Chapter: Oaths in Litigation

“It is not permissible to require an oath concerning acts of worship or the penal limits set by God.” An oath is administered to a defendant who denies any claim involving a human right, except in matters of marriage, divorce, revocation during the waiting period, īlāʾ (the husband’s vow of abstinence), the original question of slavery, patronage (walāʾ), acknowledgment of maternity through istiʾlād, lineage, retaliation for homicide or injury, and the accusation of fornication.

The proper oath is one sworn by Allah, and it is to be intensified only when the subject in dispute is of grave consequence.