"I heard Ana's say: 'The Messenger of Allah said: 'the major sins are; associating others with Allah (shirk), disobeying one's parents, killing a soul (murder) and speaking falsely.
The Book of Oaths (qasamah), Retaliation and Blood Money - Sunan an-Nasa'i
Hadith Reference: Sunan an-Nasa'i 4867
Textual Analysis
This noble hadith enumerates four of the gravest sins in Islam, beginning with shirk (associating partners with Allah), which is the only unforgivable sin if one dies upon it. Disobeying parents follows as it combines ingratitude toward both Allah and one's benefactors. Murder represents the ultimate transgression against human life, while false speech encompasses perjury and bearing false witness.
Scholarly Commentary
Imam al-Nawawi explains that these sins are termed "major" (kaba'ir) because they violate fundamental rights - the rights of Allah (shirk), the rights of creation (parental disobedience and murder), and the rights of justice (false speech). Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani notes the hadith's emphasis on sins that disrupt societal harmony and divine order.
The ordering is significant: shirk corrupts theology, parental disobedience corrupts social foundations, murder destroys physical life, and false speech destroys truth and justice. Al-Qurtubi observes that while all major sins require sincere repentance, these four particularly threaten the individual's spiritual fate and community welfare.
Legal Implications
Shirk nullifies one's Islam entirely. Parental disobedience, while not requiring legal punishment in this world, incurs severe divine wrath. Murder invokes qisas (retaliation) or diyah (blood money) in Islamic jurisprudence. False speech, particularly in judicial contexts, can invalidate testimony and incur earthly punishment alongside divine accountability.