An oath, then, may affirm a declarative statement—which is most often the case—as in His saying, exalted is He:

“So by the Lord of heaven and earth, it is indeed true.”

Or it may affirm a non-declarative utterance, as in His saying, exalted is He:

“So by your Lord, We will surely question them all about what they used to do.”

Such an oath may, however, be intended to establish the truth of what is sworn to, in which case it is declarative; or it may be intended simply as an oath.

The purpose of an oath is to emphasize and establish what is sworn to. Its subject must therefore be something for which such emphasis and confirmation are appropriate, such as unseen or hidden matters whose reality is affirmed by an oath. As for visible, manifest things, such as the sun, the moon, night, day, heaven and earth, these are things He swears by, not things He swears to affirm. Whatever the Lord, mighty and majestic, swears to affirm is among His signs, and may therefore itself be sworn by; the converse does not hold.

He, glorified is He, sometimes states the clause expressing what the oath affirms—as is most often the case—and sometimes omits it, just as the result clause after “if” is often omitted. Examples include His saying, exalted is He:

“If you knew with certain knowledge”;

and His sayings:

“And if there were a Quran by which mountains could be moved”;

“If only you could see when the angels take the disbelievers in death”;

“If only you could see when they are seized by terror, with no escape”;

“If only you could see when they are made to stand before the Fire”;

“If only you could see when they are made to stand before their Lord.”

Omitting the result clause in such cases is among the finest forms of expression, for what is meant is that, if you were to see it