Chapter One: The Meaning of Sin and other Related Matters

 Chapter One: The Meaning of Sin and other Related Matters
Section One: The Definition of Sin and its Origins.
Section Two: Dividing Sin into Major and Minor Categories.
Section Three: The Consequences of Sin, its Harmful Effects, and its Outcomes.

Section One: The Definition of Sin and its Origins
Firstly: The Meaning of Sin
Sins is the plural of sin, which is:
a wrongdoing; a crime, or an act of disobedience. In Arabic, the double plural is ‘Dhunubat (sins)’.[641]

The word sin originally means to hold the tail of something. It is said: ‘I stuck its tail’. We use this word to express every action whose consequences we dread, and it is for this reason a sin is referred to as an outcome – because of what it results in.

Sin and its plural are mentioned in the Quran in numerous places..
such as the sayings of Allah:
]فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِذُنُوبِهِمۡۗ]
Sura aali-Imran; (3):11
]Meaning: Allah seized them for their sins.]

]فَكُلًّا أَخَذۡنَا بِذَنۢبِهِۦۖ]
Sura al-Ankabut; (29):40
]Meaning: Each of them We seized for his sin.]

]وَمَن يَغۡفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ]
Sura aali-Imran; (3):135
]Meaning: And who can forgive sins except Allah.][642]

Sins, then, are acts of disobedience and violations of the commands of Allah –the Mighty and Majestic.

Secondly: The Origin of Sin
There are various categories of sin by way of which we know the origin of sins.

Ibn Al-Qayyim –may Allah have mercy upon him– said regarding this topic:
“In the same way that the degree and severity of sins vary, so does their corresponding punishment both in this life and the Hereafter.

Regarding the topic of sin, I will explain –with Allah’s aid and His guidance– the following:
Sins have two origins: The abandonment of one of Allah’s commands or the performance of a prohibited act.

These are the two sins that Allah –the Exalted– tested the father of jinn and mankind with.

Both of these two sins can be divided into a further two categories according to which part of the body commits them; either by limbs in an apparent manner or by the heart in a concealed manner.

Based on who it concerns, we can also categorize sin into whether it concerns Allah’s rights or the rights of a created being. The rights of created beings ultimately belong to Allah’s rights and are so-called only because it is down to a human’s decision if they wish to claim or renounce such rights.”[643]

The author –may Allah have mercy upon him– presented another classification for sin, saying:
“Sin can be confined to four categories: kingly, satanic, predatory and bestial.”[644]

What follows is a concise description of each of these categories.
1. Kingly or lordly sins:
when a person assumes some godly attributes, such as greatness, majesty, boasting, power, highness, lordship etc.

These sins are subdivided into many major sins that many humans neglect and do not even consider as being sins – when in reality they are the grave, destructive sins that give birth to most other acts of which disobedience originate from. Among these deadly sins are polytheism and speaking about Allah without knowledge.

2. Devilish sins:
when a person has attributes that resemble the devil, such as: envy, oppression, cheating, spite, deception, plotting, inciting corruption, enjoining sin, forbidding good and demeaning it, innovating in religion, and calling to misguidance.

This category –although less severe– is close to the first in evil.

3. Predatory sins:
this is subdivided into: anger; spilling blood; envy; murder; and being tyrannical and oppressive towards weak and helpless people.

4. Bestial sins:
this is subdivided into: gluttony; rapacity; becoming preoccupied with fulfilling one’s lust and greed which leads to adultery and homosexuality; stealing; devouring the wealth of orphans; miserliness; stinginess; cowardice; panic; fright; and amassing wealth for the purpose of using them to fulfil one’s desires.

This type of sin is the most common among people as they are unable to commit predatory or kingly sins. However, it is through this type that they end up falling into the other types of sin as they lead onto one another. Thus, a person begins by committing bestial sins, then progresses onto predatory sins before progressing onto devilish sins and finally ends up trying to vie with God in His Lordship and in His right to be singled out with worship.[645]

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(641) See: ‘al–Lisan’ (1/389).

(642) See: ‘Mu’jam Mufradat Alfath al–Quran’ (p. 184).

(643) ‘al–Jawab al–Kafi’ of Ibn Al–Qayyim (p. 303).

(644) ibid.

(645) See: ‘Ihya Ulum ad–Din’ (4/16); & ‘Mukhtasar Minhaj al–Qasidin’ of Ibn Qudamah (pp. 276–80); & ‘al–Jawab al–Kafi’ (pp. 304–5).

Section Two: Dividing Sin into Major and Minor Categories
Sin can be categorized into major and minor categories, just as al-Ghazali –may Allah have mercy upon him– wrote: “Know that sin can either be major or venial although this distinction is a matter the people differ regarding, with some claiming that every non-observance of Allah’s laws is a major sin and there is no such thing as major and venial sins.

This opinion is weak as Allah –the Almighty– Himself says:
]إِن تَجۡتَنِبُواْ كَبَآئِرَ مَا تُنۡهَوۡنَ عَنۡهُ نُكَفِّرۡ عَنكُمۡ سَيِّ‍َٔاتِكُمۡ وَنُدۡخِلۡكُم مُّدۡخَلٗا كَرِيمٗا]
Sura an-Nisa; (4):31
]Meaning: If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins and admit you to a noble entrance.]

Likewise, He –the Exalted– says:
]ٱلَّذِينَ يَجۡتَنِبُونَ كَبَٰٓئِرَ ٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَٱلۡفَوَٰحِشَ إِلَّا ٱللَّمَمَۚ]
Sura an-Najm; (54):32
]Meaning: Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only committing slight ones.]

Similarly, the Prophet –peace be upon him– said:
“The five daily prayers, and one Friday prayer to the next Friday prayer expiates the sins committed in-between them, as long as the major sins are avoided.” In a variant wording it mentions: “They are expiations for sins committed between them except the major ones.”[646]

He –peace be upon him– also said in a narration on the authority of Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas may Allah be pleased with both of them–:
“The gravest of major sins are: associating partners with Allah in worship; showing disobedience to one’s parents; murder; and to intentionally take a false oath.”[647]’[648]

Ibn Al-Qayyim –may Allah have mercy upon him– wrote:
“The Quran and Prophetic traditions, as well as the consensus of the Companions and their successors –including the illustrious scholars of Islam– are all unanimous regarding the fact that sin can either be major or minor.”[649]

He –may Allah have mercy upon him– also wrote:
“Those who do not differentiate between major and minor sins say: ‘All sins are major when we consider the doer’s recklessness in disobeying and contradicting the commands of Allah. Thus, when one looks at the One Whose commands are disobeyed and Whose prohibitions are violated, all sins are major and the same from this perspective.”[650]

Ibn Al-Qayyim –after discussing some of the arguments brought by those who see all sin as major– says:
“Polytheism is the worst of injustices while monotheism is the best justice. Therefore, whatever is most discordant with this monotheistic purpose is the gravest of major sins – the severity of a sin being proportional to its discordance with this purpose. In the same way, whatever is most concordant with this purpose is the most important of obligations and the most imperative act of obedience. One should truly reflect regarding this principle and carefully consider its details. This will lead a person to know the reasons behind the commands and prohibitions Allah placed upon His servants as well as why they differ in their levels.”[651]

The topic of exactly what constitutes a major or minor sin is lengthy, but it can be concluded that: Any sin that carries a penalty in this life, or there occurs a threat regarding the Hereafter – then it is from the major sins, while all other sins are minor.[652]

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(646) Reported by Muslim (no. 233).

(647) Reported by al–Bukhari (no. 6656).

(648) See: ‘Ihya Ulum ad–Din’ (4/17).

(649) See: ‘al–Jawab al–Kafi’ (pp. 306).

(650) See: ‘al–Jawab al–Kafi’ (p. 309).

(651) See: ‘al–Jawab al–Kafi’ (p. 312).

(652) This was the view favoured by Shaykh al–Islam Ibn Taymiyyah –may Allah have mercy upon him– in ‘Majmu’ al–Fatawa’ (11/650). He described it as being ‘the best of sayings regarding this matter’ (11/650), also stating: ‘I gave this criterion precedence over the others due to numerous reasons’ after which he went on to mention five reasons for this opinion.

Section Three: The Consequences of Sin, its Harmful Effects, and its Outcomes
Sins and disobedience have harmful and destructive consequences. In addition, they give rise to various punishments –both individual and collective– in this world and the Hereafter.

The harmful effects of sin include deprivation from knowledge and sustenance, desolation a sinner experiences and the isolation from his Lord and from people in general that they feel.

Sin makes daily life more difficult; darkens the face of a person; weakens the body; prevents acts of obedience; shortens one’s lifespan; and makes blessings disappear.

They bring darkness to the heart and cause it to feel constricted. They are also the cause of sadness, heartache, pain, distress, anxiety, uncertainty, weakness and vulnerability.

Sin leads to the performance of more sin and gradually becomes harder to give up. A person’s resolve for repentance weakens until it is completely eliminated from their heart. Eventually a person no longer considers sin evil or vile.

A sinner is cursed and is small in the sight of Allah and the misfortunes that result from sin transcend the sinner, even affecting the people and animals around him.

Sins cause disgrace, in addition to corrupting the intellect and depriving the sinner from the supplication of the Prophet –peace be upon him–, the angels and the believers.

Sins extinguish a person’s jealousy and modesty and also weaken the reverence a person has for their Lord. A sinner is deserving of being forgotten by Allah and left alone with their devil.

Sin causes the sinner to feel afraid, insecure, and worried. Thus, the most frightened of people are the greatest of them in transgression.

Sin also exits a person from the realm of piety and strips him of the garments of piety. It weakens his longing for Allah and for the Hereafter; diminish his worth; seal his heart; debase his rank; strip him of honourable and praiseworthy titles; earn him dishonourable and shameful names; and make him from the needy peoples when before he was from the affluent. It also makes the sinner a target for the devils of mankind and jinn who control him when previously they were afraid of him.

Sinful people live in a state of perpetual frustration and continue to commit a sin until they grow bored, then they move onto another sin, and so on. However, the desires he is unable to satisfy are far more than those he is able to, and consequently, he realizes his inability while his desires grow more severe. This leads to increased frustration and upset.

How cruel the fire that torments the heart of such a person in this life is – long before the one that will engulf their hearts in the Hereafter.

Yet another of the negative effects of sin is its wastage of the most precious and valuable resource –time– which, once it passes, will never return.

In summary:
the hideous outcomes of sin are innumerable as are the benefits of obedience to Allah. What is known –however– is that all good lies in the obedience to Allah and all evil lies in disobedience to Him.[653]

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(653) See: ‘al–Jawab al–Kafi (Spiritual Disease & Its Cure)’ of Ibn Al–Qayyim for further detail. Also see: ‘Tareeq al–Hijratayn’ (pp. 450–4).