Is swearing by other than Allah shirk?
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The questioner : Is swearing by other than Allah shirk?
The Shaykh : Swearing by other than Allah is shirk, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):Riyad as-Salihin 1711 However, it is not major shirk that expels one from the religion, but rather minor shirk. This is unless the person swearing by other than Allah holds in his heart that the status of the thing he is swearing by is like the status of Allah; in that case, it becomes major shirk based on this belief that has taken root in his heart. Otherwise, merely swearing by other than Allah is minor shirk. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: Sahih al-Bukhari 2679.
On this occasion, I wish to warn against what many people have fallen into today, where they swear by divorce. You will find one of them saying, "I swear by divorce that I will not do such-and-such," or "If I do such-and-such, my wife is divorced," or the like. This is contrary to the correct path. The majority of the scholars of this Ummah, including the Imams and their followers, hold that swearing by divorce is a divorce that does not render one a disbeliever. They say: If a man says, "If I do such-and-such, my wife is divorced," and he does it, then she is divorced. Likewise, if he says to his wife, "If you do such-and-such, you are divorced," and she does it, then she is divorced, whether he intended to threaten or intended to divorce. This is the position of the majority of the Ummah and the Imams of the Ummah.
The issue is serious, and being lax about it to this extent... if a man offers a person a cup of tea and says, "I swear by divorce that I will not drink it," and the second person says, "You are under a divorce oath if you drink it," or the like.
Why? Is this playing with the religion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? If one of the scholars who hold that divorce occurs as an oath and as a divorce—meaning the conditional divorce—were to say, "I want to compel people to this, i.e., to divorce, because people are engaging in it one after another, so I will compel them just as 'Umar compelled them regarding the triple divorce," if he did that, it would have a basis, because many people are doing this, a great many. If the scholar to whom questions are referred were to compare the questions he is asked about matters of religion with the questions he is asked about this conditional divorce, he would find that the questions about this conditional divorce are far more numerous than the questions about matters related to religion. And I warn husbands not to make it easy on their tongues to utter this divorce or this oath by divorce.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Swearing by other than Allah is shirk, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
He 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 أشركWhoever has to take an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent.
من كان حالفاً فليحلف بالله أو ليصمتOn this occasion, I wish to warn against what many people have fallen into today, where they swear by divorce. You will find one of them saying, "I swear by divorce that I will not do such-and-such," or "If I do such-and-such, my wife is divorced," or the like. This is contrary to the correct path. The majority of the scholars of this Ummah, including the Imams and their followers, hold that swearing by divorce is a divorce that does not render one a disbeliever. They say: If a man says, "If I do such-and-such, my wife is divorced," and he does it, then she is divorced. Likewise, if he says to his wife, "If you do such-and-such, you are divorced," and she does it, then she is divorced, whether he intended to threaten or intended to divorce. This is the position of the majority of the Ummah and the Imams of the Ummah.
The issue is serious, and being lax about it to this extent... if a man offers a person a cup of tea and says, "I swear by divorce that I will not drink it," and the second person says, "You are under a divorce oath if you drink it," or the like.
Why? Is this playing with the religion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? If one of the scholars who hold that divorce occurs as an oath and as a divorce—meaning the conditional divorce—were to say, "I want to compel people to this, i.e., to divorce, because people are engaging in it one after another, so I will compel them just as 'Umar compelled them regarding the triple divorce," if he did that, it would have a basis, because many people are doing this, a great many. If the scholar to whom questions are referred were to compare the questions he is asked about matters of religion with the questions he is asked about this conditional divorce, he would find that the questions about this conditional divorce are far more numerous than the questions about matters related to religion. And I warn husbands not to make it easy on their tongues to utter this divorce or this oath by divorce.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.