The Oaths of the Quran

Divine oaths in the Quran — by the fig, by the olive, "by the" formulas, qasam — 25+ oaths and their oath-response (jawab al-qasam) structures.

Oaths of the Quran·Aqsam al-Quran · 25+ oaths←Home

﷽

وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحٰيهَا وَالْقَمَرِ اِذَا تَلٰيهَا

"By the sun and its morning brightness; by the moon when it follows it…"

— al-Shams 91:1-2

Allah swears by His creation — by the sun, the moon, time, the soul, the Quran itself. The oath is an art of emphasis; the strongest signal for what follows.

AQSĀM AL-QUR'ĀN · 47 COMPOUND OATHS

The Oaths of the Quran

Whatever Allah swears by, the word that follows acquires absolute emphasis.

God swears by 47 different things in the Quran: the sun, moon, time, cities, the soul, and even the Quran itself. These oaths are not random — each is the strongest evidence for the message that follows.

Compound Oaths

Surahs with Oaths

Surah Şems

21/21

Meccan Surahs

METHOD

This page follows the classical count from Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's al-Tibyān fī Aqsām al-Qurʾān. Conjunction clauses bound by a pronoun or by 'mā' (e.g., wa-mā banāhā) count as the complementary arm of the principal oath, not as separate oaths. Hence Surah al-Shams shows 7 compound oaths in total; broader classifications that count conjunctions separately extend the same series to 11 expressions.

The Quran Interprets Its Own Oath

فَلَا اُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ وَاِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ

"I swear by the positions of the stars — and indeed, if you only knew, it is a tremendous oath."

— al-Wāqiʿa 56:75-76

This is a rare moment: Allah explicitly tells humanity the greatness of His own oath. A meta-verse on the weight of swearing — found only here in the Quran.

The Message Behind the Oath

Oath → Affirmation

The oath's true power is not in 'what' is sworn by — but in what follows. Read each oath below, then reveal the answer.

Oathal-Shams 91:1-7

وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحٰيهَا وَالْقَمَرِ اِذَا تَلٰيهَا وَالنَّهَارِ اِذَا جَلّٰيهَا وَالَّيْلِ اِذَا يَغْشٰيهَا وَالسَّمٓاءِ وَمَا بَنٰيهَا وَالْاَرْضِ وَمَا طَحٰيهَا وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوّٰيهَا

"By the sun and its morning brightness; the moon when it follows; the day when it reveals it; the night when it veils it; the sky and Who built it; the earth and Who spread it; the soul and Who shaped it."

Oathal-ʿAṣr 103:1

وَالْعَصْرِ

"By the passage of time."

Oathal-Burūj 85:1-3

وَالسَّمٓاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ

"By the sky full of constellations; by the promised day; by the witness and the witnessed."

47 oaths — The Creator calling His creation to witness.

When a human swears, they refer to something greater than themselves. Allah swears by His own creation. Because before Him, the sun, the pen, time, the soul — all are His signs. The oath is the highest declaration of the value given to the created.

Go Deeper — Oath-Rich Suras