Strawmaning Opposition = Bearing False Witness

May 21, 2025 adminsr

The Quranic standard of truth is not limited to accurate speech—it demands just representation. To speak the truth is not only to avoid lying, but to avoid distortion, omission, exaggeration, and selective framing. A believer is called not only to be truthful, but to be fair—and especially when fairness is difficult.

[4:135] O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitableand observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses, even against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether the accused is rich or poor, GOD takes care of both. Therefore, do not be biased by your personal wishes. If you deviate or disregard (this commandment), then GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do.

This command leaves no room for self-serving narratives or selective justice. It applies even when the truth goes against our own side, our own families, or our own preferences.

[5:8] O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses. Do not be provoked by your conflicts with some people into committing injustice. You shall be absolutely equitable, for it is more righteous. You shall observe GOD. GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do.

Here, the Quran anticipates a human weakness: the tendency to bend the truth when in conflict. But believers are called to a higher ethic—one that resists that temptation, even under pressure. Justice is not a tool to be used against enemies and spared for allies. It is the path itself.

This deep moral commitment to fairness sets the stage for the next critical point: what happens when truth is misused—when it’s twisted, bent, or weaponized to defeat an opponent rather than serve God?

In debates, disagreements, and conflicts, some fall into a deceptive pattern: instead of engaging with the actual argument being made, they distort it—creating a false version that’s easier to attack. This is known as strawmanning—and in the Quranic framework, it’s more than a logical fallacy. It’s a form of bearing false witness.

Strawmanning is not accidental misunderstanding—it is often intentional misrepresentation. It takes someone’s words out of context, changes their meaning, and then attacks the altered version. It is, in essence, a lie disguised as an argument. And in the Quran, this type of deception is associated not with sincere believers—but with those who read the scripture and yet act in contradiction to it.

[2:42] Do not confound the truth with falsehood, nor shall you conceal the truth, knowingly.
[2:43] You shall observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), and bow down with those who bow down.
[2:44] Do you exhort the people to be righteous, while forgetting yourselves, though you read the scripture? Do you not understand?

The hypocrites are described as distorting reality—not merely lying outright, but manipulating truth in ways that deceive and divide. And God warns that this kind of deception is a spiritual disease, a tactic used to cloak injustice under the guise of righteousness.

In contrast, the believer is called to be honest, impartial, and transparent. Their integrity is not circumstantial. It is a reflection of their submission to God.

This kind of hypocrisy—knowing the scripture but weaponizing it for ego or advantage—is condemned repeatedly. And nowhere is it more visible than in the dishonest reframing of others’ words to justify injustice.

The hypocrite manipulates truth to serve division. They exaggerate, invent, or reframe their opponent’s views to make themselves appear righteous by contrast. They do not strive for clarity—they exploit ambiguity to twist the narrative.

This is not a minor sin. The Quran treats deliberate distortion as a corruption of truth itself—often linked with those who resist God’s message while claiming to uphold it.

In contrast, the believer is bound to a higher standard: