Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said. "If anyone seized - by his oath - what rightly belongs to a Muslim, Allah has made the Hell-fire compulsory for him and forbidden for him the Paradise." A man asked, "O Allah's Messenger, even if it were something insignificant?" He replied, "Even if it were a stick from an Arak tree."[Reported by Muslim].
Hadith Text & Reference
"If anyone seized - by his oath - what rightly belongs to a Muslim, Allah has made the Hell-fire compulsory for him and forbidden for him the Paradise." A man asked, "O Allah's Messenger, even if it were something insignificant?" He replied, "Even if it were a stick from an Arak tree." [Reported by Muslim]
Book: Bulugh al-Maram | Hadith: Bulugh al-Maram 1425
Meaning & Context
This hadith addresses the grave sin of wrongfully taking another Muslim's property through false oaths. The Prophet ﷺ emphasizes that no amount of unlawfully seized property is trivial in Allah's sight.
The Arak tree (Salvadora persica) produces small twigs used as toothbrushes (miswak), representing the most minimal worldly value. This illustrates that even the smallest unlawful acquisition through false oaths carries severe consequences.
Legal Rulings (Ahkam)
Scholars classify this as among the major sins (kaba'ir) due to the explicit threat of Hellfire and prohibition of Paradise.
The ruling applies to any unlawful seizure of property, whether through direct theft, fraudulent claims, or withholding rightful dues.
The offender must immediately repent, return the property to its owner, and seek forgiveness from both Allah and the wronged party.
Spiritual Lessons
This teaching safeguards the fundamental Islamic principles of property rights and communal trust.
It demonstrates that Allah's justice accounts for both the apparent act and the intention behind it - here, compounding theft with the sacrilege of false oaths.
The severity of punishment reflects how such acts destroy social harmony and breach the mutual trust required in Muslim society.