Swears and Oaths in the Qur'an and Hadith

There are verses in the Qur'an that would suggest that Allah (who refers to himself as the "greatest of deceivers"), by Muhammad's definition, makes polytheistic statements in the Qur'an.

Swearing an Oath

In Arabic tradition, according to Islamic sources, when someone makes an oath, they swear by something considered greater or more worthy than themselves. We find this in the Hebrew Bible, where the Judeo-Christian deity swears by himself, due to the lack of anyone or anything greater than, what the writers considered, the creator of the universe. We also find this in everyday life, when someone swears on their parents or children's lives, or someone swears on their respective holy books to speak the truth in a court of law.

Analysis

The Qur'an

The following are verses from the Qur'an, where we find Allah swearing oaths.

I swear by the Book that makes manifest (the truth).

Quran 44:2

Qaf. I swear by the glorious Quran (that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah)

Quran 50:1

I swear by the wind that scatters far and wide,

Quran 51:1

I swear by the Mountain,

Quran 52:1

I swear by the star when it goes down.

Quran 53:1

But nay! I swear by the falling of stars;

Quran 56:75

Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write,

Quran 68:1

Nay; I swear by the moon,

Quran 74:32

Nay! I swear by the day of resurrection.

Quran 75:1

I swear by the emissary winds, sent one after another (for men's benefit),

Quran 77:1

I swear by the angels who violently pull out the souls of the wicked,

Quran 79:1

I swear by the mansions of the stars,

Quran 85:1

I swear by the heaven and the comer by night;

Quran 86:1

I swear by the daybreak,

Quran 89:1

Nay! I swear by this city.

Quran 90:1

I swear by the sun and its brilliance,

Quran 91:1

I swear by the night when it draws a veil,

Quran 92:1

I swear by the early hours of the day,

Quran 93:1

I swear by the fig and the olive,

Quran 95:1

I swear by the runners breathing pantingly,

Quran 100:1

I swear by the time,

Quran 103:1

From the above verses, we see that Allah does not swear by himself. Instead, Allah implies that the stars, the moon, the 'brilliance' of the sun, and a man-made city are greater than Allah - the very things he is supposed to have created. He even swears by such menial things as fruits.

The Hadith

The following are various ahadith on swearing oaths.

Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Do not swear by your fathers, or by your mothers, or by rivals to Allah; and swear by Allah only, and swear by Allah only when you are speaking the truth.

Sunan Abu Dawud 21:3242

Narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He who swears by Amanah (faithfulness) is not one of our number.

Sunan Abu Dawud 21:3247

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: Sa'id ibn Ubaydah said: Ibn Umar heard a man swearing: No, I swear by the Ka'bah. Ibn Umar said to him: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) say: He who swears by anyone but Allah is polytheist.

Sunan Abu Dawud 21:3245

From the above, we see Muhammad warning Muslims that they are not to swear by their parents, the Ka'aba, not even by their faith, but by Allah and Allah alone.

External Links

• Does Allah Commit Shirk? (video)