Oaths: Are they an act of worship, and what is the ruling on swearing by other than Allah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is swearing an act of worship or not? And if it is not an act of worship, what is the reason it is forbidden or shirk (associating partners with Allah) if one swears by other than Allah?
Answer:
The oath is a covenant, a pledge, and an affirmation of a matter by mentioning Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So if one swears by Allah and fulfills it, this becomes an act of worship for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). If one swears by other than Allah, he is exalting the Absolute, which is a right belonging to Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He is the One by whom one swears. As for anything else, one does not swear by it. So whoever swears by a created being has done so.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is swearing an act of worship or not? And if it is not an act of worship, what is the reason it is forbidden or shirk (associating partners with Allah) if one swears by other than Allah?
Answer:
The oath is a covenant, a pledge, and an affirmation of a matter by mentioning Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So if one swears by Allah and fulfills it, this becomes an act of worship for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). If one swears by other than Allah, he is exalting the Absolute, which is a right belonging to Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He is the One by whom one swears. As for anything else, one does not swear by it. So whoever swears by a created being has done so.
Source
تفسير حزب المفصل، تفسير سورة المجادلة : الآيات [ 12 - 17 ] — islamhouse.com (34:49)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.