by the saint whom he venerates, he will not do so unless he is telling the truth; yet when he is asked to swear by Allah, he gladly does so even when lying.

An oath is an act of exaltation toward the one sworn by, and such exaltation is fitting only for Allah. One must therefore show reverence for an oath taken in Allah’s name and avoid resorting to it often. Allah, Exalted is He, says: “And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer” (Q 68:10), and He says: “And guard your oaths” (Q 5:89)—that is, swear only when necessary and while speaking truthfully and uprightly. Frequent oaths, or lying while swearing, betray irreverence toward Allah and a failure to glorify Him, which conflicts with perfect monotheism.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Three people Allah will neither speak to nor purify, and they will have a painful punishment,” and among them he mentioned “a man who makes Allah the commodity of his trade: he buys only by swearing an oath and sells only by swearing an oath.” (1) The stern warning attached to frequent oaths shows that such behavior is forbidden out of respect for the name of Allah and in veneration of Him, Glorified be He. Likewise, swearing falsely by Allah is forbidden, for it is