Shaikhul Islaam Ibn Taimiyah Mentions:
“It is well-known that swearing by Allah’s attributes is equivalent to swearing by Him. For example, if someone says: “By the might of Allah!” or “By the life of Allah!” or “By the Great Quran!”—it is established that swearing by these attributes and similar ones is permissible, as evidenced by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Companions. This is because swearing by His attributes is akin to seeking refuge in them—although seeking refuge is only done with Allah and His attributes, as in the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) statements: “I seek refuge in Your Face”, “I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah”, and “I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath”, and similar statements. This is a well-established matter among the scholars.
Given this, swearing by vows, divorce, and similar matters is equivalent to swearing by Allah’s attributes. For example, if someone says: “If I do such-and-such, then I must perform Hajj”, they have sworn by obligating Hajj upon themselves. Obligating Hajj is a ruling from the rulings of Allah, and it is one of His attributes. Similarly, if someone says: “Then I must free a slave”, or “Then my wife is divorced and my slave is freed”, they have sworn by removing their ownership, which is a prohibition upon themselves. Prohibition is one of Allah’s attributes, just as obligation is one of His attributes. Allah has made these matters among His signs, as He says: “And do not take the signs of Allah in jest.” Surah Al-Baqarah (2:231). Thus, He has made the boundaries in marriage, divorce, and separation among His signs. However, when someone swears by obligation or prohibition, they are making an oath to Allah, just as they make a vow to Allah.”1
- Al-Qawa’id al-Nooraaniyyah al-Fiqhiyyah (p. 268). ↩︎
