English translation
392. (There is another chain) from Abū Suhail Nāfi' Ibn Mālik bin Abī 'Āmir, with his chain of narrators for this Hadīth (no. 391). He (ﷺ) said: "He has succeeded — by his father — if he is truthful, and he has entered Paradise — by his father — if he is truthful."[1] (Ṣaḥīḥ) [1] The phrase: "by his father," is a form of an oath that was common among the Arabs. Scholars differ in explanation of it here, since the Prophet ﷺ himself prohibited swearing or giving an oath by other than Allāh. Others stated that the Prophet ﷺ said so before the prohibition to swear by other than Allāh was revealed. Another interpretation is that this phrase might outwardly appear to be an oath, but is not actually considered one due to its frequent use by the Arabs (in other words, the custom of the Arabs was not to use this phrase as an oath, even though linguistically it appears to be an oath), or that its meaning is: "by the Lord of his father" and this was to be understood, but later it was prohibited. A few scholars were reported to have said that this phrase was added by one of the narrators. Whatever the correct interpretation is of this phrase, scholars agree that it is not permissible to give an oath or swear by any of the creatures.