The Precedent: Fatwa No. (436) Q: A discussion took place between me and one of the brothers regarding the impermissibility of swearing oaths by other than Allah, and what passed between us was as follows
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The Precedent
Fatwa No. (436)
Q: A discussion took place between me and one of the brothers regarding the impermissibility of swearing oaths by other than Allah, and what passed between us was as follows: I said, relying on what I studied in my youth, that: swearing an oath by other than Allah is minor shirk (associating partners with Allah), as detailed in the book of the Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, where he says: (Minor shirk is: swearing an oath by other than Allah, and saying, "I have no one but Allah and you," or "I am entering upon Allah and you," etc.). And he said: It is permissible to swear by the Qur'an; because it is an attribute of Allah the Exalted. The answers of some of the learned brothers varied, supporting his statement. And because of our need to be enlightened by the opinion of the honorable Ifta' Authority, knowing for certain that it seeks out authentic hadiths, we ask you to issue a ruling, may Allah reward you. Knowing that a bet occurred between us on the subject, we hope that the fatwa will address the permissibility of betting on this subject or its impermissibility.
A: As for swearing an oath by other than Allah and saying, "What Allah willed and you willed," or "I have no one but Allah and you," and the like of that, if one's heart holds reverence for the created being by whom he swore or for what he swore by; if he is ignorant, he is taught. If he persists, he is the same as the one who knew it from the start; each of them becomes a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) committing major shirk. Likewise,
in saying, "What Allah willed and you willed," or "Were it not for Allah and you," if he believes that this person is a partner with Allah, that nothing happens except by the will of Allah and the will of this person, if he is ignorant, he is taught. If he persists, he is the same as the one who knew it from the start; each of them is a mushrik committing major shirk. And as for when one swears by other than Allah with his tongue but does not hold reverence in his heart for the one he swore by or what he swore by, and likewise if he says, "What Allah willed and you willed," or "Were it not for Allah and you," if he is ignorant, he is taught. If he persists, he is the same as the one who knew it from the start; each of them is a mushrik committing minor shirk. And the fact that it is minor shirk does not mean that the Muslim is lenient in that matter, for minor shirk is the greatest of the major sins after major shirk. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: (I would rather swear by Allah falsely than swear by other than Him truthfully). So the oath of perjury is among the major sins, and yet Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) made minor shirk greater than it. The secret of the matter is that swearing an oath necessitates reverence for the thing sworn by; this is the principle. As for the saying, "What Allah willed and you willed" and the like, the conjunction "and" necessitates equality between the two things connected, meaning that the second is equal to the first. And Allah, (Exalted and Majestic is He)[Ash-Shuraa 42:11]
And as for swearing by the Qur'an, it is not of this category; because the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, and His speech, (Exalted and Majestic is He), is one of His attributes. The lawful oath is: an oath by Allah, or by one of His names, or by one of His attributes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 2679 It was narrated by al-Bukhari from Ibn 'Umar. And as for betting on this issue, it is a wager intended for a religious benefit. And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The permissible wager is lawful with a stake if it is from that which benefits in religion, as in the wager of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), which is one of the two positions in the madhhab (school of jurisprudence). And al-Ba'li said, after quoting the words of Shaykh al-Islam in *al-Ikhtiyarat*: I say: The apparent meaning of that is the permissibility of betting in knowledge, in agreement with the Hanafis; because religion stands on jihad and knowledge. End of quote. And as for the wager of Abu Bakr, it is established in (*al-Musnad*), al-Tirmidhi, and others: The point of indication is that al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) did it, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) knew of it and approved it. If it had not been permissible in this type, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would have clarified it, for it is not permissible for him to delay clarification until the time of need, by the consensus of the scholars, and this is the time of need. So it is known that it is permissible. And betting in scholarly issues falls into this type; because the intention of each of them is a religious purpose. So in the wager of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), there is a benefit for Islam; because it contains a religious benefit: the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in what he reported, namely that the Romans would prevail after that, and in it is the manifestation of the group closest to the Muslims over the one farthest from them. And the issue asked about contains a religious benefit, as it is in the chapter of tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship),
which is one of the types of knowledge of Allah, and knowledge of Allah is the best of knowledge. And the predetermined reward between the bettors for the one who prevails must not be from them or from one of them, but rather from a person outside the wager.
Fatwa No. (436)
Q: A discussion took place between me and one of the brothers regarding the impermissibility of swearing oaths by other than Allah, and what passed between us was as follows: I said, relying on what I studied in my youth, that: swearing an oath by other than Allah is minor shirk (associating partners with Allah), as detailed in the book of the Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, where he says: (Minor shirk is: swearing an oath by other than Allah, and saying, "I have no one but Allah and you," or "I am entering upon Allah and you," etc.). And he said: It is permissible to swear by the Qur'an; because it is an attribute of Allah the Exalted. The answers of some of the learned brothers varied, supporting his statement. And because of our need to be enlightened by the opinion of the honorable Ifta' Authority, knowing for certain that it seeks out authentic hadiths, we ask you to issue a ruling, may Allah reward you. Knowing that a bet occurred between us on the subject, we hope that the fatwa will address the permissibility of betting on this subject or its impermissibility.
A: As for swearing an oath by other than Allah and saying, "What Allah willed and you willed," or "I have no one but Allah and you," and the like of that, if one's heart holds reverence for the created being by whom he swore or for what he swore by; if he is ignorant, he is taught. If he persists, he is the same as the one who knew it from the start; each of them becomes a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) committing major shirk. Likewise,
in saying, "What Allah willed and you willed," or "Were it not for Allah and you," if he believes that this person is a partner with Allah, that nothing happens except by the will of Allah and the will of this person, if he is ignorant, he is taught. If he persists, he is the same as the one who knew it from the start; each of them is a mushrik committing major shirk. And as for when one swears by other than Allah with his tongue but does not hold reverence in his heart for the one he swore by or what he swore by, and likewise if he says, "What Allah willed and you willed," or "Were it not for Allah and you," if he is ignorant, he is taught. If he persists, he is the same as the one who knew it from the start; each of them is a mushrik committing minor shirk. And the fact that it is minor shirk does not mean that the Muslim is lenient in that matter, for minor shirk is the greatest of the major sins after major shirk. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: (I would rather swear by Allah falsely than swear by other than Him truthfully). So the oath of perjury is among the major sins, and yet Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) made minor shirk greater than it. The secret of the matter is that swearing an oath necessitates reverence for the thing sworn by; this is the principle. As for the saying, "What Allah willed and you willed" and the like, the conjunction "and" necessitates equality between the two things connected, meaning that the second is equal to the first. And Allah, (Exalted and Majestic is He)
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُAnd as for swearing by the Qur'an, it is not of this category; because the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, and His speech, (Exalted and Majestic is He), is one of His attributes. The lawful oath is: an oath by Allah, or by one of His names, or by one of His attributes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever has to take an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent.
من كان حالفًا فليحلف بالله أو ليصمتThat when the Persians and the Romans fought, and the Persians prevailed over the Romans, and that reached the people of Makkah, and that was in the early days of Islam, so the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) rejoiced in it; because the Majus (Zoroastrians) were closer to them than the People of the Book, and it distressed the Muslims; because the People of the Book were closer to them than the Majus. So Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) of that, and Allah the Exalted revealed: Alif Lam Mim (1) The Romans have been defeated (2) In the nearest land, and they, after their defeat, will prevail. So Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went out and bet with the mushrikin that if the Romans prevailed within a few years, he would take the stake, and if the Romans did not prevail, they would take the stake.
أنه لما اقتتلت فارس والروم، فغلبت فارس الروم، وبلغ ذلك أهل مكة، وكان ذلك في أول الإسلام، ففرح بذلك المشركون؛ لأن المجوس أقرب إليهم من أهل الكتاب، وساء ذلك المسلمين؛ لأن أهل الكتاب أقرب إليهم من المجوس، فأخبر أبو بكر رضي الله عنه بذلك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فأنزل الله تعالى: الم (1) غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ (2) فِي أَدْنَى الأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ فخرج أبو بكر رضى الله عنه، فراهن المشركين على أنه إن غلبت الروم في بضع سنين أخذ الرهان، وإن لم تغلب الروم أخذوا الرهان،which is one of the types of knowledge of Allah, and knowledge of Allah is the best of knowledge. And the predetermined reward between the bettors for the one who prevails must not be from them or from one of them, but rather from a person outside the wager.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.