use of oaths to promote merchandise and to secure profit. When a person swears that he has been offered such-and-such a price for an item, or that he bought it for such-and-such an amount, while in fact he is lying, the buyer may believe him, accept the oath as true, and purchase the item for more than it is really worth—being swayed by the seller’s oath. The seller, having sworn solely in hope of that extra gain, has disobeyed Allah and will be punished by the obliteration of blessing.

Relevance of the ḥadith to the chapter: it contains a warning against using oaths to promote goods and clarifies the harm that results from doing so.

Lessons derived from the ḥadith:

1. A warning against employing oaths to market merchandise, for that degrades the Name of Allah Most High and diminishes tawḥīd.
2. Clarification of the harms that arise from false oaths.
3. Illicit earnings, even if they are abundant, are stripped of blessing and hold no real good.