IS SWEARING BY SOMETHING OTHER THAN ALLAH THE EXALTED CONSIDERED SHIRK

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In His Exalted Name. Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

The hadith is narrated through the opponents [Sunnis] and not through our Imams, peace be upon them, so it is not valid as evidence.

The Permissibility of Swearing by Other Than Allah: A Rebuttal to Accusations of Shirk and Misguidance

Swearing by something other than Allah is neither disbelief nor shirk, nor is it prohibited. It is simply a means of emphasizing a statement, nothing beyond that.

Indeed, swearing by something other than Allah has no legal effect in Islamic law, as an oath does not become binding through it. Therefore, a judge does not accept it in disputes, nor does breaking it necessitate any expiation.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, swore by things other than Allah, as did the pure Imams, peace be upon them. Some of the hadiths proving this have been narrated by the opponents in their books. Despite this, they contradict themselves and fail to reflect on those hadiths, accusing anyone who swears by something other than Allah of disbelief and shirk! If this was true, then the Noble Prophet—God forbid—would have to be the first among the polytheists!

Among those hadiths is one narrated by Talhah bin Ubayd Allah, where a Bedouin man from the people of Najd came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and asked him about Islam. The Prophet explained to him the duties of the religion, and the man pledged to perform them without any addition or omission. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said:

أَفْلَحَ وَأَبِيهِ إِنْ صَدَقَ ‏"‏‏ أَوْ ‏"‏ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَأَبِيهِ إِنْ صَدَقَ

“He will be successful, by his father, if he is truthful,” or “He will enter Paradise, by his father, if he is truthful.” (Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, and others). [3] [4] [5]

Consider how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) swore by the father of that Bedouin man by saying: “By his father.” In order to dismiss the implication of this hadith regarding the permissibility of swearing by other than Allah in non-oath [non-yamīn] situations, the scholars of the opponents [Sunnis] resorted to insulting the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, claiming that he uttered these words unintentionally, as it was a custom among the Arabs.[6]

This implies that, in their view, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, unintentionally committed shirk [associating partner with Allah], making him like the ignorant ones, may Allah protect us!

Curse upon the scholars of corruption and misguidance who slander the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, in defence of their desires.

Shi'ite Hadiths Supporting the Permissibility of Swearing by Something Other Than Allah

Among the [Shi'ite] hadiths that prove the permissibility [of swearing by something other than Allah], is one narrated by Ali bin Abi Hamza from Abu al-Hasan al-Kadhim (peace be upon him), where he said:

وحقك لقد كان مني في هذه السنة ستُّ عُمَر“. أي أنني اعتمرت ست مرات

“By your right, I performed six Umrah pilgrimages this year.” Meaning, I performed Umrah six times. [7] (Al-Wasa'il, Vol. 23, p. 263).

Another is from Abdul Aziz bin Muslim, who narrated from the second Abu Al-Hasan Al-Ridha, peace be upon him, in a hadith about the qualities of the Imam and his rejection of those who said that the Imam is chosen by the people:

تعدّوا وبيت الله الحق ونبذوا كتاب الله وراء ظهورهم

“They exceeded the limits, by the House of Allah, the truth, and threw the Book of Allah behind their backs.” (Same source) [8]

It has also been narrated from Muhammad bin Yazid At-Tabari, who narrated from Ar--Ridha, peace be upon him, regarding the rejection of a hadith attributed to them [Ahl Al-Bayt ع]:

لا وقرابتي من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله ما قلته قط ولا سمعت أحدا من آبائي قاله

“By my kinship with the Messenger of Allah, I never said it, nor did I hear any of my ancestors say it.” (Same source) [9]

Additionally, from Ali bin Mahziyar, who said:

إني قد جئت وحياتك

“I read in a letter from Abu Ja'far (Al-Jawad) (peace be upon him) to Dawood bin al-Qasim: 'By your life, I came'.” (Same source) [10]

And there are other noble hadiths in this regard. Some of our scholars have ruled the act of swearing by other than Allah as disliked due to the existence of some hadiths that seem to prohibit it. However, we interpret these hadiths as referring to the prohibition of treating such swearing as a legal oath, which would invoke consequences, based on the understanding of the hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him):

اليمين التي تكفر أن يقول الرجل: لا والله، ونحو ذلك

“The oath that requires expiation is the one where a person says: ‘No, by Allah,’ and similar expressions.” (Same source) [11] 

Some of the opponents permit swearing by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and rule that expiation is required if one breaks such an oath. Among these is Ahmad ibn Hanbal, as it has been narrated from him, and this view was followed by most of his companions, such as their judge, Ibn al-Munthir, and Ibn Aqil. Al-Buhooti al-Hanbali said:

ولا كفارة في الحلف بغير الله تعالى ولو حنث لأنها وجبت في الحلف بالله تعالى وصفاته صيانة لأسمائه تعالى، وغيره لا يساويه في ذلك، وعند الأكثر من أصحابنا إلا في الحلف بنبينا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فتجب الكفارة إذا حلف به وحنث ونص عليه في رواية أبي طالب. لأنه أحد شرطي الشهادتين اللتين يصير بهما الكافر مسلما

“There is no expiation for swearing by other than Allah, even if one breaks the oath, because expiation is required only for swearing by Allah and His attributes in order to protect His names. No one else can be equated with Him in this regard. However, according to the majority of our companions, there is an exception for swearing by our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and expiation is obligatory if one swears by him and breaks the oath, as stated in the narration of Abu Talib. This is because he is one of the two conditions of the shahada through which a disbeliever becomes a Muslim.” (Sharh Muntaha Al-Iradat, Vol. 6, p. 298; and Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah curse him, mentioned this in Majmu' al-Fatawa, Vol. 1, p. 204). [12] [13]

May Allah grant you success in seeking His pleasure and peace be upon you.

References

[1] Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Abu 'Isa, Book 20, Hadith 13

[2] Musnad Ahmad, Ahmad bin Hanbal, Book 2, Hadith 235

[3] Sahih Muslim, Muslim bin Hajjaj, Book 1, Hadith 9

[4] Sunan Abu Dawud, Abu Dawud As-Sijistani, Book 2, Hadith 2

[5] Sunan Ad-Darimi, Abdullah bin 'Abd Ar-Rahman Ad-Darimi, Book 2, Hadith 1547

[6] For instance, in Sharh Sahih Muslim by An-Nawawi [Volume 1, Page 168], the Sunni scholar An-Nawawi stated:

أَفْلَحَ وَأَبِيهِ لَيْسَ هُوَ حَلِفًا إِنَّمَا هُوَ كَلِمَةٌ جَرَتْ عَادَةُ الْعَرَبِ أَنْ تُدْخِلَهَا فِي كَلَامِهَا غَيْرَ قَاصِدَةٍ بِهَا حَقِيقَةَ الْحَلِفِ وَالنَّهْيُ إِنَّمَا وَرَدَ فِيمَنْ قَصَدَ حَقِيقَةَ الْحَلِفِ لِمَا فِيهِ مِنْ إِعْظَامِ الْمَحْلُوفِ بِهِ وَمُضَاهَاتِهِ بِهِ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فَهَذَا هُوَ الْجَوَابُ الْمُرْضِي

"I swear by his father, he will be successful! This is not an oath of swearing; rather, it is a phrase that the Arabs customarily included in their speech without intending the true meaning of an oath of swearing. The prohibition is specifically directed at those who intentionally mean a true oath of swearing because it involves glorifying the one sworn by, placing them on a level comparable to Allah, glorified and exalted be He. This is the satisfactory answer."

Here we see that An-Nawawi wants to convey that the Prophet did not swear by one's father, as he considers this to be a phrase Arabs customarily used in their speech without intending the true meaning of swearing. However, this is not historically accurate, as Arabs, both then and now, are known to swear by their fathers to emphasize the importance of something. An example of this can be found in the statement Ibn Battal quoted from Al-Muhallab [who was born eight years after the Hijrah]:

قال المهلب: كانت العرب فى الجاهلية تحلف بآبائها وآلهتها

"Al-Muhallab said: "The Arabs in the pre-Islamic era used to swear by their fathers and their gods." [Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhari, Ibn Battal, Volume 6, Page 96]

Al-Muhallab, who lived early during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, unlike An-Nawawi, who lived 631 years after the Hijrah, clearly states that the Arabs used to swear by their fathers in the pre-Islamic era, let alone after that period. Thus, we see that An-Nawawi's argument collapses, as the Arabs indeed swore by their fathers.

[7] Wasā'il As-Shīʿa, Shaykh Hurr Al-Āmilī, Volume 16, Page 162

[8] Wasā'il As-Shīʿa, Shaykh Hurr al-ʿĀmilī, Volume 16, Page: 161

[9] Wasā'il As-Shīʿa, Shaykh Hurr al-ʿĀmilī, Volume 16, Page: 161

[10] Wasā'il As-Shīʿa, Shaykh Hurr al-ʿĀmilī, Volume 16, Page: 163

[11] Wasā'il As-Shīʿa, Shaykh Hurr al-ʿĀmilī, Volume 16, Page: 162

[12] Sharh Muntaha Al-Iradat, Al-Bahuti, Volume 3, Page 441

[13] Majmu' Al-Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, Volume 1, Page 204

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Is swearing by something other than Allah considered shirk? Then how does Hezbollah do it?

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

May Allah bless you and your efforts in serving Islam and the Muslims.

To proceed:

We know that swearing by anything other than Allah is shirk (associating partners with Allah), and the evidence for this is the noble hadith: "Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed disbelief" (in one narration) or "has committed shirk" (in another narration). [1] [2]

My question is:

When Hezbollah's army graduates its soldiers, they perform an oath which includes: "I swear by Allah Almighty, I swear by the Mahdi, and I swear by Khomeini," and so on. This oath has been broadcast on television channels. Is this not shirk against Allah, Blessed and Exalted? What is your response to this?

May Allah reward you with goodness.

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