Oaths in Quran — Study Session 1
Overview
The main topics covered in this session are:
- Why studying oaths in the Quran matters
- Definitions of al-qasam from classical scholars
- Oaths in cross-cultural human history
- Forms of oath-taking rituals across civilisations
- Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry as a window into oath usage
- Quranic oath terminology: qasam, jawab al-qasam, muksambi, muksam alayhi
- The fundamental difference between human oaths and divine oaths
- Three classical schools of thought on the muksambi–muksam alayhi relationship
- Case study: Surah al-Tin
1. Why Study Oaths in the Quran?
The Quran itself points to the magnitude of its own oaths:
"It is indeed a majestic oath (qasam) — if only you knew!" (Surah al-Waqi'a, reference)
This single ayah functions as a trailer: it draws attention to the fact that when Allah takes an oath, something huge is being sworn by, and we are invited to understand it properly. The more deeply one studies the oaths of the Quran, the more the ayat that follow each oath become illuminated.
Oaths are still treated with great weight in modern life — lying under oath is perjury, a criminal offence in most legal systems. This modern usage reflects the ancient understanding of what an oath is: a contract witnessed by the highest authority one can invoke.
2. Definitions of al-Qasam
Two classical scholars provide the foundation:
| Scholar | Definition |
|---|---|
| Imām al-Zarkashī | "A sentence that confirms a statement through emphasis" |
| Imām al-Suyūṭī | "The purpose of an oath is to confirm a statement and place emphasis upon it" |
A broader, cross-cultural definition: an oath is a statement of fact or a promise taken as a sign of truthfulness, in which a deity (or some other authority) is made a witness and guarantor of what is said.
Etymology
The Arabic word for oath — اليَمِين (al-yamin) — is the same word for right hand. This linguistic overlap (found also in Hebrew and Aramaic) reflects the ancient ritual of extending or clasping the right hand when swearing. The plural أَيمَان (aymān) means both "oaths" and "right hands." Surah al-Baqarah refers to mindless, habitual oaths as لَغو اليمين — oaths that do not carry the weight of deliberate vows.
3. Oaths in Human History
Oaths were not exclusively religious in pre-Islamic or non-Islamic cultures. People swore by things other than deities: forefathers, famous warriors, swords, horses, night and day.
3.1 Roman Warriors
A famous Roman painting depicts three warriors swearing an oath by extending their right hands before their father, who holds their swords — a non-religious oath before a battle against the enemy.
3.2 Greek Orator Demosthenes
In his speech urging the Greeks to resist King Philip (father of Alexander the Great), Demosthenes swore:
"By the generous souls of ancient times who endangered their lives in the field of Marathon, by those who fought at Salamis, by those who stood arrayed at Plataea..."
This is a solemn oath by revered ancestors — not by any deity.
3.3 Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry
A couplet eulogising Hatim al-Ta'i (famous for extreme generosity):
"The cooking pots know, and the shining sharp edges of the knives — it does not take him [Hatim] more time to entertain a night visitor than it takes to unsheathe a sword to slaughter an animal."
Here the poet swears by pots and knives. These objects bear direct testimony to the subject matter: pots and knives are the very instruments of Hatim's hospitality, so they serve as witnesses to it.
Key Principle
In the traditional use of oaths, there is always a relationship between the thing sworn by (muksambi) and the statement that follows (muksam alayhi). The oath object serves as a witness or proof of the claim. This is the premise behind the second and third schools of thought (see Section 8).
4. Forms of Oath-Taking Rituals
Beyond verbal oaths, cultures practised physical rituals to formalise a solemn vow:
| Ritual | Description |
|---|---|
| Handshake (right hand) | Clasping right hands — hence yamin = right hand = oath |
| Bowl of water | A group dips their fingers into a bowl so the water "connects" them all |
| Rubbing perfume on hands | Called ulf or nashr (to scatter/diffuse); the scent connects all parties |
| Sprinkling sacrificial blood | Slaughtering an animal; blood on all parties symbolises a blood-covenant |
| Joining cords | Tying together ropes or ends of arrows as a symbol of alliance |
Quranic Connection: Rope of Allah
The Quranic instruction وَاعتَصِمُوا بِحَبلِ اللهِ ("Hold fast to the rope of Allah") draws on this tradition of joining cords as an act of covenant and alliance. The word حَبل (habl) = rope/cord evokes the binding force of a covenant.
Rasulullah ﷺ Taking Bayah from Women
Rasulullah ﷺ did not touch women directly when receiving their pledge of allegiance (bay'a). He would hold one end of a cloth while the woman held the other — a method that preserved the solemnity of the covenant while observing proper limits.
5. Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry: Deeper Examples
5.1 By One's Life — Nabigha's Couplet
The poet swears:
"By my life — and my life is not an insignificant thing to me — the tribe of [name] has attributed obvious lies to me."
He brings his life/age ('umr) as a proof: look at the life I have lived among you — does what they claim about me match the man you know? The oath by one's life is an appeal to lived testimony.
Quranic Parallel
In Surah al-An'am, Allah addresses the Quraysh about Rasulullah ﷺ, calling him الصَّاحِب — "the companion who has lived among you." This is the same argumentative move: the life lived among a people is brought as evidence of character.
5.2 Dogs as a Cultural Compliment
A tangent shared to illustrate how language is inseparable from culture: the tribe Banu Kalb ("Sons of the Dog") carried this name as a title of honour — wild dogs (like the African wild dog) are famous for bravery, fearlessness, and extraordinary loyalty to their pack. The Orientalist who read this name as an insult was projecting modern Western connotations onto a pre-Islamic Arabian context. Understanding the culture surrounding the language is essential to understanding the language itself.
6. Quranic Oath Terminology
6.1 The Anatomy of a Quranic Oath
From Surah al-Najm (53:1–2):
وَالنَّجمِ إِذَا هَوَى ﴿١﴾ مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُم وَمَا غَوَى ﴿٢﴾
| Component | Arabic | Example from al-Najm |
|---|---|---|
| The oath (qasam / muksambi) | القَسَم / المُقسَم به | وَالنَّجمِ إِذَا هَوَى — By the star when it sets |
| The response (jawab / muksam alayhi) | جَواب القَسَم / المُقسَم عليه | مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُم وَمَا غَوَى — Your companion has neither gone astray nor erred |
Terminology Across Sources
Grammar books (kutub al-nahw) use the terms قَسَم وَجَوَاب القَسَم (qasam and jawab al-qasam). Tafsir books tend to use المُقسَم به وَالمُقسَم عليه (muksambi and muksam alayhi). The underlying concepts are the same.
6.2 The First Dedicated Book on Quranic Oaths
The first book written exclusively on this topic was "Al-Tibyān fī Aqsām al-Qur'an" by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya. Oaths were explained within tafsir works in the early centuries, but a standalone book did not appear until roughly 500 AH. This mirrors a broader pattern: as the Arabic language became influenced by other languages (as Islam spread globally), scholars had to write explicitly about things that had been self-evident to the first generations.
7. Human Oaths vs. Divine Oaths
This is a critical distinction before interpreting Quranic oaths:
| Human Oath | Divine Oath | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | To appoint Allah as witness over one's statement | Not to appoint a witness (Allah cannot be witnessed over) |
| Mechanism | Calling on a greater authority to validate one's word | Bringing forward something as a proof or emphasis instrument |
| Effect | Establishes accountability before Allah | Adds immense emphasis and draws attention |
All scholars agree: the purpose of Quranic oaths is to add emphasis (tawkid) to what follows. Where they differ is in how the muksambi accomplishes this.
Words Used Differently for Allah vs. Humans
- تَابَ (taba): For humans → "he repented to Allah." For Allah → "He turned toward the slave to grant repentance." The direction reverses.
- شَكَرَ (shakara): For humans → "to be grateful." For Allah → "to appreciate and reward the effort of the servant."
8. Three Schools of Thought on the Muksambi
8.1 School One: The Muksambi Has Inherent Greatness (al-Asma)
Proponents: Qatada (narrated by Imam al-Tabari), Imam al-Zamakhshari, Imam al-Razi.
"When Allah swears by something, that thing has an exalted status in Allah's eyes."
- The sheer majesty (عَظَمَة, asma) of what is sworn by is sufficient to add emphasis to all that follows.
- No logical or causal connection between muksambi and muksam alayhi is necessary.
- Imam al-Razi: the objects sworn by must represent either religious benefit or worldly good — hence scholars in this school have written extensively about why figs and olives are superior fruits, why the night-star is particularly mighty, etc.
Critique: This fails to explain the traditional function of oaths in Arabic and other cultures, where the sworn-by thing always has a relationship to the claim being made. If Quran is in the language of the Arabs, why would it depart from this fundamental convention?
8.2 School Two: The Muksambi Serves as Proof/Testimony
Proponents: Imam al-Baydawi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn al-Qayyim.
"The muksambi is brought as a mode of presenting proof for the muksam alayhi."
- The figs and olives are not the point in themselves; they are there to prove the claim that follows.
- Just like Hatim's pots and knives were brought as evidence of his generosity, the Quranic oath-objects are brought as evidence.
- Ibn al-Qayyim on Surah al-Duha: the day and night are sworn by to prove that Allah — who alternates between day and night — can also change the interruption of wahi into its revival.
8.3 School Three: Both — Inherent Greatness and Proof
Most classical scholars actually occupy this position. The teacher personally sides with it.
Both are true: the muksambi has something special about it (hence Allah chose it), AND it bears a logical relationship to the muksam alayhi.
Case Study: Surah al-Tin (95:1–6)
وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيتُونِ ﴿١﴾ وَطُورِ سِينِينَ ﴿٢﴾ وَهَذَا البَلَدِ الأَمِينِ ﴿٣﴾
| Muksambi | Most likely interpretation | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| التِّين وَالزَّيتُون | The land of Sham (Syria-Palestine), named by its produce | Home of countless prophets of Banu Isra'il and 'Isa ﷺ |
| طُورِ سِينِين | Mount Tur (Sinai) | Where Musa ﷺ received revelation |
| البَلَدِ الأَمِين | Makkah | Where Rasulullah ﷺ was sent |
These three places bring the testimony of three great messengers and their communities to affirm the muksam alayhi:
لَقَد خَلَقنَا الإِنسَانَ فِي أَحسَنِ تَقوِيمٍ — Indeed We created the human in the best of forms — and yet ثُمَّ رَدَدنَاهُ أَسفَلَ سَافِلِينَ — then We reduced him to the lowest of the low (except those who believe and do good). The places of the greatest ambiya witness this truth about human potential.
9. Vocabulary Summary
| Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| القَسَم | al-qasam | The oath; the construct of swearing |
| جَوَاب القَسَم | jawab al-qasam | The response clause; what the oath affirms |
| المُقسَم به | al-muksambi | That by which the oath is taken |
| المُقسَم عليه | al-muksam alayhi | That which the oath is meant to affirm |
| العَظَمَة / الأَسمَاء | al-asma | Majesty, greatness, exalted status |
| اليَمِين | al-yamin | Right hand; oath (pl. أَيمَان ayman) |
| التَّوكِيد | al-tawkid | Emphasis, reinforcement |
| العِظَمُ | al-'idham | Magnitude, greatness |
10. Key Lessons from This Session
Summary of Lessons
- Oaths in the Quran are instruments of emphasis — all scholars agree on this. The disagreement is about how the muksambi achieves this emphasis.
- The Arabic word for oath (yamin) comes from "right hand" — the classical physical gesture of swearing, shared across Arabic, Hebrew, and Aramaic.
- There was no standalone book on Quranic oaths for ~500 years. This suggests the first generations of Muslims understood the oaths intuitively because oath usage was embedded in their literary culture. As Arabic changed, the need for explicit explanation arose.
- Never read a word in Quran through the lens of modern culture or language — always seek the cultural and linguistic context of 7th-century Arabia.
- The third school of thought (muksambi has both inherent greatness AND logical connection to what follows) is the most balanced and the one most teachers recommend.
Next session (Session 2) will focus on the grammar and construction of oaths: the three particles of qasam, verbs and nouns used for oaths, and the comprehensive rules governing the jawab al-qasam.