Swearing by or Asking Allah Through Something from His Creation

Swearing by something from Allah’s creation or asking Him through it can (For the sake of argument) fall into one of the following categories:

It may be commanded, either as an obligation or a recommendation.

It may be prohibited, either as a strict prohibition or a disliked act.

It may be permissible, neither commanded nor prohibited.

If someone claims that this is commanded or permissible, they must either differentiate between one creation and another or argue that it is legislated only for certain revered creations or some of them. If someone says that this is commanded or permissible for all creations, it would logically follow that one could ask Allah through the devils among humans and jinn. No Muslim would say this.

If someone says: “Rather, one should ask through revered creations, such as those Allah has sworn by in His Book,” this would necessitate asking through the night when it covers, the day when it brightens, the male and female, and everything else Allah has sworn by in His Book.

Allah swears by what He swears by from His creations because they are His signs and creations, serving as evidence of His Lordship, Divinity, Oneness, Knowledge, Power, Will, Mercy, Wisdom, Greatness, and Might. Thus, He swears by them to glorify Himself.

As for us, the created beings, we are not permitted to swear by them, as established by textual evidence and consensus. In fact, several scholars have mentioned the consensus that one must not swear by any of the creations, and they have cited the consensus of the Companions on this matter. Rather, this is considered shirk (associating partners with Allah) and is prohibited.

If someone asks Allah through these creations, they would logically have to ask Him through every male and female, every soul inspired with its wickedness and righteousness, and through the winds, clouds, stars, sun, moon, night, day, figs, olives, and so on.

It is well-known that asking Allah through these creations or swearing by them is among the most reprehensible innovations in the religion of Islam, and its ugliness is evident to both the general public and the scholars.

If someone says: “Rather, I ask Him or swear by Him through certain revered creations, such as the prophets alone or one specific prophet,” as some have permitted swearing by them or by the prophets and righteous people exclusively, the response is:

Although some creations are superior to others, they all share the commonality that nothing from creation can be made a rival to Allah. Thus, no creation should be worshipped, relied upon, feared, revered, fasted for, prostrated to, sought for help, or sworn by. As established in the Sahih collections, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

• “Whoever swears, let him swear by Allah or remain silent.”¹
• “Do not swear by anyone other than Allah.”²
• “Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed shirk.”³

These authentic and clear texts from the Prophet (peace be upon him) establish that it is not permissible to swear by any of the creations, without distinction between angels, prophets, righteous people, or others, nor between one prophet and another.