The Book of Fighting [The Prohibition of Bloodshed] - Sunan an-Nasa'i

Hadith Reference: Sunan an-Nasa'i 4010

Textual Analysis

This profound hadith enumerates the gravest sins in Islam, beginning with shirk (associating partners with Allah) and culminating with false speech. The placement of murder among these cardinal sins emphasizes the sanctity of human life in Islamic law.

Scholarly Commentary

The scholars of Islam have unanimously agreed that these four sins constitute the most heinous offenses against Allah and His creation. Murder is particularly emphasized as it violates the divine right to life granted by Allah alone.

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani explains that murder is listed immediately after shirk and disobedience to parents because it represents the ultimate transgression against human rights, destroying the very fabric of society.

Al-Qurtubi notes that the sequence demonstrates a hierarchy of obligations: first to Allah, then to parents, then to fellow human beings, and finally to truth itself through honest speech.

Legal Implications

In Islamic jurisprudence, unlawful killing requires both worldly punishment and divine accountability. The murderer must face qisas (legal retribution) in this world unless forgiven by the victim's heirs, and will answer to Allah in the Hereafter.

This hadith serves as the foundation for Islamic criminal law regarding homicide, establishing it as one of the few crimes for which capital punishment may be prescribed when all legal conditions are met.

Spiritual Dimensions

The inclusion of murder among major sins reminds believers that preserving life is among the primary objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-shariah). The taking of an innocent life negates the very purpose of creation and disrupts the divine balance.

Imam al-Ghazali observes that each major sin corrupts a fundamental aspect of human existence: shirk corrupts faith, parental disobedience corrupts social order, murder corrupts life itself, and false speech corrupts truth.