Chapter: Oaths Involving Divorce and Other Matters

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about a knowingly false oath involving divorce, and about a man who said to his wife, “Your family shall not enter my house.” This proved difficult for him, so he swore by triple divorce that he had not said it, knowing that he had.

He replied:

The oaths people swear are of two kinds: the first is the oaths of the Muslims; the second is the oaths of the polytheists.

The second category consists of swearing by created things, such as the Kaaba, the angels, shaykhs, kings, forefathers, the sword, and other things by which many people swear. These oaths have no sanctity; indeed, they are not binding, and no expiation is due from anyone who breaks them, by the consensus of the Muslims. Rather, whoever swears such an oath should affirm Allah’s oneness, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever swears an oath, saying, ‘By al-Lāt and al-Uzzā,’ should say, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.’”

It is also established in the Sahīh that he said:

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

The Sunan collections also report that he said:

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

Al-Tirmidhī narrated this and graded it authentic. These oaths, by agreement of the imams