Table of Contents
Understanding Major Sins
Major sins are those grave acts of disobedience that bring the anger of Allah, deserve a specific severe warning in the Qur’an or Sunnah, and threaten a person with punishment in this life, the Hereafter, or both. They are not the same as ordinary mistakes or minor sins, and a believer must take them very seriously while never despairing of Allah’s mercy.
What Makes a Sin “Major”?
Scholars have derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah that a sin is considered “major” when it comes with one or more of these features: a specific threat of Hellfire, a curse, Allah’s anger, a legal punishment in this world, or a clear description as a great wrongdoing or transgression.
Allah praises those believers who avoid major sins and shameful acts and who may still fall into lesser faults.
“Those who avoid the major sins and shameful deeds, except the small faults, verily your Lord is vast in forgiveness.”
(Qur’an 53:32)
The Prophet ﷺ indicated that there are sins greater than others and that avoiding the gravest ones is essential.
“Avoid the seven destructive sins.”
It was said, “O Messenger of Allah, what are they?” He said, “Associating partners with Allah, sorcery, killing a soul which Allah has forbidden except by right, consuming riba (usury), consuming the wealth of the orphan, fleeing from the battlefield, and slandering chaste, innocent, believing women.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
From this and other narrations, the scholars understood that major sins are many, not only seven. The “seven” in this hadith are examples of the most destructive ones.
Major sins are those that come with a clear textual threat of curse, wrath, specific punishment, or are described as very great wrongs. They require sincere repentance and must never be taken lightly.
The Spiritual Danger of Major Sins
Major sins darken the heart, weaken faith, and distance a person from Allah. If a person persists in them without repentance, they risk dying in a state that leads to severe punishment.
Allah warns about those who earn His wrath through great disobedience.
“Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will admit him to a Fire, abiding therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.”
(Qur’an 4:14)
Major sins can also remove the protection and blessing that Allah gives to a believer, both individually and as a community. Poverty, fear, humiliation, and disunity often follow when sins are widespread.
At the same time, committing a major sin does not by itself take a Muslim out of Islam, as long as the person does not deny that it is sinful. However, the believer must fear for their soul and hasten to repentance.
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.”
(Qur’an 4:48)
This verse shows how dangerous shirk is, but also that anything below it, even very great sins, can be forgiven if Allah wills, especially with sincere repentance.
Examples of Major Sins
Major sins touch every area of life: belief, worship, dealings, family, and society. Only some of them will be named here, without full detail, because many of these topics are addressed in other chapters of this course.
The greatest of all major sins is shirk, associating partners with Allah in worship.
“Indeed, associating partners with Allah is a great injustice.”
(Qur’an 31:13)
The Prophet ﷺ was asked about the gravest sin with respect to Allah.
He said, “That you set up a rival to Allah while He created you.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
Other major sins mentioned clearly in the Qur’an and Sunnah include, among many others: sorcery, unlawful killing, adultery and fornication, consuming interest, consuming the wealth of orphans unjustly, theft, false testimony, undutifulness to parents, slandering chaste believers, drinking intoxicants, bribery, and deliberate abandonment of the obligatory prayers or the pillars of Islam. Many of these will be discussed in their proper places, such as in the chapters on financial dealings, family, and worship.
Allah repeatedly warns about unlawful killing, fornication, and idolatry together as very serious crimes.
“And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity, nor kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right, nor commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever does that will meet a penalty. The punishment will be multiplied for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated, except for those who repent, believe and do righteous deeds.”
(Qur’an 25:68‑70)
The mention of “those who repent” here shows that even such grave wrongs can be erased if a person truly turns back to Allah.
Major Sins of the Tongue
The tongue is small, but it can commit very large sins. The Prophet ﷺ warned severely about some of these sins and linked them to destruction in the Hereafter.
False testimony and lying in serious matters are among the greatest major sins. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Shall I not inform you about the greatest of the major sins?”
They said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.”
He said, “Associating partners with Allah and undutifulness to parents,” and he was reclining then sat up and said, “and false statement and false testimony.” He continued to repeat it until we wished that he would stop.
(Bukhari, Muslim)
Slandering chaste believing women is also mentioned among the “seven destructive sins,” which shows its seriousness. Backbiting, tale‑carrying, and spreading corruption through speech are extremely dangerous, even when they might not reach the level of that specific slander.
The believer must understand that careless words can lead to Hell.
“Indeed, a servant may utter a word that is displeasing to Allah, without considering it of any significance, yet because of it he will fall into Hellfire.”
(Bukhari)
Guarding the tongue from these major sins is a central part of Islamic character and purification of the soul.
Major Sins Between People
Many major sins involve taking the rights of others or harming them. These sins are especially serious because they require not only repentance towards Allah, but also making things right with people.
The Prophet ﷺ spoke with great severity about consuming the wealth of an orphan unjustly.
“Indeed, those who consume the wealth of orphans unjustly are only consuming fire into their bellies, and they will be burned in a Blaze.”
(Qur’an 4:10)
He also warned about those who steal from people or cheat them in trade.
“Whoever takes a span of land unjustly, he will be encircled with it down seven earths on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
Property, honor, and blood are sacred in Islam. In the Farewell Sermon the Prophet ﷺ declared:
“Indeed, your blood, your wealth, and your honor are sacred to you, like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
Major sins that violate the honor of others, like slander and unjust accusations, or that violate their property, like theft, robbery, and cheating, are not forgiven simply by prayer and fasting. A person must return what they took, seek forgiveness from the person if possible, or increase in good deeds and supplication for them, hoping that on the Day of Judgment their case will be lightened.
Major sins that involve the rights of people require repentance to Allah and also restitution of people’s rights, such as returning stolen property or seeking pardon for harm done.
Major Sins Against Family Ties
The family is the building block of the Muslim community. Breaking its core principles is not only a social problem but a major sin in the sight of Allah.
Undutifulness to parents is repeatedly mentioned alongside shirk as one of the gravest sins. Allah commands kindness to parents immediately after His right to be worshiped.
“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and to parents, good treatment.”
(Qur’an 17:23)
The Prophet ﷺ ranked disobedience and abuse of parents among the greatest major sins, as in the hadith mentioned earlier.
Cutting off family ties is also a great sin. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The one who severs the ties of kinship will not enter Paradise.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
This does not mean eternal exclusion for every sinful Muslim, but it is a terrifying warning that shows the gravity of turning away from family responsibilities, without any valid reason in the law.
Major sins in the realm of modesty, marriage, and family relations, such as adultery, fornication, and false accusations of such acts, are also especially destructive. Allah describes the people of faith as those who avoid unlawful sexual acts, and He attaches a specific legal punishment in this life for them, showing their status as major sins. Their details are explained in other chapters.
Persisting in Major Sins
Even a major sin, if committed once followed by sincere repentance, can be forgiven completely. The real danger lies in insistence and persistence. Persisting means that a person repeatedly commits the sin without honest effort to stop, without feeling regret, and without turning back to Allah.
Allah has described the righteous as those who do not insist on the wrong they have done.
“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins, and who can forgive sins except Allah, and do not persist in what they have done while they know.”
(Qur’an 3:135)
When a believer keeps committing a major sin while knowing it is wrong and making no serious attempt to abandon it, this may gradually harden their heart. The Prophet ﷺ told us that when a servant commits a sin, a black dot is placed on the heart; if he repents, the heart is polished, but if he continues, the heart becomes covered. This is how hearts are sealed by sin.
Committing a major sin once, then feeling deep remorse and returning to Allah, is very different from living in a lifestyle of sin and making excuses for it.
Persisting in major sins without repentance is far more dangerous than a single fall. Continued disobedience hardens the heart and can lead a person to die in a state of great loss.
Repentance from Major Sins
Even though major sins are extremely serious, no sin is greater than Allah’s mercy. As long as a person is alive, the door of repentance remains open.
Allah calls all those who have gone far into sin to come back to Him.
“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’”
(Qur’an 39:53)
For repentance from a major sin to be accepted, the scholars mentioned three essential conditions when the sin is between a person and Allah: to leave the sin, to feel sincere regret for it, and to resolve firmly never to return. If the sin involves the rights of another person, then a fourth condition is added, which is to return their right or seek their pardon.
The Prophet ﷺ gave great hope to those who turn back sincerely.
“The one who repents from sin is like one who has no sin.”
(Ibn Majah)
He also said that Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than a man who finds his lost mount in the desert, showing the intensity of divine joy at our return.
Major sins can even become sources of good for a person if repentance leads to humility, fear of Allah, increased worship, and compassion toward others who struggle. Allah promised regarding certain grave sins:
“Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous deeds. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving, Merciful.”
(Qur’an 25:70)
Balancing Fear and Hope
A believer’s attitude toward major sins must balance fear and hope. Fear is necessary so that a person does not take these sins lightly or feel secure from Allah’s punishment. Hope is necessary so that a person does not fall into despair, which is itself a great offense against Allah’s mercy.
Allah combines both fear and hope when speaking about His punishment and forgiveness.
“Inform My servants that it is I who am the Forgiving, the Merciful, and that My punishment is the painful punishment.”
(Qur’an 15:49‑50)
The correct approach is to fear committing major sins, to feel deep regret if one has committed them, and to trust that sincere repentance will be accepted. As long as a person is alive and the sun has not risen from the west, the chance to return to Allah remains.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah stretches out His hand by night to accept the repentance of those who sinned by day, and He stretches out His hand by day to accept the repentance of those who sinned by night, until the sun rises from the west.”
(Muslim)
Whoever has fallen into a major sin should not delay. Repent immediately, seek knowledge about what Allah has forbidden, change your environment if it leads you into sin, and increase in good deeds. The path back to Allah is always open for those who sincerely walk it.