The Ruling on Swearing by Allah in Truth and in Falsehood
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: I have a relative who frequently swears by Allah, both in truth and in falsehood. What is the ruling on this?
A: He should be advised and told: You should refrain from swearing frequently, even if you are truthful, due to the saying of Allah, the Exalted: [Al-Ma'idah: 89], and His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
The Arabs used to praise those who were few in their oaths, as the poet said:
He who is few in his oaths keeps his oath
When an oath issues from him, it is fulfilled
And "al-aliyah" means an oath.
Therefore, it is prescribed for the believer to reduce his oaths, even if he is truthful; because excessive swearing may lead him to lying.
It is well known that lying is forbidden, and when it is accompanied by an oath, it becomes even more strictly forbidden. However, if dire necessity or a stronger public benefit calls for a false oath, there is no blame in that; based on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Umm Kulthum, the daughter of 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 385 Narrated by Muslim in the Sahih.
So if one says, in the context of reconciliation between people: "By Allah, your companions love reconciliation and love for the word to be agreed upon, and they want such and such," and then goes to the other party and says the same to them, and his intention is good and reconciliation, then there is nothing wrong with that, due to the aforementioned hadith.
Likewise, if a person sees someone intending to kill another person unjustly, or to wrong him in some other way, and he says to him: "By Allah, he is my brother," in order to save him from this wrongdoer, if the wrongdoer intends to kill him without right or beat him without right, and he knows that if he says "my brother," the wrongdoer will leave him alone out of respect for him, then it is obligatory for him to do this for the benefit of saving his brother from injustice.
The point is: The original ruling regarding false oaths is prohibition and forbiddance, except when a greater benefit that outweighs the lie results from it, as in the three cases mentioned in the previous hadith.
A: He should be advised and told: You should refrain from swearing frequently, even if you are truthful, due to the saying of Allah, the Exalted:
And keep your oaths
وَاحْفَظُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْThree people whom Allah will not speak to on the Day of Resurrection, nor look at them, nor purify them, and for them is a painful punishment: A gray-haired fornicator, a poor man who is arrogant, and a man who makes Allah his merchandise, not buying except with an oath and not selling except with an oath.
ثلاثة لا يكلمهم الله ولا ينظر إليهم يوم القيامة ولا يزكيهم ولهم عذاب أليم أشيمط زان وعائل مستكبر ورجل جعل الله بضاعته لا يشتري إلا بيمينه ولا يبيع إلا بيمينهThe Arabs used to praise those who were few in their oaths, as the poet said:
He who is few in his oaths keeps his oath
When an oath issues from him, it is fulfilled
And "al-aliyah" means an oath.
Therefore, it is prescribed for the believer to reduce his oaths, even if he is truthful; because excessive swearing may lead him to lying.
It is well known that lying is forbidden, and when it is accompanied by an oath, it becomes even more strictly forbidden. However, if dire necessity or a stronger public benefit calls for a false oath, there is no blame in that; based on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Umm Kulthum, the daughter of 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Someone who makes peace between people by saying something good or relates something good is not a liar.
ليس الكذاب الذي يصلح بين الناس فيقول خيرا أو ينمي خيرًا قالت: ولم أسمعه يرخص في شيء مما يقول الناس إنه كذب إلا في ثلاث: الإصلاح بين الناس، والحرب، وحديث الرجل امرأته، وحديث المرأة زوجهاSo if one says, in the context of reconciliation between people: "By Allah, your companions love reconciliation and love for the word to be agreed upon, and they want such and such," and then goes to the other party and says the same to them, and his intention is good and reconciliation, then there is nothing wrong with that, due to the aforementioned hadith.
Likewise, if a person sees someone intending to kill another person unjustly, or to wrong him in some other way, and he says to him: "By Allah, he is my brother," in order to save him from this wrongdoer, if the wrongdoer intends to kill him without right or beat him without right, and he knows that if he says "my brother," the wrongdoer will leave him alone out of respect for him, then it is obligatory for him to do this for the benefit of saving his brother from injustice.
The point is: The original ruling regarding false oaths is prohibition and forbiddance, except when a greater benefit that outweighs the lie results from it, as in the three cases mentioned in the previous hadith.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.