Narrated Suwayd ibn Hanzalah: We went out intending (to visit) the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Wail ibn Hujr was with us. His enemy caught him. The people desisted from swearing an oath, but I took an oath that he was my brother. So he left him. We then came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I informed him that the people desisted from taking the oath, but I swore that he was my brother. He said: You spoke the truth: A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim.
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
Benefits and Issues:
It is permissible to swear by gesture and equivocation (tauriyah) in the face of the enemy.
And the statement (Indeed, in equivocations there is a way out from lying) (al-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Bayhaqi 10/199) means that through gestures, it is possible to avoid lying.
This is the very meaning of the statement.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 3256
Maulana Ataullah Sajid
Benefits and Issues:
➊
The meaning of tawriyah is to say something that has two meanings: the listener understands one meaning, while the speaker intends another meaning, so that it is not a lie and life can be saved.
➋
When there is a danger to life, wealth, or honor, it is permissible to use tawriyah to protect oneself from the enemy.
➌
It is also permissible to use tawriyah to save the life of another Muslim.
➍
Hazrat Suwayd did not swear that this was not Wa’il bin Hujr, but rather swore an oath regarding brotherhood. The enemy thought he was Suwayd’s real brother, so they let him go, whereas Hazrat Suwayd meant that he was his brother in faith.
Source: Commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah by Mawlānā ‘Atā’ullāh Sājid, Page: 2119