What is the ruling on a Muslim's saying, "What is this, by the Creator of Hell," when shocked, not intending to insult Allah the Almighty, while avoiding the phrase "What is this, by Hell" because it is an oath by other than Allah?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Saying: "What the hell" is forbidden because it is swearing by other than Allah and imitating disbelievers. As for saying: "What by the right of the Creator of hell," there is a detailed explanation: if the one swearing by it intends obedience to Allah, then it is swearing by a created thing and is forbidden. If he intends Allah's majesty and greatness, then it is swearing by an attribute of Allah and is permissible. However, even if the intention is an attribute of Allah, it is still forbidden due to the impoliteness of imitating disbelievers.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/29787
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 29787
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy