Explaining the ruling on swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), along with explaining the criterion for honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : As for us, it is not permissible for us to swear by any created being, ever, not even by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); it is not permissible to swear by him. So it is not permissible to say, "By the Prophet" or "By the Prophet," even though we hear many people saying, "By the Prophet." Why do you swear by the Prophet? He says: The Prophet is the best of people. The Prophet is great; the Prophet is noble. So what do we say to him? We say: The Prophet whom you have honored and called noble, and who is as you said, great and noble, is the one who said: and the doubt is from the narrator. This is a warning of the most eloquent warnings. If the one who swears by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) believed that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has a share of the greatness that belongs to Allah, he would be an associate of partners with Allah, committing major shirk, because honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Allah, what came of it is only from honoring Allah (Mighty and Majestic) who sent him. How can we make the honoring of the one sent like the honoring of the One who sent? This is foolishness. Foolishness in intellect and misguidance in religion. If you are sincere in honoring the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), then honor his command. Do not swear by other than Allah. What is your opinion of a man whose brother forbade him and said to him: Do not swear by the Prophet; swearing by the Prophet is forbidden. Swearing by the Prophet is a type of shirk. He spoke and then said, "By the Prophet," that this is a custom. He says, "Do not swear by the Prophet," and then says, "By the Prophet." What do you say about this? In my opinion, he said "By the Prophet" because his tongue has become accustomed to it. But we say, my brother, purify your tongue from this ugly, forbidden custom and strive against your self. However, if you forbade this and said, "By Allah, this just slipped out of my tongue and it is a habit that occurred without any belief," then it is from the idle oaths. We told you this is not an oath. An oath is swearing by Allah. Good. We have finished this issue, which is: How does Allah swear by something from His creation, while swearing by other than Allah is forbidden? We answered that it is permissible for Allah to swear by whatever He wills from His creation.