Which is the greater punishment: shirk (associating partners with Allah) or intentional murder?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some people say that shirk is the greatest of sins, but the punishment entailed by intentionally killing a soul is a greater punishment than the punishment for shirk. Is this statement correct? I seek refuge in Allah, greater than the punishment for shirk?
Answer:
Killing a soul is a major sin among the major sins; it does not take one out of the religion. As for shirk, it is a major sin that takes one out of the religion and causes one to remain in the Fire forever. The one who kills unjustly and oppressively is committing a major sin without doubt and is a sinner, but he does not remain in the Fire forever. He is punished in the Fire according to the measure of his crime and then comes out of it, because he is among the sinners who affirm the oneness of Allah. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Some people say that shirk is the greatest of sins, but the punishment entailed by intentionally killing a soul is a greater punishment than the punishment for shirk. Is this statement correct? I seek refuge in Allah, greater than the punishment for shirk?
Answer:
Killing a soul is a major sin among the major sins; it does not take one out of the religion. As for shirk, it is a major sin that takes one out of the religion and causes one to remain in the Fire forever. The one who kills unjustly and oppressively is committing a major sin without doubt and is a sinner, but he does not remain in the Fire forever. He is punished in the Fire according to the measure of his crime and then comes out of it, because he is among the sinners who affirm the oneness of Allah. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، أيهما أعظم عقوبة الشرك أم القتل عمدًا؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.