The Ruling on Swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
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Q: Some people have become accustomed to swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it has become a normal thing for them, and they do not hold any belief regarding it. What is the ruling on this?
Answer: Swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or any other created being is a great evil and one of the forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah). It is not permissible for anyone to swear except by Allah alone. Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) reported the scholarly consensus (ijma') that it is not permissible to swear by anything other than Allah. Authentic hadiths have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibiting this and stating that it is shirk, as in the two Sahihs (al-Bukhari and Muslim), where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Muwatta Malik 22:16 In another wording: Riyad as-Salihin 1707.
Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi narrated with a sound chain from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Riyad as-Salihin 1711 It is also authentic from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sunan Abi Dawud 3253Sahih (Al-Albani) There are many well-known hadiths on this topic. It is obligatory for all Muslims not to swear except by Allah alone, and it is not permissible for anyone, whoever he may be, to swear by anything other than Allah, due to the aforementioned hadiths and others. It is obligatory for one who is accustomed to this to warn against it and to prohibit his family, companions, and others from doing so; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 49a Muslim narrated this in his Sahih.
Swearing by other than Allah is minor shirk (shirk asghar) due to the aforementioned hadith. It may become major shirk (shirk akbar) if the swearer holds in his heart that the thing by which he swears deserves the same reverence as Allah, or that it is permissible to worship it alongside Allah, or similar disbelieving intentions. We ask Allah to grant all Muslims safety from this, and to grant them understanding of their religion and safety from the causes of His anger. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near.
Q: Some people have become accustomed to swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it has become a normal thing for them, and they do not hold any belief regarding it. What is the ruling on this?
Answer: Swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or any other created being is a great evil and one of the forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah). It is not permissible for anyone to swear except by Allah alone. Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) reported the scholarly consensus (ijma') that it is not permissible to swear by anything other than Allah. Authentic hadiths have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibiting this and stating that it is shirk, as in the two Sahihs (al-Bukhari and Muslim), where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers. If anyone swears, let him swear by Allah or keep silent.
إن الله ينهاكم أن تحلفوا بآبائكم، فمن كان حالفًا فليحلف بالله أو ليصمتHe who must take an oath, may do so by swearing in the Name of Allah or he should remain silent.
فمن كان حالفًا فلا يحلف إلا بالله أو ليسكتAbu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi narrated with a sound chain from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
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 أشركHe who swears by Amanah (faithfulness) is not one of us.
من حلف بالأمانة فليس مناHe who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith.
من رأى منكم منكرًا فليغيره بيده، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه، وذلك أضعف الإيمانSwearing by other than Allah is minor shirk (shirk asghar) due to the aforementioned hadith. It may become major shirk (shirk akbar) if the swearer holds in his heart that the thing by which he swears deserves the same reverence as Allah, or that it is permissible to worship it alongside Allah, or similar disbelieving intentions. We ask Allah to grant all Muslims safety from this, and to grant them understanding of their religion and safety from the causes of His anger. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.