Three Other Points About “al-kādhibīn” (the liars)

Regarding this word, there are three other points: 1. The “alif and lām” in “al-kādhibīn” is for specific reference (ʿahd), not for all-inclusiveness (istighrāq) or category (jins). Therefore, it does not mean every liar or the category of liars, but rather refers to the liar who is on one of the two sides of this dispute, because this curse is a “root-destroying punishment” (ʿadhāb istīṣāl) that eliminates the foundation, and not every liar deserves such punishment.

In this dispute, the claim of the Prophet (s.a.w.) is that God has no partner and that Jesus Christ (a.s.) is God’s servant whom God blessed with a book and appointed to prophethood, and that he is neither God, nor the son of God, nor the third of three. In this dispute, either you are the liars or we are, and we place God’s curse upon the liars.

1. The meaning of “al-kādhibīn” refers to those who knowingly lie, not those whose statements are false but who do not know it. In other words, what is meant is the lying informant (mukhbir) who knows and lies, not someone who has false information and lies due to mistake without knowing it.
2. “Al-kādhibīn” is an assimilated attribute (ṣifa mushabbaha) which has a permanent meaning, not an active participle (ism fāʿil) whose meaning is temporary. In other words, a “liar” (kādhib) means someone whose habit is lying, not someone who has, for instance, lied once.