When is it OK to lie?

permissible to lie or not

 When is it permissible to lie?

It is important to note that lying is a sin, and not permissible, however, there are some cases in which lying is permitted.

In Islam, there are three cases, in Hadith:

“It is not lawful to lie except in three cases: Something the man tells his wife to please her, to lie during war, and to lie in order to bring peace between the people”

Now, let’s look at the three cases one by one:

1 - The man tells his wife to please her (or a wife to her husband as well), this will increase the love between them.. e.g. Husband says to his wife that she is the most beautiful woman, while he really doesn’t see her the most beautiful one. Or he praises her cooking instead of showing his displeasure.

2 - During the fighting, lying, camouflage and deceit are legislated in military.

3 - To bring peace between people, Peace is important.. e.g. To tell one of the litigants that his opponent is remorseful and wants reconciliation, and to tell the other one the same thing. 

With the exception of the above, lying is completely forbidden.