Explanation of the Book of Tawhid-33
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The Shaykh :"And from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) Bulugh al-Maram 5:31" Good, and in this verse are the benefits we have taken from it.
[Al-Hijr 15:56] Does it affirm mercy for Allah or not? It is a true attribute in the manner befitting Allah, and its meaning is not kindness or His will, or the will to do kindness, but rather kindness and the will to do kindness are among the effects of mercy.
He said: "And from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father)Bulugh al-Maram 5:31". The major sins is the plural of major sin, and what is meant by it are the major transgressions. This question indicates that sins are divided into minor and major sins, and the Book of Allah also indicates this, where Allah the Exalted said: [An-Najm 53:32], and He the Exalted and Majestic said: [An-Nisa 4:31], and there is no doubt in this matter that sins are divided into two categories: major and minor. And the major sins themselves are not all of the same degree; some are greater than others. Here there is a genus and here there is a species. The genus is that transgressions, in general, are of two types: major and minor. The species is that some major sins are greater than others, and some minor sins are smaller than others.
Good, the scholars differed regarding the major sins: are they limited or counted? Some of them said they are counted, and he would count them and track down the texts that mention the major sins, and write down what has been reported as a major sin. And some scholars said they are limited by a definition, not by a number. I saw a statement from the Shaykh al-Islam in which he defined them, and he said: "Every sin for which a specific punishment is prescribed is among the major sins", whether that punishment is in this world or in the Hereafter, and whether the punishment is by the loss of something praiseworthy or the occurrence of something blameworthy. The important thing is that every sin for which a specific punishment is prescribed is among the major sins. And this is very broad, because it includes many sins. The point of what he said, may Allah have mercy on him, is that he says: Transgressions are of two types. One type is merely prohibited, and no warning is mentioned regarding it, so the punishment for this comes in the general sense of punishments; one is punished with a general punishment. And this is a transgression that is expiated, is it not? It is expiated by performing acts of obedience, as came in the authentic hadith:Mishkat al-Masabih 564, and as also came in Sahih Muslim 1349a, and likewise in wudu', Allah expiates the sins through it, and other such things. We consider these what? Minor sins. As for what has a specific punishment prescribed for it, such as the doer being cursed, or it being mentioned that Allah is angry with him, or there being a hudud punishment in this world, or there being a disavowal of the doer, or faith being negated from him, or something similar to that, the important thing is that a specific punishment is mentioned for it, then it is considered among the major sins. But the major sins differ, some being greater than others. Some are major sins of obscenity, and some are major sins less than that. This is the major sin.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the major sins, and the one asking about the major sins, my brothers, does not intend merely to know what the major sin is; his intention is to know it in order to avoid it. This is in contrast to the state of many people today who ask about things for the sake of knowledge only, and therefore the blessing of their knowledge has decreased, because they do not want anything but to know it theoretically, whereas practically and in application, this is very little in many people today. And they are as Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "They are readers, not jurists". There are many readers, but few jurists. So the Companions would ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about matters in order to act upon them: if it was a request, they would do it, and if it was a prohibition, they would avoid it.
So he said (peace and blessings be upon him): even the provision of your mother and father for you, where does it come from? From Allah the Exalted and Majestic. He is the one who provided you with this. Eating, drinking, clothing, and dwelling, all of that is from Allah. He is the one who provided you with it. So creation, preparation, and provision are all from Allah, and it is the origin...
"The servant is to be feared regarding two ugly traits. One of them is that fear takes hold of him until he despairs of the mercy of Allah and His spirit. The second is that hope carries him along until he feels secure from the scheme and punishment of Allah. And whoever reaches this state has neglected the obligation of fear and hope, which are among the greatest principles of tawhid (the oneness of Allah)... " The last one is the one that contains the benefit. "And despairing of the mercy of Allah and despairing of His spirit... are two things to be avoided. One of them is that the servant transgresses against himself and becomes bold with the prohibitions and persists in them, and resolves to remain in sin, and cuts off his hope from the mercy of Allah, because he is persisting in the causes that prevent mercy. So he continues like that until this becomes a description and a necessary trait for him. And this is the ultimate goal of Shaytan regarding the servant. And when he reaches this limit, no good will return to him except through sincere repentance and abandoning his statement. The second is that the fear of the servant becomes strong due to the crimes his hands have committed, and his hope in Allah from the vastness of mercy and forgiveness becomes weak. And he thinks, in his ignorance, that Allah will not forgive him and will not have mercy on him even if he repents and turns back. And his will becomes weak and he despairs of mercy. And this is among the harmful dangers that arise from the weakness of the servant's knowledge of his Lord and what rights He has, and from the weakness of the self and its incapacity and baseness. If he knew his Lord and did not persist in laziness, he would know that the least effort would lead him to his Lord and to His mercy, His existence, and His generosity.
And feeling secure from the scheme of Allah also has two destructive causes. One of them is that the servant turns away from the religion and is heedless of knowing his Lord and what rights He has, and he is negligent regarding that. So he continues to be turned away, heedless, and negligent of the obligations, immersed in the prohibitions, until the fear of Allah vanishes from his heart, and nothing of faith remains in his heart, because faith leads to the fear of Allah and the fear of His punishment...
The second cause is that the servant is a worshipper who is ignorant, proud of himself, and deluded by his deeds. So his ignorance continues with him until he becomes arrogant with his deeds and the fear leaves him. And he sees that he has high stations with Allah, so he becomes secure from the scheme of Allah, relying on his weak, base self. And from here, he is stripped of success and it is prevented from him, for he is the one who has wronged himself. And with this detail, you know... ".
Good, what is the ruling on despairing of the mercy of Allah? Which of the categories is it, minor or major sins?
The student: It is a major sin.
The Shaykh : It is among the major sins.
Good, the result and outcome of despairing of the spirit of Allah is that the person becomes despondent and does not work the beneficial causes, because he is despairing. Therefore, if despair takes hold of him, may Allah protect us, he stands in his place and does not advance in good, nor does he try to get rid of evil. But if a person has strong hope and works the causes, much good will be attained for him.
As for feeling secure from the scheme of Allah, its result is that the person continues in his sin and in his negligence of the obligations, because he is secure that Allah the Exalted and Majestic will not scheme against him, so you find him persisting in what he is doing.
So the difference between them is that the first is one who despairs of the mercy of Allah the Exalted, is despondent, and is ignorant of his Lord. And the second is also one who is arrogant with his Lord regarding his deeds, proud of them, seeing that these blessings were given to him by Allah because he is worthy of them, and not... by that. So both matters, without doubt, are contrary to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), because it is a bad opinion of Allah the Exalted and Majestic or ignorance of Him, and both are contrary to tawhid.
And I think we read the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas?
The student: Not completely, only part of it.
The Shaykh : Yes? He was asked about the major sins, and he said: And the apparent meaning is that it means minor and major shirk, because minor shirk is greater than the major sins. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I would rather swear by Allah falsely than swear by other than Him truthfully", and that is because the evil of shirk is greater than the evil of lying. So this indicates that shirk is among the major sins absolutely.
And shirk (associating partners with Allah) includes shirk in His lordship, or in His divinity, or in His names and attributes.
The second: The spirit is close in meaning to mercy, and it is relief and success. A person despairs of the spirit of Allah, meaning: from His relief and success. So you find him despondent, not turning to his Lord nor asking Him, because he is despairing, may Allah protect us. And despair is not accompanied by action, so it is among the major sins, because it results in bad matters.
Thirdly: such that the person remains in disobedience to his Lord while ... Him with His blessings [Al-A'raf 7:182-183], so the important point is that feeling secure from the stratagem of Allah is among the major sins. These are three.
And regarding His saying like this, the apparent answer and question indicate that this is by way of restriction, but that is not the case, because there are major sins other than these. However, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) answers every questioner with what suits his condition. Perhaps he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that this questioner had some feeling of security from the stratagem of Allah, or despair of the mercy of Allah, so he wanted to clarify that to him. This is a matter that a person should be alert to when ... the Shari'ah texts that appear to contradict each other, where each one is understood in the context of the appropriate situation, so that there is no contradiction in the speech of Allah and His Messenger, and each thing is understood in its own context.
So if someone says: Are the major sins more than these? We say yes, but the Messenger (may Allah be pleased with him) may answer the questioner according to what his condition requires.
Abu Qatadah Al-Ansari (RAA) narrated, ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about fasting on the day of Arafah (the 9th of the month of Dhul Hijjah). He replied, "Fasting on the day of Arafah is an expiation for the preceding year and the following year.” He was also asked about fasting on the day of Ashura (the 10th of the month of Muharram). He replied, “Fasting on the day of Ashura is an expiation for the preceding year.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was also asked about fasting on Monday, and he replied, "This is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was sent (with the Message of Islam) and the day on which I received revelation." Related by Muslim.
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سئل عن الكبائرAnd who despairs of the mercy of his Lord
ومن يقنط من رحمة ربهHe said: "And from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father)
Abu Qatadah Al-Ansari (RAA) narrated, ‘The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about fasting on the day of Arafah (the 9th of the month of Dhul Hijjah). He replied, "Fasting on the day of Arafah is an expiation for the preceding year and the following year.” He was also asked about fasting on the day of Ashura (the 10th of the month of Muharram). He replied, “Fasting on the day of Ashura is an expiation for the preceding year.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was also asked about fasting on Monday, and he replied, "This is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was sent (with the Message of Islam) and the day on which I received revelation." Related by Muslim.
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سئل عن الكبائرThose who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones
الذين يجتنبون كبائر الإثم والفواحش إلا اللممIf you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins
إن تجتنبوا كبائر ما تنهون عنه نكفر عنكم سيئاتكمGood, the scholars differed regarding the major sins: are they limited or counted? Some of them said they are counted, and he would count them and track down the texts that mention the major sins, and write down what has been reported as a major sin. And some scholars said they are limited by a definition, not by a number. I saw a statement from the Shaykh al-Islam in which he defined them, and he said: "Every sin for which a specific punishment is prescribed is among the major sins", whether that punishment is in this world or in the Hereafter, and whether the punishment is by the loss of something praiseworthy or the occurrence of something blameworthy. The important thing is that every sin for which a specific punishment is prescribed is among the major sins. And this is very broad, because it includes many sins. The point of what he said, may Allah have mercy on him, is that he says: Transgressions are of two types. One type is merely prohibited, and no warning is mentioned regarding it, so the punishment for this comes in the general sense of punishments; one is punished with a general punishment. And this is a transgression that is expiated, is it not? It is expiated by performing acts of obedience, as came in the authentic hadith:
The five [daily] prayers, Friday to Friday and Ramadan to Ramadan make atonement for what has happened since the previous one when major sins have been avoided
الصلوات الخمس والجمعة إلى الجمعة ورمضان إلى رمضان كفارة لما بينهن ما اجتنبت الكبائرAn Umra is an expiation for the sins committed between it and the next
العمرة إلى العمرة كفارة لما بينهماThe Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the major sins, and the one asking about the major sins, my brothers, does not intend merely to know what the major sin is; his intention is to know it in order to avoid it. This is in contrast to the state of many people today who ask about things for the sake of knowledge only, and therefore the blessing of their knowledge has decreased, because they do not want anything but to know it theoretically, whereas practically and in application, this is very little in many people today. And they are as Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "They are readers, not jurists". There are many readers, but few jurists. So the Companions would ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about matters in order to act upon them: if it was a request, they would do it, and if it was a prohibition, they would avoid it.
So he said (peace and blessings be upon him):
associating partners with Allah
الشرك بالله"The servant is to be feared regarding two ugly traits. One of them is that fear takes hold of him until he despairs of the mercy of Allah and His spirit. The second is that hope carries him along until he feels secure from the scheme and punishment of Allah. And whoever reaches this state has neglected the obligation of fear and hope, which are among the greatest principles of tawhid (the oneness of Allah)... " The last one is the one that contains the benefit. "And despairing of the mercy of Allah and despairing of His spirit... are two things to be avoided. One of them is that the servant transgresses against himself and becomes bold with the prohibitions and persists in them, and resolves to remain in sin, and cuts off his hope from the mercy of Allah, because he is persisting in the causes that prevent mercy. So he continues like that until this becomes a description and a necessary trait for him. And this is the ultimate goal of Shaytan regarding the servant. And when he reaches this limit, no good will return to him except through sincere repentance and abandoning his statement. The second is that the fear of the servant becomes strong due to the crimes his hands have committed, and his hope in Allah from the vastness of mercy and forgiveness becomes weak. And he thinks, in his ignorance, that Allah will not forgive him and will not have mercy on him even if he repents and turns back. And his will becomes weak and he despairs of mercy. And this is among the harmful dangers that arise from the weakness of the servant's knowledge of his Lord and what rights He has, and from the weakness of the self and its incapacity and baseness. If he knew his Lord and did not persist in laziness, he would know that the least effort would lead him to his Lord and to His mercy, His existence, and His generosity.
And feeling secure from the scheme of Allah also has two destructive causes. One of them is that the servant turns away from the religion and is heedless of knowing his Lord and what rights He has, and he is negligent regarding that. So he continues to be turned away, heedless, and negligent of the obligations, immersed in the prohibitions, until the fear of Allah vanishes from his heart, and nothing of faith remains in his heart, because faith leads to the fear of Allah and the fear of His punishment...
The second cause is that the servant is a worshipper who is ignorant, proud of himself, and deluded by his deeds. So his ignorance continues with him until he becomes arrogant with his deeds and the fear leaves him. And he sees that he has high stations with Allah, so he becomes secure from the scheme of Allah, relying on his weak, base self. And from here, he is stripped of success and it is prevented from him, for he is the one who has wronged himself. And with this detail, you know... ".
Good, what is the ruling on despairing of the mercy of Allah? Which of the categories is it, minor or major sins?
The student: It is a major sin.
The Shaykh : It is among the major sins.
Good, the result and outcome of despairing of the spirit of Allah is that the person becomes despondent and does not work the beneficial causes, because he is despairing. Therefore, if despair takes hold of him, may Allah protect us, he stands in his place and does not advance in good, nor does he try to get rid of evil. But if a person has strong hope and works the causes, much good will be attained for him.
As for feeling secure from the scheme of Allah, its result is that the person continues in his sin and in his negligence of the obligations, because he is secure that Allah the Exalted and Majestic will not scheme against him, so you find him persisting in what he is doing.
So the difference between them is that the first is one who despairs of the mercy of Allah the Exalted, is despondent, and is ignorant of his Lord. And the second is also one who is arrogant with his Lord regarding his deeds, proud of them, seeing that these blessings were given to him by Allah because he is worthy of them, and not... by that. So both matters, without doubt, are contrary to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), because it is a bad opinion of Allah the Exalted and Majestic or ignorance of Him, and both are contrary to tawhid.
And I think we read the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas?
The student: Not completely, only part of it.
The Shaykh : Yes? He was asked about the major sins, and he said:
associating partners with Allah
الشرك باللهAnd shirk (associating partners with Allah) includes shirk in His lordship, or in His divinity, or in His names and attributes.
The second:
Despair of the mercy of Allah
اليأس من روح اللهThirdly:
Feeling secure from the stratagem of Allah
الأمن من مكر الله(182) But those who deny Our signs - We will progressively lead them [to destruction] from where they do not know. (183) And I will give them time. Indeed, my plan is firm.
والذين كفروا سنستدرجهم من حيث لا يعلمون وأملي لهم إن كيدي متينAnd regarding His saying
He was asked about the major sins and he said
سئل عن الكبائر فقالSo if someone says: Are the major sins more than these? We say yes, but the Messenger (may Allah be pleased with him) may answer the questioner according to what his condition requires.