It is when we swear or take an oath on other than Allaah. Swearing on ANYTHING, OR ANYONE other than Allaah, is an extremely serious matter and is considered SHIRK, even if the person swearing is telling the truth.
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears by something other than Allaah has committed an act of kufr or shirk.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1535) and Abu Dawood (3251); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Yet, it is very common in our daily lives that we see and hear people swearing by a vast multitude of things. Some people swear by the Prophet (pbuh), Ali (RA), Abdul Qadir Jilani, or some other righteous person, or even the Ka’aba or the angels.Sometimes they swear by their honesty or honor, such as in the Scouts’ promise they say: “I promise by my honor…”
Also we see people, especially from the Indo-Pak subcontinent swearing by “the life of their child” or “their aged mother” or “their dead mother’s grave” or their “sister’s honor”, etc. (being greatly influenced by the Indian Film Industry)!
Actually, it is recommended in the Sharee’ah to be cautious about swearing oaths, and not to swear except when essential.
“And protect your oaths (i.e. do not swear much)”[al-Maa'idah:89]
Sheikh ibn Jibreen says:
“….swearing by something implies veneration of it, and a created being cannot venerate another created being. This applies to swearing by the Prophets, angels, righteous people and all other created beings. And the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever swears an oath, let him swear by Allaah or else remain silent.” (Bukhaari, Muslim, )
