“Whoever swears an oath then let him swear by Allaah or else keep silent.”

[Sadiyah]

Assalamo alaykum,

I have noticed it’s quite common amongst many Muslims to swear by their mothers, Quran, etc.

I distinctly remember reading (in the past) that such is forbidden and Muslims are only allowed to swear by Allah (SWT) alone. In addition, I have also read that it is a form of minor shirk (ie. swearing by anyone or anything other than Allah (SWT)).

Here’s what I could find to back up my claim. I also remember coming across a fatwa strictly forbidding from swearing on the Quran, but I couldn’t find it at the moment. Please feel free to share it if anyone has access to it.

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible to swear by prayer, honesty, critical situations or any other created thing. One should swear only by Allaah. One should not say “By my honesty I will do such and such”, or “by the honesty of So and so”, or “by the life of So and so” or “by my prayer”. Nor should one ask anyone else to do this and tell them, “Say ‘by my honesty/by my prayer/ by my zakaah.’” There is no basis for any of this, because prayer is the action of a person and zakaah is the action of a person, and people’s actions are not something to swear by. One should swear only by Allaah or by His attributes, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears, let him swear by Allaah or keep silent.” (Saheeh, agreed upon). And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears by anything other than Allaah has committed shirk.” (Narrated by Imaam Ahmad with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him)). It was also narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), with the wording, “Whoever swears by anything other than Allaah has committed kufr or shirk.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears by honesty is not one of us.” So every believing man and woman has to beware of that and not swear by anything except Allaah alone, so he should say “Wallaahi (by Allaah) I did not do such and such”, etc., if that is necessary. What is recommended in sharee’ah is to be cautious about swearing oaths, and not to swear except when essential. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And protect your oaths (i.e. do not swear much)”[al-Maa’idah 5:89]

But if it is necessary, then one may swear by saying, “By Allaah, I did not do such and such”, provided that he is telling the truth, or, “By Allaah, I did not go to So and so” etc. If he is telling the truth, then there is nothing wrong with that, because this is swearing by Allaah when there is a need to do so. But swearing by honesty or by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by the Ka’bah, or by the life of So and so, or by the honour of So and so, or by my prayer, or by my honesty – this is not permissible, as stated above, because of the ahaadeeth quoted.

Ref: It is not permissible to swear by salaah (prayer) or by honesty

This swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is haraam, and is a kind of Shirk, because swearing by something implies veneration of it, and a created being cannot venerate another created being. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears by anything other than Allaah is guilty of kufr or shirk.” (Saheeh, narrated by Ahmad, 2/125; Abu Dawood, 3251; al-Tirmidhi, 1535). This applies to swearing by the Prophets, angels, righteous people and all other created beings. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears an oath, let him swear by Allaah or else remain silent.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,4860 – al-Fath 8/611 and 6107 – al-Fath 10/516; Muslim, 1647; Ahmad, 2/309; Abu Dawood, 3247; al-Nasaa’i, 3775; al-Tirmidhi, 1545; Ibn Maajah, 2096).

Ref: Ruling on swearing by the Prophet peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

The second type is minor shirk, which means every kind of speech or action that Islam describes as shirk, but it does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam – such as swearing an oath by something other than Allaah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that whoever swears an oath by something other than Allaah is guilty of kufr or shirk.”

The one who swears an oath by something other than Allaah but does not believe that anyone other than Allaah has the same greatness as Allah, is a mushrik who is guilty of lesser shirk, regardless of whether the one by whom he swore is venerated by people or not. It is not permissible to swear by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or by the president, or by the Ka’bah, or by Jibreel, because this is shirk, but it is minor shirk which does not put a person beyond the pale of Islam.

Ref: Detailed discussion of bid’ah and shirk

Here’s another: Swearing by something other than Allaah, such as one’s father or leader, or on one’s honour and status

[Crescent]

Re: “Whoever swears an oath then let him swear by Allaah or else keep silent.”

Yep forbidden it is.

It would be unlogical for a muslim to even THINK of swearing by something else.

I mean, The Almighty - is All powerful.

[aliza]

Re: “Whoever swears an oath then let him swear by Allaah or else keep silent.”

I don't think I've ever sworn; I just say 'trust me if you wanna', 'you can trust me if you want to', or 'trust me or not' but never, 'I swear, this is the...' because this only insinuates that I am trying to make a lie a truth. Swearing is Haram; only lairs swear. Nevertheless, in case of a court issue, you have to touch the holy book and vow that you won't lie. Well, you still have the right (United States) to remain silent, but why exercise such right that makes you look like a bigger lair? Just vow and tell what you have to, no one can make you say something if you are not ready to say it. If it is just a daily life issue, then just avoid swearing. Laugh and brush it off, despite it don't swear. I still think vowing and swearing are different.

[Sadiyah]

Re: “Whoever swears an oath then let him swear by Allaah or else keep silent.”

That's the thing. I personally don't think one should be swearing on Quran whether it be in court or outside of court.

I know there's an opinion that somewhat permits it. However, I'm strictly of the opinion that one should not swear on anything other than Allah (SWT).