The document discusses hadith pertaining to oaths from Imam Nawawi's reference "The Gardens of Righteousness". It contains 18 hadith that prohibit taking oaths by anything other than Allah, warn against false oaths, explain how to expiate oaths, and advise against habitual or unnecessary oath taking, especially in business transactions. The hadith note the seriousness of false oaths that deprive others of property and outline appropriate expiations such as freeing a slave or feeding the poor.

1. Authentic Hadith pertaining to
OATHS
Extracted from Imam Nawawi’s Reference
“The Gardens of Righteousness”
translated and presented by
Shaykh Ahmad Darwish, Anne (Khadeijah) Stephens
Allah.com Muhammad.com Mosque.com
©1984-2012 Darwish Family. All rights reserved
BOOK 33
PROHIBITION OF TAKING AN OATH
BY ANYTHING CREATED
OATHS
|H 1756
“Allah forbids you to take an oath by your fathers. Whosoever must
take an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent.”
Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to ibn Omar who related that the Messenger of
Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
SWEARING BY IDOLS OR FATHERS
|H 1757
“Do not swear by idols or by your fathers.”
Muslim with a chain up to Abdur Rahman the son of Samurah who related that the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
SWEARING BY OTHER THAN ALLAH
|H 1758
“Whosoever swears by honesty, is not of us.”
Abu Daud with a chain up to Buraidah who related that the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, said this.
PROHIBITION OF AN OATH TO BE RID OF ISLAM
|H 1759
“If a person takes an oath that in such and such a case he would be
rid of Islam, then if he should turn out to be a liar, he will be as he
swore. If he should turn out to have spoken the truth he will not
revert to Islam unblemished.”

2. Abu Daud with a chain up to Buraidah who related that the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, said this.
GUILTY OF DISBELIEF
|H 1760
“I (ibn Omar) heard a man say, ‘No, by Ka'ba’, and admonished him
saying, ‘Do not swear by anything other than Allah, because I heard
the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, say,
‘Whosoever swears by anything other than Allah is guilty of an act of
disbelief, or of associating something with Allah.’"
Tirmidhi with a chain up to ibn Omar who related that the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, said this.
PROHIBITION OF KNOWINGLY TAKING
A FALSE OATH
WARNING OF PUNISHMENT
|H 1761
“Whosoever swears a false oath to obtain the property of a Muslim
unjustly shall meet Allah with His Anger. Then the Prophet, praise
and peace be upon him, recited from the Book of Allah in support of
his statement: 'Those who sell the promise of Allah and their own
oaths for a little price shall have no share in the Everlasting Life.
Allah will neither speak to them, nor look at them, nor purify them on
the Day of Resurrection. Theirs shall be a painful punishment.'" 3:77
Koran
Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to ibn Mas'ud who related that the Messenger
of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
FALSE SWEARING AGAINST A MUSLIM
|H 1762
“Whosoever takes away the right of a Muslim by swearing falsely
will be condemned by Allah to the Fire and will be excluded by Him
from Paradise. A man asked him, ‘Even if it is a small thing,
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him?’ He answered:
‘Even if it is the twig of a berry bush.’”
Muslim with a chain up to Abu Umamah who related that the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, said this.
THE GRAVITY OF A FALSE OATH
|H 1763
“Of the major sins are: Associating anything with Allah.
Disobedience of parents. Murder. False oath.”
A Bedouin Arab came to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon
him, and asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon
him, what are the major sins?’ He replied: Associating anything with
2

3. Allah. The man asked, ‘And after that?’ The Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, replied, ‘A false oath which deprives
a Muslim of his property.’"
Bukhari with a chain up to Abdullah the son of Amr, the son of Al 'As who related
that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
EXPIATION OF OATHS
SUPERCEEDING AN OATH
|H 1764
“The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, told me
(Abdur Rahman, son of Samurah), ‘If you take an oath for
something and afterwards see something else which is better,
choose that which is better and expiate the oath.’"
Muslim with a chain up to Abdur Rahman the son of Samurah who related that the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
EXPIATION OF AN OATH
|H 1765
“Whosoever takes an oath for something and afterwards sees
something else which is better should expiate the oath and choose
that which is better.”
Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, said this.
UPGRADING YOUR OATH
|H 1766
“I am hoping that, if Allah wills, I will not swear to do something, but
that if a better alternative presents itself I would adopt it and expiate
my oath.”
Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Musa who related that the Messenger of
Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
FAMILY OATHS
|H 1767
“If any one of you remains adamant in his oath concerning his family
this is more sinful for him in the estimation of Allah than if he makes
amends in the prescribed way by Allah, the Exalted.”
Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
SLIP IN ONE'S OATHS
Allah, the Exalted says:
“Allah will not take you to account
for a slip in your oaths.
But He will take you to account for the oaths
which you solemnly swear.
Its expiation is the feeding of ten needy (people)
3

4. with such food as you normally offer
to your own people;
or the clothing (of them);
or the freeing of a slave.
He who does not have must fast three days.
That is the expiation of your oaths
when you have sworn;
but keep your oaths......” 5:89 Koran
HABITUAL SWEARING ON OATH
|H 1768
This verse is revealed concerning people who are in the habit of
saying: 'No, by Allah' and 'Yes, by Allah'"
“Allah will not take you to account for a slip in your oaths. But He will
take you to account for the oaths which you solemnly swear. Its
expiation is the feeding of ten needy (people) with such food as you
normally offer to your own people; or the clothing (of them); or the
freeing of a slave. He who does not have must fast three days. That
is the expiation of your oaths when you have sworn; but keep your
oaths...... 5:89 Koran
Bukhari with a chain up to Lady Ayesha, wife of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased
with her, Mother of Believers, who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and
peace be upon him, said this.
DISLIKE OF SWEARING AN OATH
DURING TRADING
DO NOT SWEAR TO ADVANCE A TRANSACTION
|H 1769
“An oath forwards a transaction but wipes out the profit."
Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
CAUSE OF LOSS IN PROFIT
|H 1770
“Beware of swearing a lot in matters of buying and selling because it
promotes trade and then causes loss."
Muslim with a chain up to Abu Katadah who related that the Messenger of Allah,
praise and peace be upon him, said this.
PROVOCATION OF SATAN
Allah, the Exalted says:
“If a provocation from satan should provoke you,
seek refuge in Allah.
He is the Hearer, the Knower.” 41:36 Koran
“When satan provokes you
seek refuge in Allah,
4

5. He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” 7:200 Koran
“And those who, if they commit indecency
or wrong themselves remember Allah
and ask forgiveness of their sins
- for who but Allah forgives sins -
and those who do not persist in what they do
while they know.
Those, their recompense is forgiveness from their Lord
and Gardens underneath which rivers flow,
where they shall live forever.
How excellent is the wage of those who labor.” 3:135-136 Koran
“And, O believers, turn to Allah all together,
in order that you prosper.” 24:31 Koran
INVOLUNTARY OATHS
|H 1858
“Whosoever swears an oath and involuntarily says, 'By al lat and al
uzzah (pagan gods)'; should at once bear witness that there is no
god except Allah. And whosoever says to his Companion: 'Come, let
us gamble.' Should give charity.’
Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the
Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this.
5

6. INDEX
OATHS
BOOK 33
PROHIBITION OF TAKING AN OATH
BY ANYTHING CREATED
OATHS
SWEARING BY IDOLS OR FATHERS
SWEARING BY OTHER THAN ALLAH
PROHIBITION OF AN OATH TO BE RID OF ISLAM
GUILTY OF DISBELIEF
PROHIBITION OF KNOWINGLY TAKING
A FALSE OATH
WARNING OF PUNISHMENT
FALSE SWEARING AGAINST A MUSLIM
THE GRAVITY OF A FALSE OATH
EXPIATION OF OATHS
SUPERCEEDING AN OATH
EXPIATION OF AN OATH
UPGRADING YOUR OATH
FAMILY OATHS
SLIP IN ONE'S OATHS
KORAN
HABITUAL SWEARING ON OATH
DISLIKE OF SWEARING AN OATH
DURING TRADING
DO NOT SWEAR TO ADVANCE A TRANSACTION
CAUSE OF LOSS IN PROFIT
PROVOCATION OF SATAN
KORAN
INVOLUNTARY OATHS
6

7. INDEX
OATHS
BOOK 33
PROHIBITION OF TAKING AN OATH
BY ANYTHING CREATED
OATHS
SWEARING BY IDOLS OR FATHERS
SWEARING BY OTHER THAN ALLAH
PROHIBITION OF AN OATH TO BE RID OF ISLAM
GUILTY OF DISBELIEF
PROHIBITION OF KNOWINGLY TAKING
A FALSE OATH
WARNING OF PUNISHMENT
FALSE SWEARING AGAINST A MUSLIM
THE GRAVITY OF A FALSE OATH
EXPIATION OF OATHS
SUPERCEEDING AN OATH
EXPIATION OF AN OATH
UPGRADING YOUR OATH
FAMILY OATHS
SLIP IN ONE'S OATHS
KORAN
HABITUAL SWEARING ON OATH
DISLIKE OF SWEARING AN OATH
DURING TRADING
DO NOT SWEAR TO ADVANCE A TRANSACTION
CAUSE OF LOSS IN PROFIT
PROVOCATION OF SATAN
KORAN
INVOLUNTARY OATHS
6