Swearing by other than Allah

A: It is not permissible to swear oaths by other than Allah such as saying, “By my mother’s head”. (Part No. 1; Page No. 771) Likewise, it is not permissible to place Allah at par with others by saying, “Praise be to Allah and to master Dawud”; this is a form of Shirk. One should say, “Praise be to Allah alone” or “Praise be to Allah ...Then to whomever.” Allah (Exalted be He) says (what means): So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord. When a man said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), “Whatever Allah wills and you will.” He said, “Have you made me an equal to Allah! It is whatever Allah alone wills.” Related by Al-Nasa'y. The Hadith shows that it is a kind of Shirk, because the function word “and” indicates connection and equality between what is before and after it. It is improper to equate the created with the Creator in anything related to Divinity or Lordship, or the least thing. This preserves Tawhid (monotheism) and blocks the paths of uttering polytheistic words, the same as the paths to polytheistic actions are blocked by the Prophet’s statement: May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places for worship. By the same token, the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited plastering graves and building over them. It is authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated: Do not say, “What Allah wills and so-and-so wills,” but say, “What Allah wills, then what so-and-so wills.” (Part No. 1; Page No. 772) This indicates the permissibility of this formula, and the former indicates the perfect faith declared in saying, “Whatever Allah alone wills”.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.