Is it disbelief to swear that Allah is one’s witness upon a lie?

Question Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is not disbelief to swear by Allah Most High in a lie. It is, however, amongst the most egregious major sins.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The major sins are associating partners with Allah, false oaths, disobeying the parents, and killing a soul.” [Bukhari]

False oaths mentioned in the above narration refer to an oath taken by Allah Most High in which one knows that they are lying. One must repent from such a sin.

Conditions of a Sound Repentance

However, for the repentance to be sincere and sound, one must meet the following conditions:

(1) Sincere remorse over the sin
(2) Immediately abandoning the sin
(3) Having a firm resolve never to repeat the sin

[Nawawi, Riyadh al-Salihin]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and some texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.