I swore a false oath to obtain a new passport, knowing that I have another passport that is not valid for travel. What is the ruling?
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The questioner : I swore a false oath to obtain a new passport, knowing that I have a previous passport, but it is not valid for travel. What should I do? Please advise us, and may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
Before answering this question, I would like to point out this serious issue, which is deceiving the authorities through lying and trickery. This is forbidden and not permissible. It is not permissible for a person to lie to those in authority or to deceive them by circumventing the regulations they have enacted, except if the regulations involve disobedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Indeed, any regulation that contains disobedience to Allah and His Messenger is not something we are obligated to obey those in authority in. That is to say, if they order us to commit a sin or forbid us from an act of obedience, we do not agree with them in that, because Allah the Exalted says:[An-Nisa 4:59] Thus, obedience to those in authority is made contingent upon obedience to Allah and His Messenger. For this reason, the verb was not repeated in that context; rather, He said: [An-Nisa 4:59]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 2625Sahih (Al-Albani) As for what is wrong, there is no obedience. Some people have understood that obedience to those in authority is only obligatory in obedience to Allah, meaning that if they order obedience, we must obey them, and if they forbid a sin, we must obey them. This is a mistake, because if anyone among the people ordered you to obey Allah, you would have to carry out that obedience, whether it is obligatory in what is obligatory or recommended in what is recommended. If that were the intended meaning, there would be no difference between those in authority and others.
But when those in authority order something, it does not escape three cases:
Either Allah and His Messenger have already ordered it. In this case, one obeys for the sake of Allah and His Messenger above all else, and then for the sake of the one in authority. For example, if they order the prayer for rain during drought and the failure of rainfall, the prayer for rain becomes more emphasized here because it is from the Shari'ah of Allah in one aspect, and because those in authority have ordered it.
The second case is that they order a sin, meaning something that involves leaving an obligatory act or committing a forbidden act. In this case, there is no obedience to any created being, whether a ruler, a mother, a father, or anyone else. It is not permissible for anyone to disobey Allah by obeying any of the created beings.Mishkat al-Masabih 3696
Through this, meaning obedience to those in authority in matters other than disobedience, order and security are established, and affairs become harmonious. If people were to leave things to chaos and each person took what he sees fit, the Muslim community would be scattered, their hearts would be divided, their religion would be fragmented, and their order and security would be disrupted. But from the mercy and blessing of Allah is that He made it obligatory for us to obey our rulers in matters other than His disobedience, so that security is established, order continues, and unity is achieved.
This includes the regulation of certain matters, such as traffic regulations, for example, and other regulations regarding travel. Complying with the order of the one in authority in this regard is part of obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:59] If it were permissible for the one who does not like this regulation to contradict it, the regulation would not please two people. People must differ, and at that time, affairs would be disrupted and chaos would ensue.
This is a word I direct to this questioner and others.
As for the second matter, which is the answer to this man's question, I say to him: He has made a great mistake by deceiving those in authority and the officials through his forgery. He must repent to Allah from this mistake. Furthermore, he swore an oath regarding it, so this oath of his is a forbidden oath that increases his sin. In fact, some scholars said that it is from the oath of immersion that immerses its owner in sin and then in the Fire. He swore to a matter in which he is lying, and he knows that he is lying. So he must repent to Allah from two things:
The first thing: swearing to a lie while knowing it.
And the second: deceiving those in authority.
The questioner : May Allah bless you for this clarification, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
Before answering this question, I would like to point out this serious issue, which is deceiving the authorities through lying and trickery. This is forbidden and not permissible. It is not permissible for a person to lie to those in authority or to deceive them by circumventing the regulations they have enacted, except if the regulations involve disobedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Indeed, any regulation that contains disobedience to Allah and His Messenger is not something we are obligated to obey those in authority in. That is to say, if they order us to commit a sin or forbid us from an act of obedience, we do not agree with them in that, because Allah the Exalted says:
O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْobey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you
أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِAnd the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Obedience is in matters which are good and universally recognized.
إنما الطاعة في المعروفBut when those in authority order something, it does not escape three cases:
Either Allah and His Messenger have already ordered it. In this case, one obeys for the sake of Allah and His Messenger above all else, and then for the sake of the one in authority. For example, if they order the prayer for rain during drought and the failure of rainfall, the prayer for rain becomes more emphasized here because it is from the Shari'ah of Allah in one aspect, and because those in authority have ordered it.
The second case is that they order a sin, meaning something that involves leaving an obligatory act or committing a forbidden act. In this case, there is no obedience to any created being, whether a ruler, a mother, a father, or anyone else. It is not permissible for anyone to disobey Allah by obeying any of the created beings.
A creature is not to be obeyed when it involves disobedience to the "Creator.”
فلا طاعة لمخلوق في معصية الخالقThrough this, meaning obedience to those in authority in matters other than disobedience, order and security are established, and affairs become harmonious. If people were to leave things to chaos and each person took what he sees fit, the Muslim community would be scattered, their hearts would be divided, their religion would be fragmented, and their order and security would be disrupted. But from the mercy and blessing of Allah is that He made it obligatory for us to obey our rulers in matters other than His disobedience, so that security is established, order continues, and unity is achieved.
This includes the regulation of certain matters, such as traffic regulations, for example, and other regulations regarding travel. Complying with the order of the one in authority in this regard is part of obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because Allah the Exalted said:
O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْThis is a word I direct to this questioner and others.
As for the second matter, which is the answer to this man's question, I say to him: He has made a great mistake by deceiving those in authority and the officials through his forgery. He must repent to Allah from this mistake. Furthermore, he swore an oath regarding it, so this oath of his is a forbidden oath that increases his sin. In fact, some scholars said that it is from the oath of immersion that immerses its owner in sin and then in the Fire. He swore to a matter in which he is lying, and he knows that he is lying. So he must repent to Allah from two things:
The first thing: swearing to a lie while knowing it.
And the second: deceiving those in authority.
The questioner : May Allah bless you for this clarification, O honorable Shaykh.