Q 5: A teacher said that if a person swears by other than Allah without intending glorification, it will be permissible. He cited an example from the Qur'an where Allah swears by His creatures like the sun, the moon, the forenoon, the night, .....Etc.

A: Allah, may He be Glorified, can swear by any of His creatures as He wills, but (Part No. 1; Page No. 130) servants are not permitted to swear by anything or anyone except Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He. It was authentically narrated in the Two Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, Anyone who has to take an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent. (i.e. He should not swear by other than Allah.) It was narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad with an authentic chain of narration from `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, Anyone who swears by anything other than Allah is committing an act of Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship). It was also narrated in the Sunan of both Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhy with an authentic chain of narration from `Abdullah ibn `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, He who swears by anyone other than Allah commits an act of Kufr (disbelief) or Shirk. The phrase "Kufr or Shirk" indicates the narrator's doubt which one the Prophet (peace be upon him) said. The meaning is crystal clear; the narrators were extra careful to mention the exact wordings of the Hadith as they heard from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Shirk here denotes minor Shirk (associating other partners with Allah that is not tantamount to taking the Muslim out of Islam).May Allah grant us success. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions!