Explanation of the Book of Tawhid-33

The Shaykh : Then he said: "And from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:

The biggest of Al-Ka`ba'ir (the great sins) are (1) to join others as partners in worship with Allah

أكبر الكبائر الإشراك بالله

Sahih al-Bukhari 6871

", there is no doubt in this, that associating partners with Allah is the greatest of the major sins, because it is a violation of the greatest of rights, which is the right of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) who created you, prepared for you, and provided for you. No one has bestowed a greater blessing upon you than Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So if you associate partners with Him in His specific right, then this is the greatest of the major sins.
Second: Its explanation has already been given, and it is the continuation of a person in the disobedience of Allah while His blessings are abundant upon him.
As for mercy, the meaning is that a person despairs that Allah will have mercy on him, and he considers the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) unlikely. This is one of the major sins because it entails having a bad opinion of Him (Exalted and Majestic is He).
As for losing hope in the spirit of Allah, we have said that the meaning is a person considering the relief of Allah the Exalted and His guidance unlikely. This is specific to the removal of distress. The statement of Ibn Mas'ud is for the sake of not repeating the speech. Despairing is when a person considers the attainment of the desired thing unlikely, and we resorted to this so that there would be no repetition in the speech of Ibn Mas'ud. So we say: Losing hope in the spirit of Allah is what? Considering the removal of the disliked thing unlikely, and despairing is considering the attainment of the desired thing unlikely. This is in the speech of Ibn Mas'ud so that there is no repetition in his speech. If it is possible to interpret the speech as establishing a new point, that is preferable to interpreting it as an emphasis.
The summary of this chapter now is: that the one traveling to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is afflicted with two things that hinder him from reaching his Lord, and they are: feeling secure from the plot of Allah, and despairing of His mercy. If he is afflicted with hardship, or if the matters he loves become narrow, you will find that if Allah does not rescue him, what takes over him? Despair. He laments and considers relief unlikely and does not strive in its causes. As for the second matter, which is feeling secure from His plot: the person who persists in the disobedience of Allah while He showers blessings upon him, you will find him pleased with himself, and he sees that he is on the right path, and he says: No, if I were not on the right path, Allah would not have showered blessings upon me. Because Allah says So the fact that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) gives me is proof that He is pleased with me. He indicates by his deed to his Lord, and he sees that he is the man who stands by the obedience of Allah and avoids its disobedience. This is correct if the person were in this description, but if he is in the disobedience of Allah, there is no doubt that the blessings are a luring from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and a plot against him.