Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and his companions, and those who follow his guidance. As for what follows: Allah, the Almighty, said in His Noble Book, and He is the most truthful of
speakers: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength” [Quran 51:56-58]. In this noble verse, He clarified that He created the two weighty creations, the jinn and mankind, to worship Him. This worship is to unify Him, obey Him, and follow His Sharia, which is Islam, faith, and guidance, which is righteousness and piety. Allah commanded them with this worship, as He said: “O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous” [Quran 2:21]. And He said: “And worship Allah and associate nothing with Him” [Quran 4:36]. And He said: “And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him” [Quran 17:23]. The meaning of “decreed” is commanded and advised. And He said: “And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth” [Quran 98:5]. Allah sent the messengers with this worship. He said: “And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], ‘Worship Allah and avoid Taghut (false gods)’” [Quran 16:36].
It is obligatory upon all the two weighty creations: the jinn and mankind, Arabs and non-Arabs, males and females, the rich and the poor, kings and others, to worship Him alone. This is by unifying Him, being sincere to Him, and dedicating worship to Him alone, without associating anything with Him, in prayer, supplication, fear, hope, reliance, desire, and dread, fasting, pilgrimage, and other acts. He is the only one worthy of worship, as He said: “That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood” [Quran 22:62]. Among the acts of worship are prayer, fasting, zakat, charity, pilgrimage, Umrah, jihad, and others. It is obligatory upon all the two weighty creations to worship Him alone and dedicate worship to Him, hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. They should advise each other and encourage each other in this, as He said: “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression” [Quran 5:2]. And He said: “By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience” [Quran 103:1-3]. He swore, and He is the truthful, even if He did not swear, that mankind is in loss, except those who believe, do righteous deeds, advise each other to truth, and advise each other to patience. These are the successful ones. Allah swears by whatever He wills from His creation. No one can restrict Him, the Almighty, as He swore by the winds, the stars, the mount, the night as it covers, and others. As for the servant, he should only swear by Allah. The servant is a human being and should only swear by his Lord, as the noble Prophet, peace be upon him, said in the authentic hadith: “Whoever swears, let him swear by Allah or remain silent” [Sahih Bukhari]. And he said: “Whoever swears by anything other than Allah has committed shirk (associating partners with Allah)” [Sahih Muslim].
It is not permissible to swear by anything other than Allah, not by the prophets or anyone else. One should only swear by Allah. It is not permissible to say “by the Prophet,” “by the trust,” “by the honor of so-and-so,” or “by the life of so-and-so.” This is not allowed.
As for our Lord, the Almighty, He can swear by whatever He wills. This great and short surah indicates that people are in loss, men and women, Arabs and non-Arabs, jinn and humans, all are in loss except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and advise each other to truth and advise each other to patience. These are the successful ones who believe in Allah and His Messenger, believe that Allah is their Lord and true deity, and believe in everything Allah has commanded in His Book and everything His Messenger May God bless him and grant him peace has informed in authentic hadiths. Then they act upon it, unify Allah, dedicate worship to Him alone, believe in His Messenger Muhammad May God bless him and grant him peace, and believe in everything Allah and His Messenger have informed. They act upon this by performing Allah’s obligations, avoiding Allah’s prohibitions, and adhering to Allah’s limits. They advise each other to patience and truth, and they advise each other to fulfill what Allah has obligated and avoid what Allah has prohibited. They also advise each other to patience. These are the successful ones, the happy ones, who have combined these four qualities: faith in Allah and His Messenger, acting upon it by performing Allah’s obligations, avoiding Allah’s prohibitions, adhering to Allah’s limits, advising each other to truth, advising each other to patience, enjoining good and forbidding evil. These are the successful ones, the happy ones. We ask Allah to make us and you and all Muslims among them. We ask Allah to grant us and you understanding in His religion and steadfastness upon it. We ask Allah to make us and you among His righteous servants and His successful party. Indeed, He is Generous and Noble. And peace and blessings be upon His servant and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, companions, and followers with goodness.
