The ruling on swearing by other than Allah?

The Shaykh : Swearing by other than Allah is shirk (associating partners with Allah). But is it major shirk that expels one from the religion, or is it minor shirk? We say: The original ruling is that it is minor shirk, unless the one who swears by other than Allah believes that the thing by which he swears possesses a greatness similar to that of Allah. In that case, it becomes major shirk, because he has associated with Allah the Exalted in what is specific to Him alone; that is, he has associated with Allah, associating with Allah in what is specific to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. If someone says: We understood this, that swearing by other than Allah is shirk, either major or minor.