Hadith 3461

(1) The statement: “Whoever swears by trustworthiness”: Meaning absolutely, without attributing it to Allah, is not one of us, indicating prohibition because it is commanded to swear by Allah and His attributes, and trustworthiness is not one of His attributes but a matter of His affairs and an obligation of His obligations. They were forbidden from it due to equating it with Allah’s names and attributes, the Exalted. Perhaps it refers to a warning against it, as it is swearing by other than Allah, and no expiation is required by consensus. There is disagreement regarding saying “By the trustworthiness of Allah.” Shafi’i said: It is not an oath, and no expiation is required for breaking it. Abu Hanifah said: It is an oath, and expiation is required for breaking it. In “Al-Bada’i,” it is stated: There are differing narrations among us regarding the oath by saying “By the trustworthiness of Allah.” In “Al-Asl,” it is stated that it is an oath. Ibn Sama’ah narrated from Abu Yusuf that it is not an oath. Tahawi narrated from our companions that it is not an oath. The reasoning for Tahawi’s view is that the trustworthiness of Allah refers to the obligations He has imposed on His servants, such as prayer, fasting, and others, as Allah, the Exalted, said: Indeed, We offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they declined to bear it (Al-Ahzab: 72). Thus, it is swearing by other than Allah’s name, the Mighty, the Exalted, so it is not an oath. The reasoning for “Al-Asl” is that trustworthiness attributed to Allah, the Exalted, in the context of an oath refers to His attribute. Do you not see that the Trustworthy is one of Allah’s names, derived from trustworthiness? Thus, when used absolutely, especially in the context of an oath, it refers to Allah’s attribute. In “Radd al-Muhtar,” it is stated: In “Al-Khaniyah,” “The trustworthiness of Allah” is an oath. Tahawi stated it is not an oath, and this is a narration from Abu Yusuf. In “Al-Fath,” it is stated: According to us, Malik, and Ahmad, it is an oath. According to Shafi’i, it depends on intention, as it is interpreted as referring to acts of worship. We say: The prevailing intention in the context of an oath prevails, so it does not depend on intention due to the dominant custom. This establishes that the relied-upon view is that of “Al-Khaniyah.”