Is it permissible to swear by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

Q: Is it permissible to swear by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

Answer: It is not permissible to swear by any of the created things, neither by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor by the Ka'bah, nor by trustworthiness, nor by anything else, according to the majority of the scholars. In fact, some of them reported it as a consensus (ijma'). A rare, anomalous opinion has been narrated regarding its permissibility by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but this is a view with no basis; rather, it is invalid, contrary to the consensus of the scholars that preceded it, and contrary to the authentic hadiths reported on this matter. Among them is what the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The reason for this is that the one who swears by other than Allah has committed a type of shirk (associating partners with Allah). So the expiation for that is to say the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) with sincerity and pure intention, so that it expiates the shirk that occurred from him.
Al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim narrated with a sound chain from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And Abu Dawud narrated from the hadith of Buraydah ibn al-Husayb (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It was narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i.
Among those who reported the consensus on the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah is Imam Abu 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Barr al-Namiri (may Allah have mercy on him). Some of the scholars stated that it is merely disliked (makruh), so this must be understood as a prohibition (tahrim) in accordance with the texts and out of good opinion of the scholars. Some of those who relaxed the ruling on this matter cited what is in Sahih Muslim, where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the one who asked him about the ordinances of Islam:
The answer is that this is an anomalous narration that contradicts the authentic hadiths, and it is not permissible to cling to it. This is the ruling on the anomalous (shadhdh) according to the scholars, which is when an individual contradicts a group of trustworthy narrators. It is possible that this wording is a scribal error, as Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said, and that the original was and some of the scribes or narrators altered it. It is also possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that before the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah. In any case, it is a singular, anomalous narration, and it is not permissible for one who believes in Allah and the Last Day to cling to it and contradict the clear, explicit authentic hadiths indicating the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah and that it is among the forbidden matters of shirk.
Al-Nasa'i narrated with a sound chain from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he swore by al-Lat and al-'Uzza, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about that, and he said: This wording confirms the severity of the prohibition of swearing by other than Allah, that it is shirk and from the whispers of Satan, and it explicitly prohibits returning to it.
I ask Allah to grant us and you understanding in His religion, and rectitude of intention and action, and to protect us and the Muslims from following desires and the stings of Satan. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near. And may Allah take care of us and you. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.