from Abu Salama bin `Abdur-Rahman who had a dispute with some people on a piece of land, and so he went to `Aisha and told her about it. She said, "O Abu Salama, avoid the land, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, 'Any person who takes even a span of land unjustly, his neck shall be encircled with it down seven earths.' "
Beginning of Creation - Sahih al-Bukhari 3195
From Abu Salama bin `Abdur-Rahman who had a dispute with some people on a piece of land, and so he went to `Aisha and told her about it. She said, "O Abu Salama, avoid the land, for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, 'Any person who takes even a span of land unjustly, his neck shall be encircled with it down seven earths.'"
Commentary on the Narration
This profound hadith from the Mother of the Believers, `Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), demonstrates the severe prohibition against usurping land or property unjustly. The Prophet's warning employs powerful imagery - the unjustly acquired land becoming a chain around one's neck extending through seven earths - indicating the magnitude of this sin in the Hereafter.
The scholars explain that "seven earths" signifies the depth and severity of the punishment, as the number seven in Arabic often denotes completeness and intensity. This punishment manifests on the Day of Judgment when the usurped land will bear witness against its wrongful possessor.
`Aisha's counsel to Abu Salama to avoid the disputed land entirely, even when he might have had some claim to it, reflects the principle of precaution (i'tibar) in matters where rights are unclear. This approach preserves one's religion and protects from potential transgression.
The ruling derived from this hadith applies to all forms of property usurpation, not merely land. It teaches Muslims to be scrupulously honest in financial matters and to avoid any doubtful transactions that might involve the rights of others.