What is the ruling on swearing by the signs of Allah?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on swearing by the signs of Allah?
The Shaykh : Swearing by the signs of Allah, meaning to say, "I swear by the signs of Allah that I will certainly do such and such," is permissible if by "signs" one means the Qur'an, because the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, an attribute among His attributes, and it is permissible to swear by the attributes of Allah, such as "By the majesty of Allah," "By the power of Allah," or "By the strength of Allah." However, if by "signs" one means the cosmic signs, which are the sun, the moon, the night, and the day, as Allah the Exalted said:[Fussilat 41:37] then it is not permissible to swear by them, because they are created things, and swearing by a created thing is shirk (associating partners with Allah), based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Riyad as-Salihin 1711 But in my opinion, most of the common people mean the verses of the Qur'an by "signs" in this context, and in that case, there is no harm.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : If the cosmic signs are attributed to Allah?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to swear by them.
The Shaykh : Swearing by the signs of Allah, meaning to say, "I swear by the signs of Allah that I will certainly do such and such," is permissible if by "signs" one means the Qur'an, because the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, an attribute among His attributes, and it is permissible to swear by the attributes of Allah, such as "By the majesty of Allah," "By the power of Allah," or "By the strength of Allah." However, if by "signs" one means the cosmic signs, which are the sun, the moon, the night, and the day, as Allah the Exalted said:
And of His signs are the night and day and the sun and moon
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُHe who swears by anyone or anything other than Allah, has indeed committed an act of Kufr or Shirk
من حلف بغير الله فقد كفر أو أشركThe Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : If the cosmic signs are attributed to Allah?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to swear by them.