Class 1 – Introduction to the Prohibitions-Major Sins

Class 1

‘Introduction to the Prohibitions & Major Sins’

Prohibitions set by Allah S.W.T.

Praise be to Allah; we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomever Allah leaves astray, no-one will guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Alone, with no partners or associates, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has laid down obligations which we are not permitted to ignore, and has set limits which we are not permitted to transgress, and has set out prohibitions which we are not allowed to violate.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whatever Allah has permitted in His Book is allowed, and whatever He has prohibited is forbidden; whatever He has remained silent about is a concession, so accept the concession of Allah, for Allah is never forgetful.” Then he recited the ayah: “. . . and your Lord is never forgetful” [Maryam 19:64]. (Reported by al-Hakim, 2/375; classified as hasan by al-Albaani in Ghaayat al-Maraam, p. 14)

Allah has issued a threat to the one who transgresses His set limits and violates His prohibitions, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment.” [al-Nisaa’ 4:14]

Avoiding that which has been forbidden is a duty, because the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whatever you have been prohibited to do, avoid it, and whatever you have been commanded to do, do as much of it as you can.” (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-fadaa’il, hadeeth no. 130, Abd al-Baaqi edition).

It is well-known that some of those who follow their desires, who are weak at heart and have little knowledge, become irritated when they hear lists of prohibitions. They grumble and mutter, “Everything is haram, you haven’t left us anything that is not forbidden! You make our lives boring and miserable. You don’t talk about anything but what is haram, but religion is supposed to easy, not strict, and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

In response to such remarks, we say:

Allah, may He be glorified, rules as He wills and there is none to put back His judgement. He is All-Wise and Aware, and He allows whatever He wills and forbids whatever He wills, may He be glorified. One of the basic principles of our being His slaves is that we should accept whatever He decrees and submit fully to it. His rulings stem from His knowledge, wisdom and justice, and are not the matter of frivolity or foolish whims, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can change His words. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” [al-An’aam 6:115]

Allah has explained to us the governing principle behind the allowing and prohibiting of various things (interpretation of the meaning):

. . . He allows them as lawful al-tayyibaat [(i.e., all good and lawful) as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.], and prohibits them as unlawful al-khabaa’ith (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the most serious of the major sins?’ three times. We said, ‘Of course, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘Associating anything in worship with Allah . . .’”

(Agreed upon; see al-Bukhari, no. 2511, al-Bagha edition).

Major & Minor Sins

Major sins are defined as what is forbidden by Allah and His Messenger in the Qur’an and the Sunnah in addition to what is narrated on the authority of early Muslims. Allah, the Most high, promises whoever avoids the major sins to expiate his minor sins.

Allah, the Almighty says,  “If ye (but) eschew the most heinous of the things which ye are forbidden to do, we shall remit your evil  deeds, and admit you to a gate of great honour”.  (An-Nisaa :31) 

 In this text, Allah, the Most High, also promises whoever avoids the major sins to admit him to Paradise.  Allah, the Almighty says,  {Those who avoid the greater sins and indecencies, and when they are angry even they forgive;}  (Ash-Shura:37)

The Qur’an also states, {Those who avoid great sins and indecent deeds, save lesser offences, verily thy Lord is ample in forgiveness.}  (An Najm:32)

Major sins are those which appear by name in the Qur’an or hadith as the subject of an explicit threat of punishment, prescribed legal penalty, or curse.

Minor sins may be forgiven from prayer to prayer, from one Friday prayer to another, and so forth, as there many acts and deeds through which minor sins are forgiven.

 The Prophet ﷺ said, “The five prescribed Prayers, and from one Friday Prayer to another and from Ramadan to another entail forgiveness for what is between them as long as you do not commit the major sins.” Reported by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzaymah and Ahmed.

We are obliged to learn about what the major sins are, so that Muslims may avoid them. We have to bear in mind that some major sins are most heinous than another. This is because the Prophet ﷺ has enlisted Shirk (worshipping others with Allah) though a polytheist will suffer eternal torture in Fire and will never be forgiven.

We will first study the 70 Major Sins mentioned in the book “Al Kaba’ir (Major Sins)” by  “Imam Shamsu ed-Deen Dhahabi” and then study some more mentioned in the book “Prohibitions taken lightly”’ by “Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid”.

The 70 Major Sins mentioned by Imam Shamsu ed-Deen Dhahabi: –

  1. Ascribing Associates To Allah, The Most High (Shirk)
  2. Killing A Human Being 
  3. Sorcery
  4. Not Performing the Prayer
  5. Not Paying Zakat
  6. Breaking One’s Fast During Ramadan Without an Excuse
  7. Not Performing the Hajj When Able to
  8. Showing Disrespect to One’s Parents
  9. Severing the Ties of One’s Relatives
  10. Adultery
  11. Sodomy
  12. Accepting Usurious Gain
  13. Wrong Consuming an Orphan’s Property
  14. Lying About the Prophet
  15. Fleeing From the Battlefield
  16. The Leader Who Misleads His Followers, the Tyrant and the Oppressor
  17. Arrogance, Pride, Conceit, Vanity and Haughtiness
  18. Bearing False Witness
  19. Drinking Alcohol
  20. Gambling (Qimar)
  21. Accusing a Woman of Adultery
  22. Misappropriating Spoils of War, Muslim Funds or Zakat
  23. Theft
  24. Highwaymen Who Menace the Road
  25. The Engulfing Oath
  26. Taking People’s Property Through Falsehood
  27. Collecting Taxes
  28. The Consumption of Haram
  29. Suicide
  30. Telling Lies
  31. The Dishonest Judge
  32. Bribery
  33. Women Imitating Men and Vice Versa
  34. The Pimp and the One Who Permits His Wife To Fornicate
  35. Marrying Solely to Return to the Previous Husband
  36. Not Freeing Oneself of All Traces of Urine
  37. Showing off in Good Work
  38. Learning Sacred Knowledge for the Sake of this World or Concealing It
  39. Breach of Faith
  40. Reminding Recipients of One’s Charity to Them
  41. Disbelieving in Destiny
  42. Listening to the People’s Private Conversations
  43. The Talebearer Who Stirs Up Enmity Between People
  44. Cursing Others
  45. Breaking One’s Promise or Pledge
  46. Believing Fortune-tellers and Astrologers
  47. A Wife’s Rebellion Against Her Husband
  48. Picture-making
  49. Loudly Lamenting For the Dead or When Afflicted With an Adversity
  50. Excess Against Others
  51. Overburdening and Arrogance Against Others
  52. Hurting One’s Neighbour
  53. Hurting or Reviling Muslims
  54. Harming the Servants of Allah
  55. Dragging the Hem of One’s Garment Out of Conceit
  56. Men Wearing Silk or Gold
  57. Fleeing of the Slave
  58. Slaughtering in Other Than Allah’s Name
  59. Falsely Claiming Someone is One’s Father
  60. Arguing, Picking Apart Another’s Words, and Quarrelling
  61. Withholding Excess Water From Others
  62. Stinting When Weighing or Measuring Out Goods and Similar Merchandise
  63. Feeling Secure From Allah’s Devising
  64. Despairing of the Mercy of Allah and Losing of Hope
  65. Forgoing the Congregational Prayer to Pray Alone Without A Legal Excuse
  66. Constantly Missing the Friday and Congregational Prayer Without A Valid Excuse
  67. Bringing Loss to the Bequest
  68. Deception and Evil Schemes
  69. Spying on the Muslims and Revealing Their Weaknesses
  70. Disparaging the Companions of the Prophet