Sins in Islam - Major and Minor Sins According to Quran and Hadith

 What is sin in Islam?

 Sin in Islam is an important term in Islamic ethics. Muslims see sin as anything that goes against the commands of Allah (God), a breach of the laws and norms laid down by religion.

 Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. It is believed that Allah weighs an individual�s good deeds and against his or her sins on the Day of Judgement and punishes those individuals whose evil deeds outweigh their good deeds. These individuals are thought to be sentenced to afterlife in the fires of ���� jahannam (Hell).

  Major Sins in Islam

 

 The most heinous sins in Islam are known as al-Kaba'ir which translates to the great or majors one. While every sin is seen as an offense to Allah, the al-Kaba'ir are the gravest of the offenses. Allah�s power is thought to be only eclipsed by his mercy and thus small sins are tacitly understood to be forgiven after repentance. Not every sin is equal however and some are thought to be more spiritually damning than others.
The greatest of the sins described as al-Kaba'ir is the association of others with Allah or shirk. Scholar differ as to how many major sins there are. In contrasting major sins with minor sins (al-sagha'ir), the eighth-century Shafi'i scholar Al-Dhahabi found the hadith collections of Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj listed seven major sins, while the tradition from Abd Allah ibn Abbas stated that there were closer to seventy major sins.

 70 Major Sins in Islam
01. Associating anything with Allah
02. Murder
03. Practicing magic
04. Not Praying
05. Not paying Zakat
06. Not fasting on a Day of Ramadan without excuse
07. Not performing Hajj, while being able to do so
08. Disrespect to parents
09. Abandoning relatives
10. Fornication and Adultery
11. Homosexuality(sodomy)
12. Interest(Riba)
13. Wrongfully consuming the property of an orphan
14. Lying about Allah and His Messenger
15. Running away from the battlefield
16. A leader's deceiving his people and being unjust to them
17. Pride and arrogance
18. Bearing false witness
19. Drinking Khamr (wine)
20. Gambling
21. Slandering chaste women
22. Stealing from the spoils of war
23. Stealing
24. Highway Robbery
25. Taking false oath
26. Oppression
27. Illegal gain
28. Consuming wealth acquired unlawfully
29. Committing suicide
30. Frequent lying
31. Judging unjustly
32. Giving and Accepting bribes
33. Woman's imitating man and man's imitating woman
34. Being cuckold
35. Marrying a divorced woman in order to make her lawful for the husband
36. Not protecting oneself from urine
37. Showing-off
38. Learning knowledge of the religion for the sake of this world and concealing that knowledge
39. Betrayal of trust
40. Recounting favours
41. Denying Allah's Decree
42. Listening (to) people's private conversations
43. Carrying tales
44. Cursing
45. Breaking contracts
46. Believing in fortune-tellers and astrologers
47. A woman's bad conduct towards her husband
48. Making statues and pictures
49. Lamenting, wailing, tearing the clothing, and doing other things of this sort when an affliction befalls
50. Treating others unjustly
51. Overbearing conduct toward the wife, the servant, the weak, and animals
52. Offending one's neighbour
53. Offending and abusing Muslims
54. Offending people and having an arrogant attitude toward them
55. Trailing one's garment in pride
56. Men's wearing silk and gold
57. A slave's running away from his master
58. Slaughtering an animal which has been dedicated to anyone other than Allah
59. To knowingly ascribe one's paternity to a father other than one's own
60. Arguing and disputing violently
61. Witholding excess water
62. Giving short weight or measure
63. Feeling secure from Allah's Plan
64. Offending Allah's righteous friends
65. Not praying in congregation but praying alone without an excuse
66. Persistently missing Friday Prayers without any excuse
67. Unsurping the rights of the heir through bequests
68. Deceiving and plotting evil
69. Spying for the enemy of the Muslims
70. Cursing or insulting any of the Companions of Allah's Messenger

 Some scholars assert that there are seven major sins, based on the following narration (hadith) by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): "Avoid the seven noxious things: associating anything with Allah, magic, killing one whom Allah has declared inviolate without a just case, 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)

 Minor Sins in Islam

Minor sins are acts which are displeasing to Allah but for which no specific punishment or severe warning has been issued. In this case, a Muslim's conscience and heart help him to know that an act is sinful.

 The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which wavers in your heart and which you do not want people to know about." (Muslim)

 Minor sins are not, however, to be taken lightly, as disobeying Allah is always a serious matter. Allah says: �You counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very great.� (Qur'an 24:15)

 Minor sins can easily lead someone to commit a major sin, and repeatedly committing a minor sin will change its status to that of a major sin. Furthermore, habitual sinning causes a Muslim to lose faith and disregard the commandments of Allah. In the Qur'an, Allah says: �Nay, their hearts have been sealed by the sins they have accumulated.� (Qur'an 83:14).

 Forgiveness and Expiation in Islam

 Scholars agree that while good deeds and extra acts of worship help expiate minor sins, they won't compensate for major sins. Instead, a Muslim must make sincere repentance for major sins by showing genuine remorse, praying for Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness, and avoiding that sin in the future.

 Only a person who avoids major sins will have good deeds such as charity, praying, or fasting accepted as expiation for minor sins. Allah says: �If you shun the great sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you to enter an honorable place of entering.� (Qur'an 4: 31)

 Shirk, however, is the one sin which Allah will not forgive. "Verily, Allah forgives not that partners be set up with Him (in worship) but He forgives other than that to whom He pleases; and whoever sets up partners with Allah (in worship), he has indeed invented an enormous wrong." (Qur'an 4:48)

 Remembrance of Allah

 A Muslim should strive at all times to remember Allah, as this helps him refrain from sins of the tongue, heart, mind and hands.

 Let's make sincere repentence from Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala to forgive our  sins which we were not aware of. We should also pray that Allah SWT save us from committing the major sins. Last but not least, we all should strive to do as much Zikr (Remembrance of Allah) as possible to draw close to the Almighty Allah. Insha Allah and Aameen!