The Ruling on Swearing by Other Than Allah and How to Forbid It

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, some of the common people, especially the older ones, swear by other than Allah. How do we forbid them? Do we tell them that this is not permissible? Or do we tell them that this is shirk (associating partners with Allah), since if we say it is shirk, they will say, "You students of knowledge are declaring people disbelievers and being too strict about it"?

Answer:
It is obligatory for you, you know, to teach the young and the old. Teach them what Allah has taught you. Even if they say to you, "You diggers and you people of the science of breaking things, are you breaking them?" They say, "We are." Convey it. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said it. And hold back and let it be. We want to clear our conscience. It is shirk, so it is not permissible. The hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is such and such, and it does not matter to you that they speak ill of you, or that he... He says: Honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you. There are elderly people, but only because of the negligence of the students of knowledge, their silence regarding this, and their leaving off the teaching of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in the mosques, until the ignorance among the people was exposed. So it is necessary to pay attention to this matter. Yes.