when I was small.” [Al-Isrāʾ 23–24]

341 – Abū Bakrah Nufayʿ ibn al-Ḥārith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Shall I not tell you of the greatest of the major sins?”—he repeated this three times. We replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Associating partners with Allah, and being undutiful to parents.” He was reclining, then he sat up and added, “And beware of false speech and false testimony.” He went on repeating it until we thought, “If only he would stop.” Agreed upon.

342 – ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The major sins are: associating partners with Allah, being undutiful to parents, murder, and the ḡhamūs oath.” Reported by al-Bukhārī.

The ḡhamūs oath is one that a person deliberately swears while lying; it is called ḡhamūs (“plunging”) because it plunges its taker into sin.

343 – He also reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Among the major sins is for a man to curse his parents.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, can a man really curse his own parents?” He replied, “Yes; he abuses another man’s father, and that man in turn abuses his father; he abuses another man’s mother, and that man in turn abuses his mother.” Agreed upon.

In another narration: “Verily, one of the gravest of the major sins is for a man to curse his parents.” They asked, “How could he do that, O Messenger of Allah?” He answered, “He abuses another man’s father, and that man abuses his father; he abuses another man’s mother, and that man abuses his mother.”

344 – Abū Muḥammad Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The one who severs family ties will not enter Paradise.” Sufyān, in his narration, explained that this refers to a person who cuts off kinship bonds. Agreed upon.

345 – Abū ʿĪsā al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah the Exalted has forbidden you to be undutiful to your mothers, to withhold what you are obliged to give and to demand what is not yours, and to bury newborn girls alive. He dislikes for you idle gossip, excessive questioning, and squandering wealth.” Agreed upon.