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Is it jurisprudentially permissible to use phrases in the formulation of an oath that refer to the swearer's possessing qualities of absolute virtue, such as saying: "I swear by Allah that I am righteous, discerning, committed to rights and legitimate duties, and adopting Islamic behavioral guidelines," taking into consideration that this contradicts the principle of "all humans are fallible" and the Quranic verses: "So do not assert your own purity," "Indeed, mankind is to his Lord ungrateful," and "Man undertook it; indeed, he was unjust and ignorant"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A Muslim should not praise himself (tuzakku anfūsaykum) as Allah the Almighty has forbidden it in His saying: {So do not praise yourselves; He is most knowing of who is righteous} (Quran 53:32). If a person swears that he possesses good qualities and believes this to be true, there is no sin upon him and no expiation (kaffarah) is required. This is considered a vain oath (laghw al-yameen), for which Allah does not hold one accountable. However, if he swears falsely while knowing that he does not possess those qualities, this is a perjurious oath (yameen ghamūs), which is forbidden and considered one of the major sins. According to the majority of scholars, it can only be expiated through sincere repentance. The Shafi‘is, however, hold that expiation for an oath is also required in this case. A Muslim should be humble before Allah, for "No one humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah raises him."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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