and make pilgrimage only to Allah’s House, rely only on Allah, fear only Allah, make vows only to Allah, and swear only by Allah.
It is reported in the two Sahīh collections that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers. Whoever wishes to swear should swear by Allah or remain silent.”
The Sunan collections report:
“Whoever swears by anyone other than Allah has associated partners with Him.”
Ibn Masʿūd said:
“I would rather swear by Allah while lying than swear by anyone else while speaking the truth.”
This is because swearing by anyone other than Allah is polytheism, whereas swearing by Allah affirms His oneness. Affirming His oneness while lying is better than associating partners with Him while speaking truthfully. Thus, lying at its worst is equated with associating partners with Allah, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“False testimony is equivalent to associating partners with Allah”—repeating this twice or three times.
He then recited the words of Allah Most High:
“Whoever associates partners with Allah is like one who has fallen from the sky and is snatched away by birds or swept by the wind to a distant place.”
If someone who swears by anyone other than Allah has associated partners with Him, what, then, of someone who makes a vow to anyone other than Allah? A vow is more serious than an oath. Thus, if someone makes a vow to anyone other than Allah, there is no obligation to fulfil it, by the agreement of the Muslims—for example, a vow to offer prayer, fasting, Hajj, ʿumrah, or charity to anyone other than Allah.
If someone swears to do something that he is not obligated to do, it has been said that he may make expiation for his oath without doing what he swore to do. As the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Whoever swears an oath and then sees that another course is better should do what is better and make expiation for his oath.”
It is also established in an authentic hadith that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade making vows and said:
“They bring no good; they only serve to extract something from the miserly.”
If vows bring no good, what, then, of vows made to a created being? However, a vow made to Allah must be fulfilled if it involves obedience to Him. If it involves disobedience, it must not be fulfilled, by the agreement of the scholars. They differ only over