The Ruling on Swearing by Other Than Allah

The Shaykh:
Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and upon his family and all his Companions. To proceed: We continue with the answers, if Allah wills, to the questions that were presented in the previous lesson.

The presenter:
From the lessons on tawhid (the oneness of Allah). Yes. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow their guidance.

The questioner:
The questioner says: What is the ruling on one who swears by other than Allah, such as when some people say "By the Prophet" or "By my honor" or the like?

The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Is it so? There is no doubt that swearing an oath is a great matter. Swearing means affirming something, whether by negation or affirmation, by mentioning the Most Great. This is only permissible with regard to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). He is the One by whom one swears, because swearing is an act of glorification and worship. Therefore, it is not permissible to swear by anyone other than Allah. As He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This is a matter on which the scholars are in consensus that it is not permissible to swear by anyone other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic) based on these proofs. And swearing by anyone other than Allah, if it is done with the intention of glorifying the created being as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is glorified, then this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah). But if it is not done with this intention, and the person only intended to affirm something or a matter, and he swore by other than Allah, without intending that the thing by which he swore is equal to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), then this is minor shirk. It is minor shirk, a major sin among the major sins. But it does not take one out of the religion. Is it not minor? It is a major sin, and it involves great sin. It is obligatory for the one who does it to repent to Allah, but it does not take him out of the religion. Swearing by other than Allah is forbidden absolutely, whether...
...it is by the Prophet, or a wali (close friend of Allah), or a grave, or a tree, or a stone, or otherwise. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited it absolutely. Swearing by trust, swearing by a wali, swearing by the Prophet, swearing by life, "by your life" or "by my life" or the like, all of this is forbidden and not permissible due to the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of it, and his ruling that it is shirk in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
And if it is the custom of some regions, or some tribes, or some countries that they swear by other than Allah, then this is a bad custom and a custom of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah). The Muslim must avoid it. Even if it is customary among his people or in his country, he must avoid it. He must also call people to abandon it and explain to them the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding it. He should not leave people as they are. It is not permissible for a person to say, "I will abandon this thing, but I am not responsible for the people." No, this is not permissible. You are obligated regarding yourself, and you are also obligated to explain the ruling of the Shari'ah to people if you know it. So the conclusion is that swearing by other than Allah is not permissible, and it is shirk, a ruling established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And this shirk varies according to the intention of the one who swears. In any case, it is strictly forbidden. It must be abandoned and people must be warned about it. It diminishes the creed. Major shirk invalidates the creed, and minor shirk diminishes it; it diminishes the creed. A Muslim is not pleased for his creed to be invalidated or diminished. Rather, every Muslim strives to preserve his creed, complete it, and avoid what corrupts it, because it is the foundation of the religion.