Honorific Oath
Oaths have been used to bestow honor on or glorify 1)
the muqsam bihī, 2) the oath-taker himself or 3) the addressees. The Arabs
were characterized by truthfulness and honesty. It was a hallmark of their
nature. It was never possible for them to go back on their words, break an oath
or dishonor a promise. Whenever they declared someone as their client or
protected neighbor, they would not fail to fulfill their commitment. Taking an oath
falsely in social matters was a great disgrace and humiliation to their sense
of honor and dignity, their natural traits. By taking the hands of one another
while making a contract, they intended to express vow to stake their life and
honor on their commitment. The oath, to an Arab, therefore, implied putting his
life in danger, as has been explained in the seventh section. That is why they
would often take an oath by saying “upon my life”; that is, I stake my life on
my statement. This aspect of oaths has been highlighted by some of the poets. Rīṭah,
daughter of ‘Abbās al-Salmī says:
Upon my life (la‘amrī),
and my life is not an insignificant thing for me, O family of Khath‘am, you
have killed the best young man.[1]
Such statements abound in the literature of the
Arabs. Nābighah al-Dhubyānī says:
Upon my life (la‘amrī),
and my life is not insignificant to me, aqāri‘ (the tribe Qarī‘ b. ‘Awf)
have attributed obvious lies to me.[2]
It
is in this aspect of the oath that muqsam bihī has been considered to be
a glorious thing. The oath-taker can emphasize his statement this way only through
swearing by something honorable, glorious and dear. This is, therefore, the
crux of this kind of oaths. From this kind of oaths developed expressions like
‘la‘amruka’ (by your life), which denote honor for the addressee. The
speaker intends to say: “I swear, not by my life, but by your life which is
dearer and more honorable to me than that of mine.” This is the basis of adding
the element of glorification of the muqsam bihī. Since, at times, an oath-taker
intends to honor his addressee besides reaffirming his statement and this form
of oaths suited more to the conversational oaths, the Arabs started to use
expressions like “la‘amruka” (upon your life), “la‘amru abīka and
jaddika” (upon your father’s or grandfather’s life) and “bi ‘izzatika”
(upon your honor) among others.
These oath formulas are used very frequently and are
well known. Therefore, there is no need to prove their currency in the
classical Arabic literature. Still, however, it is important to discuss certain
points regarding this kind of oaths.
First, the muqsam bihī in such oaths, though
honorable or respectable to the speaker, is not necessarily something which is
worshipped and considered sacred, as is the case with the religiously accented
oaths, to be discussed in the next section.
Second, when the muqsam bihī is attributed to
the addressee, it always indicates his honor and
respect. The following saying of Almighty God is an example.
By your life (la‘amruka),
in their intoxication, they are going blind. (Q 15:72)
In this verse, God Almighty has honored His
Messenger by addressing him this way. Another example of this is the following
saying of the Almighty:
Nay, by your Lord (wa
rabbika), they are not true believers until they make you judge [in all
that is in dispute between them]. (Q 4:65)
When it is attributed to the speaker himself, it
implies his honor and grandeur. We may say that the speaker intends to say: “My
life and honor are not accessible.” This aspect of the oath, therefore, does
not behove lowly servants of God. Jesus Christ (sws) perhaps referred to this
kind of oaths when he forbade taking oaths in the following statement
attributed to him:
Nor shall you swear by
your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. (Mathew 5:36)
Third, since some oaths include the aspect of
calling evil upon the oath-taker as has been explained in the sixth section,
this too should be considered an extended meaning of the oaths of glorification,
and not the original meaning of such oaths. It is as though the oath-taker intends
to say: “If I am untrue in what I say then my life be destroyed and my honor be
spoiled.”
By the foregoing discussion, I hope it has become
clear that this kind of oaths is not sworn except when the muqsam bihī
is attributed to either the speaker or the addressee. Such oaths must also be
taken through specific expressions mentioned above. In these oaths, one swears
by things known to be respected and revered by the speaker. This explains that
the Qur’ānic oaths by dhāriyāt (that scatter dust) (Q 51:01), al-‘ādiyāt
(panting ones) (Q 100:1), khunnas (the stars that withdraw) (Q 81:15)
and al-jawār al-kunnas (stars which rush ahead and hide) (Q 81:16) fall
in a distinct category. They should not be confused with this kind.
It needs to be appreciated that this kind of oaths
is not among the more concrete forms of swearing current in Arabian society.
These are often used, merely in order to place emphasis upon a statement, such
as in the expression aqsamtu (I
swear). That is why at times they say la-‘amrillāhi (upon God’s life)
without implying its literal meaning, except when they make such an intention
clear as has been explained with reference to the verses of Rīṭah and Nābighah.
There are, however, other kinds of concrete oath
formulas which will be taken up in the next section.
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