Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And those who avoid major sins and shameful deeds. And when they are angry, they forgive.”

The Shaykh : The saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): It is explicitly stated that it is conjoined to it so that one does not think that the waw here is for starting a new sentence. Accordingly, this is a case of conjoining attributes, not conjoining entities. Those who responded to their Lord are those who believed and upon their Lord they rely. Is there a parallel to this, i.e., conjoining descriptions to a single described entity? The answer is: many. Allah the Exalted said: His saying: is not something else, but it is the first one. So this is a case of conjoining attributes, not entities. If you say: “Zayd, ‘Amr, Bakr, and Khalid stood up,” this is a case of conjoining entities because the second is not the first. And if you say: “Zayd, the noble, the generous, and the brave came,” this is a case of conjoining attributes because the second is the first, but the attribute differs. So conjoining is of two types: conjoining entities and conjoining attributes. In the verses with us:
“Kabair” is the plural of “kabirah” (major sin). So what is a major sin? It is what the Shari'ah has mentioned as a major sin; then it is a major sin. Like the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Abu Bakrah: They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: Here it is explicitly stated that it is a major sin. As for what the Shari'ah has not explicitly stated, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding the definition of a major sin. The closest thing is what Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) chose, saying: “A major sin is that for which a specific punishment is established” meaning that which is singled out with a punishment. That is because prohibitions are divided into two categories: a category where the prohibition or forbiddance or something similar is mentioned, but no punishment is mentioned; and another category where the punishment is mentioned. He says: What is mentioned with a specific punishment is a major sin. If a curse is established for a sin, like His saying: What is it? It is a major sin because a specific punishment, which is the curse, is established for it. If anger is established for it, it is a major sin, like the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the woman whose husband sleeps in anger with her: This is a major sin. If it is said: it is a major sin. What is established for it? Disavowal is established for it: “He is not from us.” Similarly, it is a major sin because a specific punishment is established for it. It is a major sin because the negation of faith is established for it. So is a major sin defined or counted? It is defined, meaning it is known by its definition, not by counting. The best that has been said about it is what Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) chose, that a major sin is that for which a specific punishment is established. And His saying: in the accusative case is conjoined to “kabair,” meaning: and they avoid shameful deeds.