A Major Sin (Golden Words of Allah Ep101)
“The adulterer is not a believer while committing adultery, the thief is not a believer while stealing, and the drinker of intoxicants is not a believer while drinking them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim)
By Abdullahi Yusuf
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All perfect praise be to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, the Lord of the Worlds. We testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, (pbuh), is His slave and Messenger.
What could cause a believer to momentarily lose the perfection of his faith? Is it a sin many people consider ordinary, excuse away, or even celebrate when no one is watching? The Qur’an and the Sunnah describe it as one of the gravest offences against both Allah and humanity, for it violates trust, corrupts society and deprives people of what is rightfully theirs.
Allah says: “As for male and female thieves, cut off their hands for what they have done a deterrent from Allah. And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:38)
The prescribed legal punishment serves as a deterrent and is subject to strict judicial conditions and evidentiary requirements. More importantly, the verse reminds believers that wealth is a trust from Allah and must never be acquired through injustice.
Allah also says: “And do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly or offer it to the authorities in order to wrongfully consume a portion of the wealth of others while you know [it is unlawful].”(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:188)
There are sins that harm only the sinner, and there are sins whose effects ripple through families, communities and entire nations. One of them is so serious that the Prophet (pbuh) declared that a believer is not in the fullness of faith while committing it. What is this sin, and why does Islam condemn it so strongly?
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “The adulterer is not a believer while committing adultery, the thief is not a believer while stealing, and the drinker of intoxicants is not a believer while drinking them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim)
The scholars explain that this hadith does not mean the person leaves Islam by committing these sins. Rather, at the moment of committing them, the perfection of faith is absent because such actions contradict the character and consciousness expected of a true believer.
Many people think this sin only refers to breaking into someone’s home or stealing money. In reality, its forms are far broader. Taking what does not belong to us, embezzling public funds, accepting bribes, cheating in business, withholding workers’ wages, manipulating contracts, falsifying accounts, using another person’s property without permission, or deceiving others for financial gain all violate the trust that Allah has commanded us to uphold.
The Prophet (pbuh) also said: “Return the trust to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrays you.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1264)
Every trust we honour strengthens our faith, while every trust we betray distances us from the pleasure of Allah. Wealth acquired unlawfully may enrich a person temporarily, but it can never bring lasting blessing. The believer understands that what Allah has made lawful is always sufficient, and that no worldly gain is worth standing before Him burdened by the rights of another.
And Allah knows best.
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