Oaths and Vows (Kitab Al-Aiman Wa Al-Nudhur)

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone swears a false oath in confinement, he should make his seat in Hell on account of his (act).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He who swears an oath in which he tells a lie to take the property of a Muslim by unfair means, will meet Allah while He is angry with him.

Al-Ash'ath said: I swear by Allah, he said this about me. There was some land between me and a Jew, but he denied it to me; so I presented him to the Prophet (ﷺ).

The Prophet (ﷺ) asked me: Have you any evidence? I replied: No. He said to the Jew: Take an oath. I said: Messenger of Allah, now he will take an oath and take my property. So Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse, "As for those who sell the faith they owe to Allah and their own plighted word for a small price, they shall have no portion in the hereafter."

A man of Kindah and a man of Hadramawt brought their dispute to the Prophet (ﷺ) about a land in the Yemen. Al-Hadrami said: Messenger of Allah, the father of this (man) usurped my land and it is in his possession.

The Prophet asked: Have you any evidence?

Al-Hadrami replied: No, but I make him swear (that he should say) that he does not know that it is my land which his father usurped from me.

Al-Kindi became ready to take the oath.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: If anyone usurps the property by taking an oath, he will meet Allah while his hand is mutilated.

Al-Kindi then said: It is his land.

On the Authority of his father: A man from Hadramawt and a man of Kindah came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Al-Hadrami said: Messenger of Allah, this (man) took away forcibly from me the land which belongs to my father. Al-Kindi said: It is my land in my possession, and I cultivate it, he has no right to it. The Prophet (ﷺ) then said to al-Hadrami: Have you any proof ? He said: No. He then said: So for you is his oath. He said: Messenger of Allah, he is liar, he does not care for which he is taking the oath. He does not refrain himself from anything. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: You will have nothing from him except that. He went to take an oath for him. When he turned his back, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: If he takes an oath on the property to take it away by unfair means, he will meet Allah while He is unmindful of him.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: One should not take a false oath at this pulpit of mine even on a green tooth-stick; otherwise he will make his abode in Hell, or Hell will be certain for him.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: If anyone swears on oath is the course which he says: "By al-Lat" he should say: There is no god but Allah, and that if anyone says to his friend: Come and let me play for money with you, he should give something in charity (sadaqah).

The Prophet (ﷺ) 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.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) found 'Umar al-Khattab in a caravan while he was swearing by his father. So he said: Allah forbids you to swear by forefathers. If anyone swears, he must swear by Allah or keep silence.

" 'Umar said: I swear by Allah, I never swore by it personally or reporting it from others."

Ibn Umar heard a man swearing: No, I swear by the Ka'bah. Ibn Umar said to him: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He who swears by anyone but Allah is polytheist.

He became successful, by his father, if he speaks the truth, he will enter paradise, by his father, if he speaks truth.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: He who swears by Amanah (faithfulness) is not one of us.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said about the futile oath: It is man's speech in his house: No, by Allah, and Yes, by Allah.

Abu Dawud said: Ibrahim al-Sa'igh, the narrator of this tradition , was a pious man. Abu Muslim killed him at 'Aranda. When he raised a hammed and heard the call to prayer, he gave it up.

Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by Dawud b. Abi al-Furat from Ibrahim al-Sa'igh as a statement of 'Aishah (not attributed to the Prophet). Similarly, it has been transmitted by al-Zuhri, 'Abd al-Malik b. Abi Sulaiman and Malik b. Mughul. All of them transmitted it from 'Ata on the authority of 'Aishah on her own statement.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: Your oath should be about something regarding which your companion will believe you.

Musaddad said: 'Abd Allah b. Abi Salih narrated to me.

Abu Dawud said: Both of them refer to the same person: 'Abbad b. Abu Salih and 'Abd Allah b. Abi Salih.

We went out intending (to visit) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and Wa'il ibn Hujr was with us. His enemy caught him. The people desisted from swearing an oath, but I took an oath that he was my brother. So he left him. We then came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and I informed him that the people desisted from taking the oath, but I swore that he was my brother. He said: You spoke the truth: A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim.

That he took oath of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) under the tree. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: If anyone swears by religion other than Islam falsely, he is like what has has said. If anyone kills himself with something, he will be punished with it on the Day of Resurrection. A vow over which a man has no control is not binding on him.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone takes an oath and says: I am free from Islam; now if he is a liar (in his oath), he will not return to Islam with soundness.

I saw that the Prophet (ﷺ) put a date on a loaf and said: This is a thing eaten with bread (condiments).

A similar tradition has also been transmitted by Yusuf b. 'Abd Allah b. Salam through a different chain of narrators.