benefit anyone in the least, for those whom they call upon are nothing but lifeless corpses. They themselves are unable to stir, so how could they act on behalf of anyone else? And Allah alone grants success.

72 — Fourth narration: ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾī, whose nickname was Abū Ṭarīf (may Allah be pleased with him), said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Whoever swears an oath and then perceives that piety lies in doing something else, let him choose the course that is more God-fearing.” Narrated by Muslim.

Explanation: An oath (yamin) is a sworn statement made in the name of Allah, or by one of His names, or one of His attributes. It is impermissible to swear by anything other than Allah—neither by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor by Gabriel (peace be upon him), nor by any created being—because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever must swear, let him swear by Allah or remain silent,” and he also said, “Whoever swears by other than Allah has fallen into disbelief or shirk.” Accordingly, whoever swears by something besides Allah is sinful, and the oath is not binding, for such an oath is invalid from the outset.