Yasir Qadhi – What is The Difference Between Major & Minor Sins – Ask Shaykh YQ #256

			SR Karatu line from Birmingham asks, what is the definition of a major sin and what are some of the
differences between major and minor sins
		

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			So, this is a very deep and very interesting and very necessary question and it is very clear from
the Quran and from the Sunnah, that Allah azza wa jal has categorized acts of disobedience into two
large categories, major sins and minor sins, the Arabic term is Kabira and Solea. And the Quran
mentions this distinction very explicitly in multiple verses. In fact, there are at least three
verses in the Quran that are explicit in this regard. So for example, Surah selca have, Allah says
when they see the book, those who rejected Allah will say, Maddie had a Kitabi now you all do Salah
Ratan wala Kabir Ratan Illa. I saw her What is the matter with this book? Where is this book coming
		

			from neither a cell era or Kabira that I have done except that it has recorded it. And Allah says in
the Quran, interest any Bukoba era Mattoon Helena and who if you avoid the Kaabah error of what we
had forbidden Nuka pharaon come say your article, we shall cause the other ones to be forgiven and
allow you to enter Jannah so this is a promise from Allah, that if we maintain a level of
religiosity, and we say the five prayers and we worship Allah subhanho wa Taala and we avoid the
kava era, that that which is the PSA era, Allah will not punish us in Jahannam the punishments might
be otherwise but not in Jahannam the salah will not be punished in Jahannam for those who turned to
		

			Allah and those who lived righteous lives, and our Prophet sallallahu it he was send them said that
each prayer to the next prayer and Ramadan to the next Romo bond and the Omura to the next year
Amara shall be ake a Farah for the Salah as long as the kebab are avoided. So your five daily
prayers and you're doing Ramadan every single year of fasting the month of Ramadan, that when you
maintain this lifestyle of piety, the bare minimum piety, then the minor sins shall be forgiven by
your generic good deeds. It's not an excuse to commit minor sins, but it is a Bushrod good news that
when you live a religious lifestyle, and you avoid the major sins, that that which is lesser than
		

			the major, they shall not be punished in the worst punishment, which is the punishment of Johanna.
So it is very clear, therefore, that our religion differentiates between Selena and Kabira. But we
have to understand before we get to the distinction between the two of the technical distinction,
there is a number there are a number of points we should be aware of first and foremost that the
Kabira and the Sahara the cover in the Sahel, even though there are two binary categories, there are
two categories still within the kabbah. And within the saga is there is a hierarchy. So just because
it Kabira is a Kabira there is no question that within the Cabal there are far bigger than other
		

			cabal if this is relative to the other Cabal. So for example, there is no question that drinking
alcohol is a Kabira. But murder is also a Kabira. And the sin of murder is much, much much more than
the sin of drinking, even though both are kebaya. So just because we categorize something as Kabir
or Selena, it doesn't mean they're all exactly the same. No, within each there is a hierarchy and
that which you transgress upon the rights of others in that which you hurt and harm other people
after this inertia because that is the boom done to Allah after that the volume done to other people
is a far greater category than that which you do between you and Allah subhanho wa taala. So the
		

			point is, even Kabbalah did have a hierarchy and so higher also have a hierarchy. Also, before we
get to the technical definition, we need to point out the psychological reality that there is no
Kabira in the face of repentance and is still foreign Toba and no sin is also Hera if it is done by
arrogance. In other words,
		

			rather than just get to the technical, we have to look at the spiritual and psychological and it is
very possible that a small sin becomes the largest of the large sins when it is done with a sense of
of arrogance of pride of flouting the shadow of Allah or the biller, we seek refuge from that. And
when a major sin is done, even when it is done and the person feels guilty. Well then that is
infinitely better than the small sin that is done with arrogance because the pride of arrogance is
perhaps bigger than the sin
		

			of drinking or fire has shown of this nature. So even as we give the technical definitions do
understand that there is a psychological and spiritual reality as well. And that is why some of our
scholars used to say, there is no Kabira. If you have to open it's there for and there is no severe
if you're adamant and repetitive, and you have no guilt at all. And we're trying to point out here
that let's not get bogged down in the technical details. As the famous saying goes, there's the
letter of the law, and there's the spirit of the law. Well, we can say the same thing over here as
well, that indeed, there is the letter definition, which we're going to talk about right now, and
		

			then there is a spiritual definition. So let us not Yanni conflate the two, as for the letter or the
technical definition, the famous Shaeffer is called Alma, what are the he says that Kabira is that
which necessitates a worldly punishment, or which Allah has threatened with punishment in the
hereafter. So that which brings about a head, a head punishment, when you go to the court of law,
there's a list of head punishments, some say for some, say five, some say six, but there's a small
list of head punishments. And there's also a list of punishments that are promised in the hereafter.
The famous Mufasa even outta here says that after research and analysis, the position is that the
		

			Kabira is every sin that necessitates a penalty by the court of law in this world, or that Allah has
linked with the fire of held in the Hereafter, or that Allah has cursed so he mentions three things
had, which is the punishment that is given in this world, Lana of Allah, or being threatened with
the fire of *, and this is the position of a legacy of Abdus Salam, and we've been Tamia and
basically the majority of scholars have been hagit also appreciates this view, and that is that the
Kabira is a sin that brings about a worldly punishment by law, Islamic law, or it is linked to
jahannam directly. Allah says, Whoever does this is going to go to jahannam unless they repent, or
		

			Allah Allah Allah is upon such a person now with this definition. In reality, the list is not that
long. And there are just a few things on these lists. So for example, murder is no doubt you had
done a line breaking and entering to steal the annual when Allah says the punishment for stealing
his head the technical definition of setup is that you must break in enter into a place so for
example, pickpocketing is not the same as that of copper. That's the technical point. So sorry, UCLA
is a major sin accusing innocent women and men of zinna highway robbery you know mafia mean stopping
people on the road and and robbing them in this manner. This is the head punishments are basically
		

			very few a number. And if you look at Lana, once again a relatively small list a Allah's land is
upon those who lie against Allah, they say that things are coming down to them why is coming down to
them, Allah's Nana is upon those who do a volume and in an unjust injustice to others. Allah Lana to
law he I love what you mean. And as for sins that are linked to jahannam as well you have a limited
list for example, charging people Reba by the way the Quran and the Sunnah does not link Allah's
Lana or the punishment of Jahannam to those who are forced to take Eva that is a sin and I have
given more details about this but we have to be technical here the learner that comes in the Quran
		

			in the sooner the harsh punishments that come in the Quran, it is for the one the rich person who
take gives the loan of Riba and he says I want to take more back and let you know Yeah. coluna Riba,
okay, this is the one who is eating Riba eating orphans property is also threatened with the
punishment of Jahannam murder is threatened with the punishment of Jahannam, and so on and so forth.
So, these are the primary. Listen, this is not exhaustive, there are others as well. But I need to
point out here, that with utmost respect to some of our greater lemma, some of them seem to have
exaggerated the list of Kabbalah. And perhaps, of course, their Nia was good, and that is that they
		

			wanted to, to to to stop people from committing sins, so they kind of made a longer list of
Kabbalah. But you see, I mean, you if you want to end it, whenever you go beyond the bounds, you
cause repercussions in this regard. And again, with utmost respect. There are great scholars who
wrote treatises most famous the Imam of their hobby, he wrote an entire book called Al Qaeda, and
other scholars criticized him for saying that he included things in that list that should not have
been included. Sometimes he even included things that might be a gray area of fit, you know, and
maybe even not even a salon, such as not praying in GMR he put it in a Kabyle or lowering the
		

			garments under your ankle, which is in reality, a minority opinion amongst the fuqaha. The point
being, though, that we need to be a little bit careful that just because we find somebody saying
it's a Kabira we need to say why is it a Kabira? What is the issue
		

			that has made it a Kabira and this is not I'm not saying this Are we who Billa are
		

			With the ability to, to to encourage people to fall into the sunlight, I'm saying this because there
is a psychological reality of a person who feels that he's so sinful, that there's no point in
returning to Allah, nobody should feel that way. But when you look at his lifestyle, he might
actually just be doing some Solaia. But the the perception that he's gotten from so many Ultra harsh
scholars around him, is that how long this person is doomed to jahannam. And in reality, they might
just be struggling to be good Muslims. That's why we might say, and when that when this person has
been presented a version or an image of Islam that is so strict, and so removed from his own
		

			reality, rather than aim for something better, he might just lose hope and say, I'm never going to
be that way. And this might be a cause for him, I would like to even go worse. So the times that we
live in, you know, we have to we have to go to the lowest common denominator and encourage people to
come. So brothers and sisters in sha Allah, if you're not murdering people, you're not eating
orphans property you're not, you know, a drug addict or something, I need to avoid the major sins as
much as you can. And even if you commit a major sin, there is no major sin that remains after Toba,
the purpose of Toba and the purpose of his default is to forgive major sins and even the major sins
		

			as I said, they're not all the same. So a personal sin between you and Allah, even if it is major,
for example, Yanni, habitually drinking and getting drunk or that Kabira. There's no doubt that the
habitual drunkard or the habitual drug addict there's no doubt that the person who's addicted and
all of you always spending money on these substances that this is a Kabira but still to this person,
I say that amongst the Cabal, this is much less than eating orphans property, there is no comparison
to murder or with a biller. So even amongst this, do not lose hope of Allah's mercy. And know that
all you need to do is turn to Allah for repentance, ask Allah for is the fog, feel guilty for what
		

			you have done, and try to overcome this addiction. Try. That's what you need to do, put in some
effort. And if you don't reach perfection, continue to put an effort never ever, you know, lose hope
because that in and of itself is a Kabira to lose hope of Allah's Mercy is a Kabira is a major sin
because you are having a bad thought about Allah subhanho wa taala. So my point being that it's a
very important discussion to know what to solito with his Kabira but at the same time, you know, we
have to not get carried away. And you know, some of our scholars, they want to make everything into
a Kabira such that they would think a person would think that, you know, there is no sin except that
		

			it is a Kabira. And, you know, I understand the goal is to prevent, but when you raise the bar too
high, you lose touch of reality. And that's why when you look at the cellphone, you look at even
Abbas and others when they're talking about this, there's so much more human, not that they're
encouraging sin, but they understand that you know, people are mortals, we're not angels, and we're
going to commit sin. So for example, Allah says in the Quran, that Alladhina Yeji attorney buena
Kava is neurophysiol dilemma that Allah describes the people of gender. And he says, They are those
who avoided the major sins and the major faux Irish. But as for the lemon, the lemon is that which
		

			comes close, the lemon is that which touches it's not like deep inside is just touching on the going
close to the sin. Allah says, As for the lemon, they will shall be overlooked. Even above said, I
know of no better example of lemon of this category than a man's look at a woman that he shouldn't
look at or that a man's flirting with a woman he shouldn't you know, flirt. Now Is anybody going to
say it been a boss is encouraging this? No, I've been a boss is getting practical and realistic. And
you know, the men here understand and know in this environment that we live in, there is no
justification. But May Allah forgive how 100% Pure can you be? How much can you always you know,
		

			lower the gaze. So even our boss is saying in his society in his environment that I know of no
better example of that which everybody is going to do when they ask Allah to forgive for except for
the lemma. This is not a justification of the sin. It is a realization that men are human beings are
mortal, and they're going to do certain things, and they're never going to reach absolute
perfection. But as long as they strive and they try and they repent to Allah and they live a
righteous life that insha Allah to Allah, the minor sins will be forgiven. Again, not a
justification, but at least a hope that you know what, let me strive to do more good deeds. Let me
		

			strive to live a righteous life. And let me repent for the major sins specifically, and minor sins
generically, by the way, one final point, and that is that when it comes to repentance, one of the
differences between major and minor sins is the following. You must repent from a major sin
specifically, and you may repent
		

			from minor sins generically, so if you have a drug addiction, if you have embezzled orphans money or
with a biller taking money from an orphan or something, if you have done something of this nature,
you must specifically repent from that sin, feel guilty, ask Allah's forgiveness, turn over the
money back, if it's good, if it's somebody else's property, you know, strive your best to overcome
it. You must make specific Tober. As for the minor sins, there are too many in our minds to list and
count. So we say a stuck through LA Haleem. I ask Allah is still for for all since I've done okay,
we say yeah, Rob, I have committed sins. So forgive me, this is generic, and I think of generically
		

			all the sins that I have done. So this is one of the main differences between major and minor sins
when it comes to this two fork. The bottom line is that these are the minor the major differences
between a Kabbalah and the Sahaba that Kabira is that which there is a worldly punishment, or
there's Allah's Lana or that there is the fire of *, that is threatened. And all of these sins
are guaranteed forgiveness if you genuinely repent to Allah, and the minor sins are other than these
and they are guaranteed forgiveness. If you are living an Islamic lifestyle, constantly praying,
constantly fasting constantly doing is to fight and Tober you live the bare minimal Islamic
		

			lifestyle. The minor sins are guaranteed to be forgiven from being punished in the fire of health
but they might be taken into account in other ways as I have given other talks in this regard. And
Allah subhana wa Tada knows best.
		

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