The seven sins that doom a person to Hell

Praise
be to Allah.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
explained the seven sins that doom a person to Hell in a saheeh hadeeth that
was narrated by the two Shaykhs, al-Bukhaari and Muslim, in as-Saheehayn,
in which it was narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: “Avoid the seven sins that doom a person to Hell.” We said:
What are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: “Associating others with Allah
(shirk); witchcraft; killing a soul whom Allah has forbidden us to kill,
except in cases dictated by Islamic law; consuming orphans’ wealth;
consuming riba; fleeing from the battlefield; and slandering chaste,
innocent women.”  

1.

The greatest of these sins is shirk (associating others with
Allah), which leads to doom with no hope of redemption, and if a person dies
in this state he will abide in Hell for all eternity. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily,
whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden
Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zalimoon
(polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers”

[al-Maa’idah 5:72]

“And indeed
it has been revealed to you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him)), as it was to those (Allah’s Messengers) before you: “If you join
others in worship with Allah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in
vain, and you will certainly be among the losers”

[az-Zumar 39:65].

“It is not for the Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters,
pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah), to maintain the Mosques of
Allah (i.e. to pray and worship Allah therein, to look after their
cleanliness and their building, etc.), while they witness against their
ownselves of disbelief. The works of such are in vain and in Fire shall they
abide”

[at-Tawbah 9:17]. 

2.

Witchcraft involves shirk because it is worshipping the jinn
and is seeking the help of the jinn to misguide people. 

The practitioner of witchcraft is the one who deals with that
which causes harm to people by means of the jinn and worshipping them
instead of Allah. Sometimes he does things that harm them of words, deeds
and blowing on knots; sometimes he does that by causing illusions to such an
extent that a thing may be seen as something other than what it really is,
as Allah, may He be glorified, said concerning the sorcerers of Pharaoh
(interpretation of the meaning):

“…their ropes and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to
him as though they moved fast”

[Ta-Ha 20:66]

“So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people,
and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic”

[al-A‘raaf 7:116]. 

Sometimes the practitioner of witchcraft does things to harm
people by means of the jinn and worshipping them instead of Allah, by means
of words, deeds and blowing on knots, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): “And from the evil
of the witches when they blow in the knots” [al-Falaq 113:4]. 

And sometimes they do that by creating illusions, so that
they cause things to be seen as something other than they really are. So a
rope or a stick may be seen as a snake, or a rock may be seen as an egg, or
a person may be seen as something other than he really is, and so on. Such a
person is one of the disbelievers and if it is proven before the judge, it
is obligatory for the ruler of the Muslims to execute the practitioner of
witchcraft. 

It was proven from Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Umar (may Allah be
pleased with him) that he wrote to his governors in greater Syria and
elsewhere, instructing them to execute every practitioner of witchcraft,
male or female, because of the great extent of their evil and the danger
they posed. 

3.

Killing a soul whom Allah has forbidden us to kill. This is a
serious crime of which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense
is Hell to abide therein, and the Wrath and the Curse of Allah are upon him,
and a great punishment is prepared for him”

[an-Nisa’ 4:93]. 

Killing a soul, or murder, is one of the most serious of
crimes, but it is a major sin of a lesser degree than shirk (associating
others with Allah). It is a major sin like fornication/adultery, theft and
so on. The one who does that is not a disbeliever unless he regards it as
permissible to do that. Hence Allah, may He be glorified, says concerning
him:

“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense
is Hell to abide therein, and the Wrath and the Curse of Allah are upon him,
and a great punishment is prepared for him”

[an-Nisa’ 4:93].

He will abide in that punishment forever if he regards it as
permissible; if he does not regard it as permissible, he will abide therein
for a long time, but it will come to an end. The stay of the sinners (among
the Muslims) in Hell will be lengthy, but it will have an end. As for the
disbelievers, their stay will have no end. The Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: “Avoid the seven sins that doom a person to
Hell.” We said: What are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: “Associating
others with Allah (shirk); witchcraft; killing a soul whom Allah has
forbidden us to kill, except in cases dictated by Islamic law…” Cases
dictated by Islamic law include execution of the previously married
adulterer, by stoning; execution of a person who kills another, when both
are of equal standing; execution in cases where there is a legitimate reason
for executing the criminal, such as banditry, in which the criminal tries to
harm travellers by seizing their wealth on the road, or beating them or
killing them – he is to be executed because of his great evil. 

4.

Consuming riba – this refers to dealing with riba which Allah
has prohibited. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says concerning it
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba”

[al-Baqarah 2:275]

“O you who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains (due
to you) from Ribaa (from now onward) if you are (really) believers.

And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah
and His Messenger”

[al-Baqarah 2:278].

Consuming riba is a major sin which it is essential to
avoid. 

Riba is of various kinds, riba nasee’ah and riba fadl: 

Riba fadl is, for example, selling one dirham for two dirhams,
or one saa‘ of wheat for two saa‘s of wheat, or one saa‘ of rice for two
saa‘s of rice. This is riba fadl, which means selling something for more of
the same type or commodity. This is not permissible. 

Riba an-nasee’ah is, for example, selling a saa‘ of wheat for
two saa‘s of barley to be paid later, after one or two days, i.e., the price
is not to be taken until after the sitting in which the deal is done. This
is riba nasee’ah. It may be selling one hundred dollars for one hundred
pounds, or for ten pounds, to be paid at another time, and it is not taken
in that sitting. This is called riba an-nasee’ah, and it is one of the
gravest of major sins. 

5.

Consuming orphans’ wealth. The orphan is the one whose father
has died when he is small and has not yet reached puberty. What is required
in the case of orphans is to treat them kindly, protect their wealth, make
it grow and handle it with proper care. The one who spoils the orphan’s
wealth and consumes it unlawfully is subject to a stern warning, because the
orphan is weak and he has transgressed against him and consumed his wealth.
This stern warning is addressed to him, but he is not a disbeliever; rather
he is a sinner, so long as he does not regard that as permissible. 

6.

Fleeing from the battlefield. When the Muslims meet the
disbelievers in battle, the one who flees and deserts his brothers on the
day of battle, when the disbelievers march against the Muslims or the
Muslims march against the disbelievers – the one who flees and deserts his
brothers is subject to this stern warning (interpretation of the meaning):
“unless
it be a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own)”
[al-Anfaal 8:16] that
is, unless he is recruiting to prepare himself, bring his weapon and put on
his armour in preparation for fighting, which does not do any harm, or he is
moving from one detachment to another, or from one rank to another, or from
one group to another, as part of a plan against the enemy. 

7.

Slandering chaste, innocent believing women. The one who
slanders chaste women, which means accusing them of zina (fornication or
adultery) – by saying: So and so committed zina, or So and so called someone
to commit zina, but he is lying – this is one of the seven sins that doom
one to Hell and for which one deserves to be given eighty lashes, as Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
those who accuse chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, flog them
with eighty stripes” [an-Noor
24:4]. Slandering chaste
women is a major sin, as is slandering chaste men, but because such
accusations are usually made against women, the text speaks of women.
Nevertheless, if someone slanders a chaste man, and says that he committed
zina, he has to produce four witnesses or else be given eighty lashes. 

These are the seven sins that doom a person to Hell, because
they are so evil. We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound. 

End quote. Adapted from the website of Shaykh Ibn Baaz:

http://www.binbaz.org.sa/20277 

And Allah knows best.