What are the major sins in Islam?

What makes a sin "major"

The scholars of verification defined the major sin by its consequence, not by its name. IslamWeb (fatwa 152691) gives the definition: any sin for which there is a hadd (fixed legal penalty) in this world, or a warning in the next of punishment, anger, threat or curse — in the Qur'an or in the words of the Prophet ﷺ.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen reports that Ibn Taymiyyah framed it the same way: every sin for which a specific punishment is appointed is a major sin, whether that punishment falls in this world or the next, whether it comes as the loss of something praiseworthy or the arrival of something blameworthy. This is a wide definition, and deliberately so — it catches sins that no list would name.

The practical effect is that the category is open. A sin counts as major because of what Allah has attached to it, not because a particular author included it in a book.

The seven that destroy

The Prophet ﷺ named seven in particular, and these are the gravest of the major sins — which is why they are called al-mubiqat, the destroyers.

"Avoid the seven destructive sins." They said, "O Messenger of Allah, what are they?" He said: "Associating partners with Allah; magic; killing a soul which Allah has forbidden except by right; consuming usury; consuming the wealth of the orphan; turning back on the day of battle; and accusing chaste, believing, unaware women of immorality."— Sahih al-Bukhari 2766 and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah

These seven are not the whole of the major sins — they are the greatest of them. IslamWeb (fatwa 343648) is explicit: they are described as mubiqat, meaning destructive, but they remain part of the larger body of major sins.

Other sins named as major

The sources name many beyond the seven. IslamWeb (fatwa 343648) lists: associating partners with Allah, abandoning the prayer, abandoning zakat, unlawful killing, magic, disobedience to parents, usury, fornication, and the false oath (yamin ghamus). It also notes that the sins for which the prescribed penalties are carried out include deliberate murder, reviling the prophets, false accusation of unchastity, drinking intoxicants, fornication and theft.

IslamWeb (fatwa 152691) adds backbiting and mocking the religion, saying these are among the greatest of major sins even though al-Dhahabi and others did not list them — because the texts of revelation condemn them and warn against them.

The Prophet ﷺ also named a category of major sin in the matter of purity:

"They are being punished, and not for something great — yet it is great. One of them did not guard himself from his urine, and the other went about spreading tales."— Sahih al-Bukhari 216, from Ibn Abbas

Al-Bukhari's chapter heading for this hadith, which al-Shanqiti discusses, is "Among the major sins is not concealing oneself from one's urine" — the point being that failing to guard against impurity is itself counted among the major sins.

How the scholars classify them

Al-Tuwayjiri's Mawsu'ah al-Fiqh al-Islami sets out several ways of dividing the major sins:

• By location: sins of the heart, such as shirk and arrogance; and sins of the limbs, such as fornication and theft.
• By source: sins of the heart, sins of speech such as backbiting and tale-carrying, and sins of action such as killing and fornication.
• By type: the major sins of the heart — disbelief, shirk, hypocrisy — and the major sins of the limbs, which fall into five groups: knowledge and jihad, worship, transactions, social dealings, and character.
• By the limb involved: the tongue (backbiting, tale-carrying, false testimony), the ear (listening to singing and indecency), the eye (looking at non-mahram women), the hand (killing, striking, theft), the stomach (eating poison, drinking wine), and the private parts (fornication and the act of the people of Lut).

Why the number is not fixed

The scholars genuinely disagreed on whether the major sins are limited or merely numerous. Ibn 'Uthaymeen explains the two approaches: some scholars held they are counted, and set about tracking every text that names a major sin; others held they are bounded by a definition, not by a number.

The reports from Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه show the range. In one, he said the major sins are closer to seventy than to seven. In another, closer to seven hundred. Al-Dhahabi wrote a book on them, al-Kaba'ir, and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's al-Zawajir 'an Iqtiraf al-Kaba'ir lists more than four hundred and sixty.

Ibn Abbas also gave a definition of his own: every sin whose end Allah has sealed with the Fire, a curse, anger or punishment. And he added a line worth remembering: there is no major sin with seeking forgiveness, and no minor sin with persistence.

The difference it makes

The distinction between major and minor sins is not academic. Allah says:

"If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins and admit you to a noble entrance."— Qur'an 4:31

The five prayers, Friday to Friday, and Ramadan to Ramadan are expiations for what falls between them — so long as the major sins are avoided. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali explains in Jami' al-'Ulum wa al-Hikam that the major sins are not wiped out by these acts of worship; they require repentance. He cites Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's report of the consensus of the Muslims on this, and argues that if the obligatory acts wiped out major sins, no one who performed them would enter the Fire for a sin — which he identifies as the position of the Murji'ah, and false.

"The five prayers, and Friday to Friday, and Ramadan to Ramadan, are expiations for what is between them, so long as the major sins are avoided."— Sahih Muslim 233, from Abu Hurayrah

The major sins are expiated by sincere repentance, abundant seeking of forgiveness, turning back to Allah, and abundant obedience. IslamWeb (fatwa 4978) states this plainly, and notes that Allah has guaranteed in His Book that whoever avoids the major sins will have his minor sins expiated.

In practice

• Learn the definition, not just a list. The criterion the scholars give — a specific punishment attached to the sin — lets you recognise a major sin even when no list names it.
• Do not treat the seven as exhaustive. They are the gravest, not the whole. Backbiting and mocking the religion are named as major sins even though some famous books omit them.
• Do not treat a sin as minor because it is not on a list. Ibn Abbas's principle cuts both ways: persistence turns a small sin into a major one.
• Repent specifically. The obligatory acts of worship do not erase major sins; sincere repentance does.

Key takeaways

• A major sin is defined by its consequence: a fixed penalty in this world, or a specific warning of punishment, anger, curse or threat in the next.
• The seven "destroyers" are the gravest of the major sins, not the complete list.
• The scholars differed on the number — some said seventy, some more, and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's al-Zawajir lists over four hundred and sixty.
• The five prayers and Ramadan to Ramadan expiate minor sins only when the major sins are avoided.
• Major sins require sincere repentance; they are not wiped out by acts of worship alone.

Further reading

• al-Kaba'ir by al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi
• al-Zawajir 'an Iqtiraf al-Kaba'ir by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami
• Jami' al-'Ulum wa al-Hikam by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali

And Allah knows best.