Ruling on swearing by the Prophet (peace be upon him)
A questioner sent us a message that reads: Some people are used to swear by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and this has become customary for them, yet they do not take that as a belief. What is the ruling on this?
Ans by Imam Ibn Baz:
Swearing by the Prophet (peace be upon him) or any other part of creation is a grave Munkar (that which is unacceptable or disapproved of by Islamic law and Muslims of sound intellect) and a form of Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship). Thus, it is not permissible for anyone to swear but by Allah Alone.
It is reported from Imam Ibn `AbdulBar (may Allah be merciful with him) that it is not permissible to swear by other than Allah. Besides, authentic Hadith are related in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade this and declared it to be an act of Shirk. One of these Hadith is the one related in the Two Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (i.e. AlBukhari and Muslim) from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said:
Verily! Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers. If one has to take an oath, they should swear by Allah or else keep silent.
Another wording reads:
...they should swear by Allah or say nothing.
Moreover, Abu Dawud and AlTirmidhy related through an authentic Sanad (chain of narrators) from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said:
“Anyone who swears by other than Allah has become a Kafir (disbeliever) or Mushrik (one who associates others with Allah in His Divinity or worship).”
It is also authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Anyone who swears by Amanah (trust) is not one of us.”
There are numerous Hadith on this issue, and it is obligatory for all Muslims not to swear by other than Allah. Again, it is not permissible to swear by any creature, no matter who it may be, according to the Hadith mentioned above as well as other Hadith. Hence, the one who is used to do so should be warned against that and his family members, companions and acquaintances should be warned against that as well. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Anyone among you who sees (an act of) Munkar should change it with his hand; if he could not (do it), he should do so with his tongue; and if he could not, (even) then he should abhor it from his heart, and that is the least (form) of Iman (Faith).
(Related by Muslim in his Sahih Book of Hadith)
Furthermore, swearing by other than Allah is a form of minor Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship), based on the above quoted Hadith. It could even be a form of major shirk if the one taking oath has it in his heart that the one by whom he swears deserves glorification just as Allah deserves it or that he could be worshipped along with Allah, or any other similar disbelieving objectives.
We ask Allah to endow all the Muslims with protection against that and to grant them understanding of His Religion and safety from all things that could bring about His Wrath; indeed He is AllHearing, EverNear.
( Part No : 3, Page No: 145-146)
English Translations of Majmoo’al-Fatawa of late Scholar Ibn Bazz (Rahimahullah). Second Edition Volume 03. He was The Mufti of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chairman of the Council of Senior Scholars, and Chairman of Department of Scholarly Research and Ifta’ .
This fatwa is collected from alifta.net Portal of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta’
AbdurRahman.Org 
You must be logged in to post a comment.