A word on a form of shirk, which is swearing by other than Allah, such as swearing by the Prophet or by one’s fathers.

The Shaykh : Do you not hear many people swearing by their fathers, swearing by their honor, swearing by their masters? All of this is shirk; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: Where are the Muslims? Where are the monotheists? Today, the Muslims in their religion are most like the Jews and the Christians, whose religion was altered for them, and the religion they were upon before has become a reality that completely contradicts the reality of the religion they are upon now. Likewise, many Muslims—and I say many, not all Muslims—because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) preferred this religion over all previous religions by preserving its fundamentals from the Book and from the authentic Sunnah, and conveying them to us through the people of knowledge of hadith and fiqh, who transmitted to us the correct concepts, the Khalaf following the Salaf. So we were saved from being misguided as the Jews and Christians were misguided. But many Islamic sects, Islamic schools of thought, and individual Muslims have been afflicted with what afflicted the Jews, despite that great difference. In Islam, swearing by other than Allah is forbidden, and we swear by other than Allah today, especially in Egypt. In Egypt, they swear by their honor; in Palestine, some of our Palestinian brothers and others do so—the land is now inhabited!—so they mean, like their tasbih, “by my honor,” “by my honor.” One of them does not feel that he is associating partners with Allah, and he does not know. There is no blame on a person for being ignorant, because no one is born learned. But the whole blame is on remaining ignorant. So this is 'Umar ibn al-Khattab =

The questioner: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
= So this is 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), as in "Sahih al-Bukhari," where the Messenger (peace be upon him) heard him one day swearing by his father, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , . 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said—and this is from their purity and their turning to their Lord, as He (the Exalted) said in the Noble Qur'an: ; 'Umar said, after hearing the Messenger’s prohibition of swearing by fathers: “By Allah, I did not swear by other than Allah thereafter, whether intentionally or what?”

The questioner : Or inadvertently.

The Shaykh : Or inadvertently. I did not swear by other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic) thereafter, whether intentionally or inadvertently; meaning, intentionally and with the purpose of swearing by other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), or inadvertently; that is, transmitting it from another. Even though the scholars say, “One who transmits disbelief is not a disbeliever.” Despite that, 'Umar said: After I heard the Messenger prohibit swearing by fathers, I did not swear, neither intentionally nor by transmission. Today, if you prohibit the one who swears by other than Allah, the Shaykh, let alone others, he will say to you: “My brother, I am not intentional, his intention is good.” Look at 'Umar and look at these people. 'Umar says: After I heard the Messenger prohibit it, no oath by other than Allah came out of my mouth, even if transmitted from another. Whereas, when we see people committing true disbelief, such as slaughtering for other than Allah, or verbal disbelief, such as swearing by other than Allah, you find someone defending them by saying their intention is good. What is this good intention if the act is disbelief itself, when it was committed by the polytheists before us?!
In summary: Tawhid (the oneness of Allah) does not benefit its owner unless he understands these three realities: that he unites Allah in His essence, that he unites Him in His worship, and that he unites Him in His attributes. This tawhid is the meaning of “La ilaha illa Allah” (There is no deity but Allah). So whoever falls short in any of these three types has not understood “La ilaha illa Allah” and has not believed in “La ilaha illa Allah,” and he will be among those who remain in the Fire in the Hereafter. So whoever wishes to be saved, let him unite Allah in tawhid according to what came in the Book and the Sunnah. And he should know what contradicts tawhid from the shirks and idolatries. Today, the preacher stands and says: “In the name of Allah and in the name of the homeland,” “In the name of Allah and in the name of the people.” Does anyone among the attendees feel that this preacher has associated partners with Allah? No one. Why? Because we have distanced ourselves from knowing our Islam. And when we know it, it becomes a mere matter of knowledge and awareness, and when faith enters their hearts.
And with this amount, it is sufficient for answering that question which took the number three in order. And we have here a fourth question which we read to you, which is the difference between bid'ah (religious innovation) and sunnah (recommended practice), and the difference between them.

The questioner : To complete the benefit, meaning, if you spoke about the tawhid of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in following?

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Okay, let us vary it a bit, meaning, to dispel some boredom from some people. Is there anyone with a question about the previous topic?

The questioner: My Shaykh.

The Shaykh : I say: Does anyone have a question about the previous topic?

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Go ahead.