the meaning of the following Hadeeth (narration):
It was narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that whoever claims to have seen a vision which he did not, will be ordered to make a knot between two barley grains on the Day of Resurrection.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

The main lessons learned from this Hadeeth are:

• Lying about visions is prohibited

• The person who fabricates a vision will be tortured on the Day of Resurrection by something akin to this kind of sin, that is, he will be ordered to make a knot between two barley grains, which he will not be able to do and this will cause him suffering.

Shaykh Al-Mubaarakfoori  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him pointed out that the punishment for lying about visions in one's sleep is harsher than the punishment for lying while one is awake, because true visions are part of prophethood, which is nothing but revelation.

In other words, a person who lies about a vision alleges that Allaah The Almighty has made him see what he has not seen, and has given him a part of prophethood that he has not been given.

Therefore, lying about visions is considered lying to Allaah The Exalted, which is more heinous than lying to oneself or to others.

And Allaah Knows best.

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