He Lied When He Swore By Allâh Almighty, But Then He Repented

Question :

Before he reached puberty, and before he officially became responsible for his actions as a Muslim, a person I know lied when he swore by the Qur'an; this happened when he was fifteen years old. Later on, he knew what he had done was wrong, and consequently felt remorse. Is there a sin upon him? And if so, is there an atonement he must perform?

Answer:

Your question implies a second issue that I must answer A first: the permissibility of swearing by the Qur'an. Since 1 know of no basis for it from the Sunnah, it is a practice that is not sanctioned by the Shari'ah. Second, when the person you referred to lied when he swore by Allah Almighty, he committed a great sin, one that he must repent from. Some scholars refer to this sin as the oath of "Ghamus," a word that means to dip or to plunge, because it is an oath that first plunges someone into sinning, and then into the Hellfire.

If he made this oath after having reached puberty, he has sinned, and he must repent for that sin, though no atonement is required. One has to make atonement for an oath only when it relates to the future, for example, when one pledges by Allâh Almighty to do something in the future, but then does not do it. When an oath relates to the past, no atonement is required, but still, he either is sinful or not sinful, sinful when he knows that he is lying, not sinful if he is at least sure that he is truthful.

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