CHAPTER 9 – Being Free from Islam and Swearing Allegiance to a Religion Other Than Islam
Sabit ibn Dahhak (may Allah be pleased with him) relates:
(At Hudaibiyyah) during the oath under the tree, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said:
“Whoever swears an oath falsely upon a religion other than Islam, then he is as he swore; and whoever kills himself with an instrument, he will be punished with that instrument on the Day of Resurrection. And one who vows something he does not possess, nothing is required of him.”
EXPLANATION:
If someone swears a false oath, saying, “I am Jewish or Christian or Zoroastrian,” and believes in his heart that this oath takes him out of his religion, then he has indeed left his religion. He should immediately repent and seek forgiveness and renew his faith.
He who kills himself with a knife, scissors, or something similar, will be punished with an instrument like the one he used to kill himself when he enters Hellfire.
It is not permissible for someone to vow what they do not possess. The meaning of the hadith may also be: It is not permissible for a person to vow to manumit someone whom he does not own.
Abdullah ibn Burayda, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated from his father that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever swears an oath saying, ‘I am innocent of Islam,’ then if he is lying, he is as he says. And if he is truthful, he will never return safe to Islam.” [143]