What is the ruling on hanging amulets and swearing by other than Allah?

Question:
This is a question sent by the listener Sulayman Muhammad al-Luhaybi from Iraq. He says: When a person falls ill among us, he goes to the sayyids, and they write papers for him to hang on his head. Is this permissible or not?
Likewise, regarding swearing, some people swear by other than Allah, or they swear by these sayyids. What is the ruling on that?

Answer:
Hanging amulets on children out of fear of the evil eye, or out of fear of jinn, is not permissible. Likewise, hanging amulets on the sick, even if they are adults, is not permissible. This is because it involves a type of reliance on other than Allah. It is not permissible, neither with the sayyids attributed to al-Hasan or al-Husayn or others, nor with other scholars, nor with other worshippers. This is absolutely not permissible. This is based on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And in a narration from him (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), he said: An amulet is what is hung on children or adults to ward off the evil eye or jinn, such as beads, charms, wolf bones, or other things, or papers with writings on them, even if they are from the Qur’an according to the correct view, even if it is the Verse of the Throne or others. Hanging them is not permissible in any case, even if they are from the Qur’an. This is because the hadiths are general. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) generalized and made it absolute, and did not exclude anything. This indicates that all amulets are prohibited. They are what is hung on children to ward off the evil eye or jinn, or hung on sick adults. All of this is not permissible.
And what is prescribed in this matter is for a person to ask his Lord for well-being. There is no harm in reading over him. A believer who knows how to read can read verses over him, make lawful supplications for him, and blow over him with a good ruqyah. This is permissible. However, hanging something in a paper, or on a piece of cloth on his arm or neck, is not permissible. This is considered minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). It may be major shirk if the person believes that it wards off harm from him and that it suffices him from evils. This would be major shirk. But if he believes that it is among the causes, then it is minor shirk. It is obligatory to cut them and remove them.
Likewise, swearing by other than Allah is not permissible. It is also minor shirk. It may be major shirk if the one swearing by other than Allah believes that the thing he swears by is like Allah, or that it is valid to call upon it besides Allah, or that it has authority over the universe. That would be major shirk. We seek refuge in Allah.
So the conclusion is: Swearing by other than Allah is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he said: And he (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in a narration: And he (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) also said: And he caught some of his Companions on a journey while they were swearing by their fathers, so he said to them (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): And Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr al-Namiri, the famous Maghribi imam, who died in the year 463 AH, said: The scholars have agreed that it is not permissible to swear by other than Allah.
This informs us that swearing by honor, or by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or by the Ka’bah, or by the life of so-and-so, or by the honor of so-and-so, is not permissible. It is only to be done by Allah alone. One says: By Allah, By Allah, or By Allah. This is what is prescribed. As for swearing by other than Allah, whoever it may be, it is not permissible. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you.