Do not make God’s [name] an excuse in your oaths not to be righteous…Sahl was asked concerning this verse, ‘What is this righteousness (birr)?’ He replied: ‘This means that you do not maintain your family ties [just] because of an oath.’ Then [in this connection] someone mentioned to him the verse: It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West [2:177], and he [Sahl] said:This means: it is not righteousness that you do nothing other than this; [True] righteousness is [that of] the one who believes in God [2:177], to the end of that verse. Do you not notice how He says, Do you bid others to righteousness, while you forget [to practise it] yourselves? [2:44], which is a reference to Jews who were commanding their foster brothers to obey God, Exalted is He, and to follow the Prophet , while they themselves did not do that.
, while they themselves did not do that.