Does Allah commit shirk by swearing on things lesser than Him (e.g. the Qur'an)?

Sources

• ✓ 56:79 · Al-Waaqia

  56:79 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  لَّا يَمَسُّهُۥٓ إِلَّا ٱلْمُطَهَّرُونَ

  Which none toucheth save the purified,

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 56:79

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 56:79

  Juwaybir reported from Ad-Dahhak that Allah does not actually swear by any created thing, but rather this is an opening expression by which He begins His speech. However, this view is weak. The majority of scholars hold that Allah, Glorious and Exalted, truly swears by whatever part of His creation He wills, which serves as evidence of His greatness. Some commentators interpret the particle “lā” (no/not) here as an intentional addition, suggesting the phrase means "I do not swear by the positions of the stars," implying a negation followed by an affirmation: “I do swear.” Ibn Jarir reported from Sa'id ibn Jubayr that the answer to this is the next verse stating: "Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an." Others hold that the “lā” is not extra or negating but is used in oath formulas when swearing upon something negated, analogous to how Aisha said, “No, by Allah, the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ never touched a woman.” Thus, the phrase means: “I do not swear by the positions of the stars that this matter is as you claim in the Qur'an — that it is magic or divination — but rather it is a noble Qur'an.” Ibn Jarir records that some Arabic linguists understand “lā uqsimu” (“I do not swear”) to deny the false claim, then the oath resumes, “I swear.” There was disagreement over the meaning of “bi-mawāqi‘in-nujūm” (“by the positions of the stars”). Hakim ibn Jubayr reported from Ibn ‘Abbas explaining that this refers metaphorically to the stars of the Qur'an: the Qur'an was revealed all at once on the Night of Decree from the highest heaven to the nearest heaven, then gradually over the years to the Prophet ﷺ. Ibn Abbas read this verse in that sense. Ad-Dahhak explained Ibn Abbas’s view that the Qur'an descended from the Preserved Tablet to the noble scribes in the lowest heaven, and these scribes divided it over twenty nights, and the angel Gabriel transmitted it gradually to Muhammad ﷺ over twenty years. Hence, the reference to “positions of the stars” metaphorically signifies the stars of the Qur'an. Similar views were expressed by Ikrimah, Mujahid, As-Suddi, and Abu Hazrah. Mujahid also interpreted “positions of the stars” physically as positions in the sky or their rising points, a view supported by Al-Hasan and Qatadah, and adopted by Ibn Jarir. Qatadah explained “mawāqi‘uhā” as their stations, while Al-Hasan also said it refers to the scattering of stars on the Day of Judgment. Ad-Dahhak said it refers to the old Arab belief in stars as omens associated with rainfall. The statement “Indeed, it is a great oath, if you only knew” means that if people realized the greatness of the oath by these stars, they would reverence the thing sworn by. “Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an, in a preserved tablet” means this Qur'an revealed to Muhammad is a noble, honored Book, protected and revered. Ibn Jarir related a report from Isma'il ibn Musa from Sharik, via Hakim ibn Jubayr and Sa'id ibn Jubayr from Ibn Abbas, that “none touch it except the purified” means the Book in heaven. Al-Aufi and others narrated from Ibn Abbas and from Anas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak, Abu Sha'tha’ Jabir ibn Zayd, Abu Nahik, As-Suddi, and ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, that “none touch it except the purified” means the angels. Ibn Jarir also reported from Qatadah that none touch it near Allah except the purified, whereas on earth the Qur'an is touched by impure disbelievers and hypocrites. Ibn Mas'ud’s reading is “none touch it except the purified.” Abu al-‘Aliyah stated that this means “you are not the people of sin.” Ibn Zayd explained that the disbelievers of Quraysh claimed the Qur'an was from the devils, so Allah clarified that only the purified touch it, thus refuting their claim. As the Qur'an says: “The devils do not descend with it” (ash-Shu‘ara 210-212). This explanation is good and agrees with other interpretations. Al-Farra said only those who believe in it benefit from it. Others said that “none touch it except the purified” means purified from major and minor ritual impurity. They considered the verse a statement but its meaning a command: only pure persons should touch the mushaf (bound Qur'an). Muslim narrated from Ibn Umar that the Prophet ﷺ forbade traveling with the mushaf to lands of enemies, fearing it could fall into their hands. They supported this with a narration from Malik in his Muwatta' that the Prophet ﷺ wrote to 'Amr ibn Hazm that only the purified should touch the Qur'an. Abu Dawud related from az-Zuhri that he read in a document a statement attributed to the Prophet ﷺ: “Only the purified should touch the Qur'an.” This is a good reading supported by az-Zuhri and others, though the chains have minor differences. The statement “revelation from the Lord of the worlds” affirms that this Qur'an is sent down by Allah, Lord of all worlds, not a form of magic, sorcery, or poetry, but pure truth with no beneficial reality beyond it. Regarding “Will you then deny this discourse?” (‘afabihādhā al-ḥadīth antum mudhinūn), Al-Aufi reported from Ibn Abbas that this means “you are disbelievers, not believers,” a view shared by Ad-Dahhak, Abu Hazrah, and As-Suddi. Mujahid said “mudhinūn” here means you want to appease and ally yourselves with those who deny it. The phrase “and make your livelihood that you deny” refers, as some explain, to making your livelihood means making your thanks, or instead of gratitude, you deny it. Ali and Ibn Abbas read it as “and make your thanks that you deny,” as will appear. Ibn Jarir reported from Haitham ibn ‘Adi from the ‘Azd dialect that to be “provided” something (marzuq) signified being thankful. Imam Ahmad narrated from Husayn ibn Muhammad from Isra'il from Abd al-A‘la from Ali that the Prophet ﷺ said: “And you make your livelihood” means “your thanks,” “that you deny,” meaning people say: “We were rained upon by the omen of such and such star.” This was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim from his father from Mukhawwal ibn Ibrahim an-Nahdi, and Ibn Jarir from Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna and ‘Ubaidullah ibn Musa, and from Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim from Yahya ibn Abi Bukayr, all from Isra'il with a raised chain. Tirmidhi also narrated from Ahmad ibn Mani‘ from Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Marwazī with a good and strange status. Sufyan narrated from Abd al-A‘la without raising the chain. Ibn Jarir narrated that a group of people after rain would declare “we were rained upon by such and such star,” but Ibn Abbas said none ever rained except some of them became disbelievers saying: “We were rained upon by the omen of such and such.” Ibn Abbas read it as “and you make your thanks that you deny.” This is a sound chain back to Ibn Abbas. Malik in the Muwatta' narrated from Salih ibn Kaysan from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah ibn Mas‘ud from Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani that the Prophet ﷺ prayed morning prayer at Hudaybiyah after nighttime, and then told the people: “Do you know what your Lord has said?” They replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “Among My servants today are believers in Me and unbelievers. Whoever says: ‘We were rained upon by the bounty and mercy of Allah,’ that one is a believer in Me but disbelieves in the stars. Whoever says: ‘We were rained upon by the omen of such and such star,’ that one is a disbeliever in Me but a believer in the stars.” This report is in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Abu Dawud, and an-Nasa'i from the hadith of Malik. Muslim alone narrated from Muhammad ibn Salamah al-Muradi and ‘Amr ibn Sawwad from Abd Allah ibn Wahb from ‘Amr ibn al-Harith that Abu Yunus reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whenever Allah sends down blessing from the sky, a group of people become disbelievers, saying: ‘It rained by the star such and such.’” Ibn Jarir said Yunas informed him that Sufyan told him from Muhammad ibn Ishaq from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi from Abu Salamah from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Verily, Allah sends down blessing to people in the morning or evening, but a group disbelieve and say: ‘We were rained upon by the omen of such and such star.’” Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim told Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib about this, who said they heard from Abu Hurayrah that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab asked about the setting of the Pleiades and its time, and after seven days they were rained upon. This is understood as a question about the time Allah causes rain to fall, not that the star itself causes rain; believing in the star's influence on rain is forbidden. This ties to the earlier mentioned hadith about Allah's opening mercy not being withheld (Surah Fatir:2). Ibn Jarir also reported a man saying “We were rained upon by part of the constellation of al-Asad,” and the Prophet ﷺ said: “You lied! It is the provision of Allah.” Ibn Jarir narrated from Abu Salih as-Sirari from Abu Jabir Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Azdi from Ja'far ibn az-Zubayr from al-Qasim from Abu Umamah that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whenever a people are rained upon in one night, some of them become disbelievers by saying: ‘We were rained upon by the omen of such and such.’” He added: “And you make your livelihood that you deny,” meaning they say: “We were rained upon by the star such and such.” Abu Sa‘id also reported a hadith that if people went without rain for seven years, when rain came, they would say: “We were rained upon by the omen of al-Mijdah.” Mujahid said that the speech “You make your livelihood that you deny” refers to their saying about the stars as causes of rain, and the countermove is to say: “It is from Allah, and it is His provision.” This was agreed upon by Ad-Dahhak and others. Qatadah said Al-Hasan would say: “How evil are those who take for themselves a share from the Book of Allah other than denial! Meaning they take for their portion of the Book that they deny it. This is why the verse says: ‘Will you then deny this discourse and make your livelihood that you deny.’”

• ✓ Sunan al-Tirmidhi 20:13

  Sunni Sahih (per Al-Albani)

  Sunan al-Tirmidhi · Book 20, Hadith 13 · Narrated by Ibn Umar

  I heard a man say "No" and swear by the Kaaba. Ibn Umar said: None should swear by anyone other than Allah because I heard the Messenger of Allah say: "Whoever swears besides Allah has disbelieved or associated partners."