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What are the consequences of revealing a secret for which its owner was made to swear by saying, "I call upon God to witness," and does this entail sin or expiation, and what is the ruling on this statement in the first place?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

"Whoever is entrusted with a secret, disclosing it is a betrayal, based on the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: 'If a man speaks a word then turns around, it is a trust.' If disclosing the secret causes harm to its owner, then the one who does it is sinful and must repent and seek forgiveness. If he can seek absolution from the owner of the secret, he should do so. No expiation is required of him. The phrase 'I call you to witness before Allah' is not an oath, and there appears to be no reason to prohibit it."

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

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