What are the major sins among sins, what are the minor sins, and what is the meaning of al-lamm?
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The questioner : What are the major sins among sins, what are the minor sins, and what is the meaning of al-lamm?
The Shaykh : The major sins are those for which a specific punishment is prescribed, meaning that it is not limited to mere prohibition or forbiddance, but a specific punishment must be attached, such as saying: "Whoever does this is not a believer" or "he is not one of us" or the like. These are the major sins.
And the minor sins are the forbidden acts for which there is no specific punishment.
As for al-lamm in the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Najm 53:32], it was said that its meaning is: "except for the minor sins," and on this view, the exception is disconnected. It was also said: "except for al-lamm," meaning: except for a small amount of the major sins.
In any case, a person must repent to Allah from every sin he has committed, whether it is small or large, because a person does not know when death will overtake him suddenly, so he must hasten to repent to Allah from every sin.
The Shaykh : The major sins are those for which a specific punishment is prescribed, meaning that it is not limited to mere prohibition or forbiddance, but a specific punishment must be attached, such as saying: "Whoever does this is not a believer" or "he is not one of us" or the like. These are the major sins.
And the minor sins are the forbidden acts for which there is no specific punishment.
As for al-lamm in the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones
الذين يجتنبون كبائر الإثم والفواحش إلا اللممIn any case, a person must repent to Allah from every sin he has committed, whether it is small or large, because a person does not know when death will overtake him suddenly, so he must hasten to repent to Allah from every sin.