What is the ruling on placing one's hand on the mushaf to swear an oath upon it?
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The student : These are questions, and may Allah not make us long-winded with you, O our Shaykh, and we will finish before the 'Asr prayer, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills.
The questioner : The first question asks: What is the ruling on placing one's hand on the mushaf to swear an oath upon it? And of course, this is a custom that has become established in our courts. A Muslim enters and places his hand on the mushaf and swears by Allah, and a Christian enters and places his hand on the Gospel and swears by Allah that he will tell the truth?
The Shaykh : It is like a straw on a camel's load. There is no doubt that placing one's hand on the mushaf, and even kissing the mushaf, which is done in other than the occasion of swearing before the judge, all of this has no basis in the Sunnah. People were led to such actions, and especially what came in the question regarding placing one's hand on the mushaf, because the people, meaning the judges, no longer trust the mere oath of a Muslim by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), which is the prescribed oath with no addition to it. Therefore, they resort to material matters that exaggerate the burden on the one swearing, so that he is seized by trembling and awe when he is ordered to place his hand on the noble mushaf. We say, as we say on such an occasion: "All good is in following those who came before, and all evil is in the innovation of those who came after." And any act of worship that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform as worship, we do not perform it as worship, in obedience to what is narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman. And this narration is derived from many well-known hadiths known to you. So Hudhayfah says: "Any act of worship that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform as worship, do not perform it as worship"; meaning, do not perform it as worship and do not draw near to Allah with it. And so that we do not prolong the speech, and we have other questions, and so that the time for prayer does not catch up with us, we suffice with this warning, which is that placing one's hand on the mushaf, let alone placing it on the Gospel, and this is another prohibited matter, all of that has no mention or share in Islam. As for placing one's hand on the Gospel, or what they call the Holy Book, this is in reality more dangerous than the first, because it contains an acknowledgment by the judge who asks the one swearing on his religion that this is a holy book; therefore, he accepts his oath if he swears by this holy book. So this is a greater evil, more strongly condemned than the previous action. Yes.
The student : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills.
The questioner : The first question asks: What is the ruling on placing one's hand on the mushaf to swear an oath upon it? And of course, this is a custom that has become established in our courts. A Muslim enters and places his hand on the mushaf and swears by Allah, and a Christian enters and places his hand on the Gospel and swears by Allah that he will tell the truth?
The Shaykh : It is like a straw on a camel's load. There is no doubt that placing one's hand on the mushaf, and even kissing the mushaf, which is done in other than the occasion of swearing before the judge, all of this has no basis in the Sunnah. People were led to such actions, and especially what came in the question regarding placing one's hand on the mushaf, because the people, meaning the judges, no longer trust the mere oath of a Muslim by Allah (Mighty and Majestic), which is the prescribed oath with no addition to it. Therefore, they resort to material matters that exaggerate the burden on the one swearing, so that he is seized by trembling and awe when he is ordered to place his hand on the noble mushaf. We say, as we say on such an occasion: "All good is in following those who came before, and all evil is in the innovation of those who came after." And any act of worship that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform as worship, we do not perform it as worship, in obedience to what is narrated from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman. And this narration is derived from many well-known hadiths known to you. So Hudhayfah says: "Any act of worship that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not perform as worship, do not perform it as worship"; meaning, do not perform it as worship and do not draw near to Allah with it. And so that we do not prolong the speech, and we have other questions, and so that the time for prayer does not catch up with us, we suffice with this warning, which is that placing one's hand on the mushaf, let alone placing it on the Gospel, and this is another prohibited matter, all of that has no mention or share in Islam. As for placing one's hand on the Gospel, or what they call the Holy Book, this is in reality more dangerous than the first, because it contains an acknowledgment by the judge who asks the one swearing on his religion that this is a holy book; therefore, he accepts his oath if he swears by this holy book. So this is a greater evil, more strongly condemned than the previous action. Yes.
The student : May Allah reward you with good.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.