Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 228
228 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad most Glorious with the oaths of man is to mix two things which have no relation whatsoever. The reason Allah Almighty forbids man from swearing on anything other than God is because when an individual takes an oath, their purpose is to put forth that which they have sworn on to take the place of such an eyewitness who by their personal knowledge can either attest to the truth or falsity of the statement in question. For if a person reflects, it becomes clear that the actual connotation of an oath—as I have just stated earlier-is but testimony. When an individual is unable to present ordinary witnesses, they are compelled to swear on oath, so that they may seek of it the benefit they otherwise could have expected from an eyewitness, if one had been present. However, to suggest or hold as a matter of doctrine that anyone besides God is Omnipresent, and able to affirm or reject someone's truth or punish them, or possesses power in any other matter, is brazen blasphemy. It is for this reason, that Allah the Exalted has instructed man in all divine scriptures that one must never take an oath on anything other than Allah. This discourse makes evidently clear that the oaths of Allah Almighty are of a different nature and grandeur. God's objective is to present those entities that are plainly evident in the book of nature to serve as a witness in order to clear and unravel the complex secrets of the divine law. This end is achieved by swearing on oath. When someone who takes an oath, swears in the name of God Almighty for example, their intent is to demonstrate that Allah the Exalted is a witness over a certain incident which relates to them. In the same way and precisely in this manner, various apparent and evidently manifest actions of Allah Almighty bear witness to His immensely subtle, hidden secrets and actions. For this reason, in numerous places throughout the Holy Quran, God Almighty has put forth His visibly apparent actions as evidence to establish those divine workings of His, which are conceptual in nature. It is utterly foolish and ignorant to assert that Allah Almighty Himself has taken oath of something that is besides His own Being. For Allah the Exalted actually swears by His own actions, not on anything besides His own Being; and of course, God's actions are a part of Him. For ex- ample, when Allah swears by the heaven or a star, His purpose is not to take oath on an entity besides Himself; in fact, His intent is only to put forth as testimony the divine design and wisdom that is present in the heaven and stars, so as to shed light on His hidden actions.