What is the ruling on swearing by other than Allah, given that it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Success to him and his father, if he is truthful"?
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The questioner : May the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : And upon the attendees.
The attendees: And upon you, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be.
The questioner : What is the ruling on swearing by other than Allah the Exalted, given that it is narrated from the Prophet that he said:Sunan Abi Dawud 3252?
The Shaykh : Swearing by other than Allah Mighty and Majestic, such as saying "By your life," or "By my life," or "By the Prophet," or "By the President," or "By the people," or the like, all of this is forbidden, and indeed it is a form of shirk (associating partners with Allah), because this type of exaltation is not valid except for Allah Mighty and Majestic.
And whoever exalts other than Allah with what is not due except to Allah, that is shirk. But since this person who swears does not believe that the greatness of the thing he swears by is like the greatness of Allah, it was not major shirk, but rather minor shirk.
So whoever swears by other than Allah has committed minor shirk.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6646.
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1711, so do not swear by other than Allah, whatever the thing sworn by may be, even if it is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or Jibril, or any of the messengers below them, whether from the angels or from humans, or anyone below the messengers; do not swear by anything other than Allah Mighty and Majestic.
As for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 3252, the scholars of hadith differed regarding this word: . Some of them rejected it and said: It is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Based on that, there is no problem with the issue. Why? Because the opposing evidence must be established, and if the opposing evidence is not established, it is not a counter-argument and is not to be considered.
And according to the view that it is established.
The answer to that is: This is from the ambiguous (mutashabih), and the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah is clear, so we have a clear (muhkam) text and an ambiguous one.
The path of those firmly grounded in knowledge regarding the clear and the ambiguous is to leave the ambiguous and take the clear. Allah the Exalted said:[Ali 'Imran 3:7].
The reason it is ambiguous is that it has many possibilities. It may have been before the prohibition, or it may have been specific to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) due to the distance of shirk from his right, or it may have been something that slipped off the tongue without intention.
Since these possibilities apply to this word, if it is authentic from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), what is obligatory for us is to take what? The clear text, which is the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah.
But some people say: Swearing by other than Allah has become habitual on my tongue, and it is difficult for me to leave it. What is the answer?
We say: This is not an excuse, but strive to leave it and get out of it.
I remember that I prohibited a man who said: "By the Prophet," addressing me about something I do not know, I have forgotten it now. He said: "By the Prophet." So I said: "My brother, the word 'By the Prophet' is swearing by other than Allah and is not permissible, it is forbidden." He said: "By the Prophet, I will not return to it."
Well, he said it on the basis that he was confirming that he would not return to it, but it slipped off his tongue.
So we say: Try as much as you can to erase this word from your tongue, because it is shirk, and the danger of shirk is great, even if it is minor. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive shirk, even if it is minor".
And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq 21:121.
Shaykh al-Islam said: "And that is because the sin of shirk is greater than the sin of a major sin".
The student: And the Ka'bah?
The Shaykh : It is like it.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : And upon the attendees.
The attendees: And upon you, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be.
The questioner : What is the ruling on swearing by other than Allah the Exalted, given that it is narrated from the Prophet that he said:
He became successful, by his father, if he speaks the truth
أفلح وأبيه إن صدقThe Shaykh : Swearing by other than Allah Mighty and Majestic, such as saying "By your life," or "By my life," or "By the Prophet," or "By the President," or "By the people," or the like, all of this is forbidden, and indeed it is a form of shirk (associating partners with Allah), because this type of exaltation is not valid except for Allah Mighty and Majestic.
And whoever exalts other than Allah with what is not due except to Allah, that is shirk. But since this person who swears does not believe that the greatness of the thing he swears by is like the greatness of Allah, it was not major shirk, but rather minor shirk.
So whoever swears by other than Allah has committed minor shirk.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
to swear by your fathers, so whoever has to take an oath, he should swear by Allah or keep quiet.
لاتحلفوا بآبائكم، مَنْ كَانَ حَالِفًا فَلْيَحْلِفْ بِاللهِ أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْAnd he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who swears by anyone or anything other than Allah, has indeed committed an act of Kufr or Shirk
مَنْ حَلَفَ بِغَيْرِ اللهِ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ أَوْ أَشْرَكَAs for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
He became successful, by his father, if he speaks the truth
أَفْلَحَ وَأَبِيهِ إِنْ صَدَقَAnd his father
وأبيهAnd according to the view that it is established.
The answer to that is: This is from the ambiguous (mutashabih), and the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah is clear, so we have a clear (muhkam) text and an ambiguous one.
The path of those firmly grounded in knowledge regarding the clear and the ambiguous is to leave the ambiguous and take the clear. Allah the Exalted said:
It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord."
هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَاThe reason it is ambiguous is that it has many possibilities. It may have been before the prohibition, or it may have been specific to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) due to the distance of shirk from his right, or it may have been something that slipped off the tongue without intention.
Since these possibilities apply to this word, if it is authentic from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), what is obligatory for us is to take what? The clear text, which is the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah.
But some people say: Swearing by other than Allah has become habitual on my tongue, and it is difficult for me to leave it. What is the answer?
We say: This is not an excuse, but strive to leave it and get out of it.
I remember that I prohibited a man who said: "By the Prophet," addressing me about something I do not know, I have forgotten it now. He said: "By the Prophet." So I said: "My brother, the word 'By the Prophet' is swearing by other than Allah and is not permissible, it is forbidden." He said: "By the Prophet, I will not return to it."
Well, he said it on the basis that he was confirming that he would not return to it, but it slipped off his tongue.
So we say: Try as much as you can to erase this word from your tongue, because it is shirk, and the danger of shirk is great, even if it is minor. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive shirk, even if it is minor".
And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
I would rather swear by Allah falsely than swear by other than Him truthfully
لَأَن أَحْلِفَ بالله كاذباً أحبُّ إليَّ مِن أن أحلف بغيرِهِ صادقاًShaykh al-Islam said: "And that is because the sin of shirk is greater than the sin of a major sin".
The student: And the Ka'bah?
The Shaykh : It is like it.