Did Abraham (as) lie three times, as a tradition says?

No. The three statements held against Abraham (as) contain no untruth. On the contrary, the tradition shows that nothing else at all can be brought against him.

In many translations this tradition sounds as if Abraham (as) lied three times. The key to understanding it lies in the nature of these three statements. When you look at them closely, none of them contains anything untrue.

After he had confronted his people about their idols, he said that he felt unwell. This was no excuse. The idol worship of his people weighed heavily on him. When he had broken the idols and was asked who had done it, he pointed to the largest one and told them to ask the idols, if they could speak. He was not trying to deceive anyone. He wanted to make his people think, and he succeeded.

The third statement concerns his wife Sarah. Before a tyrant he called her his sister. The tradition itself explains what he meant. She was his sister in faith, for apart from the two of them there was no other believer there.

In this way the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) actually clears Abraham (as) of every accusation. He is in effect saying that at most these three things could be held against him, and none of them is a lie. A person against whom nothing more serious can be found in an entire lifetime is a man of truth. That is exactly what the first verse above calls him.