Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—also said:

When a man swears an oath, oaths fall into three categories:

The first consists of oaths that are not among the oaths of Muslims: swearing by created beings or things, such as the Kaaba, angels, shaykhs, kings, fathers, the soil of their graves, and the like. Such an oath is not binding and requires no expiation, by scholarly agreement. Indeed, scholars agree that such oaths are forbidden; according to the more correct of their two views, this prohibition means that they are unlawful.

It is authentically reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever wishes to swear an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent.”

He also said:

“Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers.”

In the Sunan collections, he is reported to have said:

“Whoever swears by anything other than Allah has associated partners with Him.”

The second is an oath sworn by Allah Most High, such as saying, “By Allah, I will certainly do it.” This is a binding oath that requires expiation if it is broken, by the agreement of the Muslims.

There are also oaths taken by Muslims that have the same import as swearing by Allah: the person taking them intends to venerate the Creator, not to swear by created things. These include oaths involving vows, declaring something forbidden to oneself, divorce, or emancipation, such as saying: “If I do such-and-such, I must fast for a month or perform pilgrimage to the House of Allah”; or, “What is lawful is forbidden to me: I will not do such-and-such”; or, “If I do such-and-such, everything I own is forbidden to me”; or, “Divorce shall be binding upon me: I will certainly do such-and-such,” or, “I will not do it”; or, “If