The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 177
176 Ā'ĪNA-E-KAMĀLĀT-E-ISLĀM―DĀFI‘UL-WASĀWIS taken of anything but Himself—neither of man, heavens, earth, stars, nor of anything else? So, what was the need for God Almighty to swear by anything other than Himself, in particular, the stars and the heavens in this context? These are, in fact, two objections, connected with each other and, on account of their interrelationship, I consider it appropriate to respond to both of them together. So, firstly, in regards an oath, it must be fully borne in mind that comparing the oaths taken by Allah, glorified be His eminence, with those taken by mere mortals amounts to comparing two incompatible entities. God Almighty has forbidden man to swear by anything besides Himself because a human oath is meant to call the thing of which the oath is taken as a substitute for an eyewitness to corroborate or contra- dict the matter on the basis of personal knowledge, since, if you reflect and observe, the essential significance of an oath is the testimony itself. When man is unable to produce ordinary witnesses, he relies upon the oath to derive the benefit that is to be derived from an eyewitness. But to propose or believe that there is someone besides God Almighty who is Omnipresent and Omniscient, and has complete control over the power to verify or contradict or punish or anything else, is a statement of utter disbelief. This is why all the scriptures forbid swearing by any- one other than Allah. AUTHOR'S MARGIN NOTE Nature of the oaths taken by God Almighty and the secret of cognizance hidden in these oaths Thus, it is clear that God Almighty's oaths cannot be viewed in the same light as man's oaths, for God Almighty has no such diffi- culty as a man has when taking an oath. Rather, God's taking an oath is of a very different character which befits His majesty and is in accordance with His law; and the object of such an oath is to offer the patent facts of nature to serve as a witness to explain the delicate hidden verities of the Shariah. That is analogous to an oath. For example, when one swears by God Almighty, he means to call God Almighty as a Witness to the event under discussion. In the