Hadith 3458

(1) The statement: “No, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness” in its apparent form is not an oath, but it resembles an oath in that it emphasizes speech. It can be said that the “and” is for swearing, and the object of the oath is omitted, meaning “No, by Allah,” then he began with the statement “I seek Allah’s forgiveness,” meaning if the matter is contrary to that. Or it could mean: “And I seek Allah’s forgiveness from swearing,” as it is preferable to avoid swearing except when necessary, for it is inherently risky and prohibited. Thus, some refrained from swearing even if truthful. What is established from him (ﷺ) was due to the need to emphasize a ruling or clarify permissibility. Hence, it is said: When he intended to swear, he mentioned this instead of swearing and did not swear. [Summarized from “Al-Mirqat”]