Explanation of the Three Fundamenta Principles

The Oaths of Human Beings

Now, let us take the oaths of human beings, we will conclude with this point. Allah gives an oath by what He wants and wills of His creation. We only give an oath by Allah. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said in the authentic Hadith:

مَنْ حَلَفَ بِشَيْءٍ دُونَ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ أَشْرَكَ

It is in Musnad Ahmad and it is authentic. Who gives an oath by other than Allah, then he has committed Shirk. In at-Tirmidhi and al-Haakim, an authentic narration:

عَنْ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا...

The Hadith that you all know:

...مَنْ حَلَفَ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ أَوْ أَشْرَكَ

Whomever gives an oath by other than Allah, he has committed Shirk or Kufr. If one gives an oath by al-‘Asr, if he gives an oath by his parents, by his parents’ life, by his parents’ grave, has he become a Kaafir just by saying that? The answer is two folds. If he gives an oath by other than Allah, believing that which he gave an oath by is at the level of Allah or a higher status, or has power or sacredness like Allah, then he has negated his Deen.

The second point. If it was a slip of a tongue or he honours his parents, but he gave an oath but he does not honour them anywhere close to Allah or equivalent to Allah or anywhere above Allah of course. It was a slip of a tongue or a random oath he gave. It is a sin and it is a minor Shirk, and he should seek forgiveness from Allah and some scholars say even say Laa ilaaha illallah, even though it did not negate his faith because it is a smaller Shirk.

There is no problem in one giving an oath. If you look into the Sunnah, you will find that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam gave nearly, nearly eighty oaths, eighty times. Allah even ordered him at times, to give an oath. However, some scholars said it is best for one to preserve his oath and keep them for matters of substance. If it is not a matter of substance, not to give the oath. Why? They use the verse of Allah:

... وَاحْفَظُوا أَيْمَانَكُمْ... ﴿المائدة: ٨٩﴾

And protect your oath. They take it to mean, do not swear much. Do not swear much. Some use the Hadith in Sahih Muslim. A man came to the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and asked him questions, the Prophet gave him answers. The man said, he is going to apply what he learned. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

أَفْلَحَ وَأَبِيهِ إِنْ صَدَقَ

By his father, he succeeded if he is truthful. The Prophet giving oath by his father, and here the ‘Ulamaa have opinions on this. The first one is that it is a Shaaz (شاز), it is an odd narration. Number two is, Ibn Abdil-Barr said it was a mistake by one of the narrators, it was really:

أَفْلَحَ وَاللَّهِ

He succeeded by Allah. One of the narrators in the chain made a mistake. The third opinion is that, it was said before the prohibition came regarding giving an oath by other than Allah.

Ibn Masood Rahimahullah said:

لَأَنْ أَحْلِفَ بِاللَّهِ كَاذِبًا أَحَبُّ إلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَحْلِفَ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ صَادِقًا

If I were to give an oath by Allah on a lie, is better than to give an oath by other than Allah. Meaning if I were to lie in an oath by Allah and use the proper name of Allah, better than to give an oath by other than Allah and be truthful.

With this Inshaa Allah we will conclude and we will continue next week Inshaa Allah. Jazakum Allahu Khayr.

Class Thirteen

We gave part one of Surat al-‘Asr last week. This will conclude Inshaa Allah Tafseer Surat al-‘Asr and this is the proof on the four fundamental principles. Surat al-‘Asr is the proof on the four fundamental principles. The last point we spoke about last week was, that Allah gives an oath by that which He wills and humans only give an oath by Allah. Allah can give an oath by creation, we can only give an oath by Allah. Let us go back to the term wal-’Asr.

Do Not Waste Time

Allah gives an oath to show the value of time, by al-‘Asr. Therefore, do not waste time. Keep in mind that the Shaytaan has tactics in killing your time. That is why when it comes to good, productive stuff that benefits you in the Hereafter and even in this world, he casts boredom and laziness on you. Be alert for such tactics and know how to deal with them. If it is something vain or sinful, the Shaytaan puts joy to it, and that is one of the traps of the Shaytaan. You find that one for example can stand in a parking lot when he sees a friend and he will talk to the friend and hours and hours would go by, possibly backbiting or maybe even just vain talk. Hours go by and one feels as if it is only a few a minutes. Maybe even neutral stuff that is talked about, maybe Mubaah. The Shaytaan does not care as long as he can keep you away from obedience, out of envy that he does not want you to do that which he is deprived of.

Suddenly you go home and you are too bored to stand up for five minutes in Qiyaam al-Layl, or the Imam in Salatul-Ishaa’ or Salatul-Fajr reads what the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam used to read and one starts to shake his legs and move in boredom and starts looking at his watch or in the sky. And that is what you see their appearance, and what is in the heart could be even possibly more. You find people who are sitting with friends at such ease and peace, fully attentive and engaged into conversation as if they have no worries. And basically if you ask them they will probably tell you, we forget our worries when we are talking to our friends. And if he breaks for Salah, suddenly the Shaytaan comes to him and reminds him of the stresses of life and school and tests and appointments and kids and other matters, to distract him from that which benefits him in the Hereafter. A true believer, his coolness, the coolness of his eyes is Salah and Dhikr. The Qur’an and Sunnah states so. Today, the coolness of the eyes has become in everything outside or except Dhikr and Salah.

So Allah gives an oath by al-‘Asr, by time, to draw attention to time. You are made of time. You are made of seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years. You are made of that. When today leaves and today ends, you buried a portion of you, that is what you got to think. When you pray Salatul-Maghrib every day, that is end of our day, Maghrib, after that is the beginning of the following day. You have buried a part of you, right there and then. One is like a building, your age maybe twenty, you may be twenty storeys up, maybe seventy five storeys high rise. Every day that goes by, a brick is taken off that and placed in the Hereafter. Every sun rise and then sun down that you do not gain deeds, is a day you will regret. If it is in Haraam, we all know that. If it is normal Mubaah stuff, it will be regretted because you did not gain a higher level in Jannah. You are made up of time. Time passes and we enter Jannah based on what we invested in our time.

وَالْعَصْرِ‌ ﴿العصر: ١﴾

That is why Allah gave an oath by al-‘Asr. Minutes passing are your principle, they are your capital. Every day that passes by, you bury a day out of your life.