Pen for Allah

Rasul Allah, sal Allah alayhi wa sallam, said, “Anyone who
believes in Allah and the Last Day (of Judgment) should not harm
his neighbor. Anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day
should host his guest generously. And anyone who believes in
Allah and the Last Day should say what is good or keep quiet.“  (Bukhari)

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Rasul Allah, sal Allah alayhi wa sallam, said, “There was once a
merchant who would lend money to people.  Whenever the person he
lent money to was in difficult circumstances, he would say to
his employees, ‘Forgive him so that Allah may forgive us.’ So,
Allah forgave him.”  (Bukhari)

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Narrated Anas bin Malik,

Allah’s Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, would often
pray, “O Allah! I seek your protection from anxiety and grief,
from incapacity and laziness, from stinginess and cowardice, and
from the burden of debt and the domination of people.” (Bukhari)

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[previous post in the series - What is a Major Sin]

The First Major Sin - associating anyone or anything with Allah

The greatest of all major sins (Akbarul Kaba’ir) is Shirk, which is associating anyone or anything with Allah (swt), and it is of two kinds.

The first kind is to believe that Allah has an equal or to worship something or someone other than Him, such as a stone, a tree, a star, the sun, the moon, or a prophet, a saint, or an angel. This is the greatest Shirk, about which Allah (swt) says:

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating anything with Him, and He forgive whatever is other than that to whomever He wills…” (Surah An-Nisa 4:48) and (Surah An-Nisa 4:116)

and,

“Indeed, associating (anything with Allah) is a great wrong.” (Surah Luqman 31:13)

and also,

“…Indeed, the one who associates anything with Allah, Allah will forbid him the Garden, and his abode is the Fire…” (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:72)

Such verses are quite numerous in the Quran. The word ‘Shirk’ and its derivatives repeats approximately in 165 verses, and there are many other verses of similar meaning as well.

Whoever ascribes partners to Allah (swt), i.e makes Shirk, and dies as Mushrik (polytheist) is definitely an inhabitant of the Fire, just as anyone who believes in Allah and dies a believer is an inhabitant of the Garden. even though he may be punished in the Fire first.

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The major sins are those acts which have been forbidden by Allah (swt) in the Quran and by his messenger (saw) in the Sunnah, and which have been made clear by the action of the first righteous generation of Muslims, the Companions of the Prophet (saw).

Allah Most High says in His Glorious Book:

“if you avoid the major (part) of what you have been forbidden (to do), We will cancel out for you your (other) evil deed and will admit you (to paradise) with noble entry.” (Surah An-Nisa 4:31)

By this Ayah, Allah (swt) has guaranteed the Garden of Paradise to those who avoid the major sins. and Allah (swt) also says:

“Those who avoid the greatest sins and indecencies, and forgive when they are angry…”(Surah Ash-Shura 42:37)

And,

“Those who avoid the greatest sins and indecencies, except for oversights, (will find that) surely your Lord is ample in forgiveness.” (Surah An-Najm 53:32)

The messenger of Allah (saw) said: “The five (daily) prayers, Friday to Friday, and Ramadan to Ramadan make atonement for what has happened since the previous one when major sins have been avoided“. [Muslim]. it is therefore very important to determine exactly what are these major sins (kaba’ir) are, in order that Muslims should avoid them.

There is some difference of opinion among scholars in this regard. Some say these major sins are seven, and in support of their position they quote the Hadith : “Avoid the seven noxious things” - and after having said this, the Prophet (saw) mentioned them: “Associating anything with Allah; magic; killing one whom Allah has declared inviolate without a just cause, consuming the property of an orphan, devouring usury, turning back when the army advances, and slandering chaste women who are believers but indiscreet.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (ra) said: “seventy is closer to their number than seven“, and indeed that is correct. The above Hadith does not limit the major sins to those mentioned in it. Rather, it points to the type of sins which fall into the category of “major”. These include those crimes which call for a prescribed punishment (Hadd; plural, Hudud), such as theft, fornication or adultery (Zina’), and murder; those prohibited acts for which a warning of a severe punishment in the Hereafter is given in the Quran or the Sunnah; and also those deeds which are cursed by our Prophet (saw). These are ALL major sins.

of course, there is a gradation among them, since some are more serious than others. We see that the Prophet (saw) has included Shirk (associating something or someone with Allah) among them, and from the text of the Quran we know that a person who commits Shirk will not get forgiveness for his sin and will remain in the Hellfire forever.

Allah (swt) says in the Quran:

“Surely, Allah does not forgive associating anything with Him, and He forgives whatever is other than that to whomever He wills…” (Surah An-Nisa 4:48) and (Surah An-Nisa 4:116)

so to sum it all up:

In the next post , we will explain more about Major Sin #1 - Associating anything with Allah (swt).