There is no minor sin while persisting on it

22-12-2008 | IslamWeb

Question:

asalamualykum 1)It is said that "no minor sin is minor if you persist, and no major sin is major if you keep on seeking forgiveness"is there hadeeth from the prophet and evidence from the quran to support this especially i wanted to know for the minor sin,does persisting in minor sins makes it a major sin. 2)is it a major sin if one abuse's others parent's, and 3)Is it a major sin for women to show their hair i know it is a sin but is it a major sin,cz i noticed that during summer season due to heat they often remove the scarfs for some time does that come under heading of major sin 4)kissing and hugging an namehram lady a major or minor sin?? 5)and when prophet Jonah (peace be upon him) left his ummah,is that considered as a sin or as a mistake. thankyou may allah have mercy on you asalamualykum
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

 

The statement “There is no minor sin while persisting on it, and there is no major sin while seeking Allaah’s Forgiveness for it.”, is reported to be said by the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) but with a Dha’eef (weak) chain of narrators. This statement is also said by Ibn ‘Abbaas may Allaah be pleased with him as we mentioned in Fatwa 88207.

However, we are not aware of any evidence in the Book of Allaah or the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) that supports the first part of the sentence “There is no small sin while persisting on it”. However, the scholars may Allaah have mercy upon them have two opinions about persisting on a minor sin. Some of them are of the view that persisting on a minor sin renders it a major sin, and some of them are of the view that persisting on a minor sin is a minor sin; therefore persisting on a sin depends of the ruling of the sin on which one persisted.

Nonetheless, it is confirmed in the authentic Sunnah that the accumulation of minor sins may lead their doer to destruction. This is like a group of people each of whom gathers a stick of wood until they accumulated a heap of sticks, and then they set it on fire. Therefore, a Muslim should repent from minor sins and should avoid persisting on them. As regards the second part of the sentence “there is no major sin while seeking Allaah’s Forgiveness for it”, then its meaning is correct; whoever repents to Allaah and seeks His Forgiveness from major sins, Allaah will forgive him. A Prophetic narration reads: “Whoever repents from sin is like the one who has never committed a sin.”

With regard to doing wrong to a person or to his parents, whether or not it is a major sin, then this depends on the kind of this wrong and the person whom one wronged whether he is a Muslim or a non-Muslim, because it is dissoluteness to insult a Muslim and cursing him is like killing him, and fighting him is Kufr (an act of disbelief) as confirmed in Prophetic narrations. So, some of this kind of wrong doing is a minor sin and some of it is a major sin.

As for a man kissing a non-Mahram woman may be included in minor sins as it is confirmed in the Sunnah that the prayer expiates this sin.

It is known that the prayer expiates minor sins and not major sins, because it is an obligation to repent from the major sin so that they be forgiven.

If a woman reveals her hair in a way that a non-Mahram man can see her, then this is forbidden, but if she is not used to reveal her hair, but she just made a mistake by revealing it because of hot weather for instance in a place where non-Mahram men can see her, then she is sinful by doing so, but we hope that this is not included in the major sins. However, if she always does this and she is used to reveal her hair, then this is included in grave major sins because it is confirmed in the Sunnah that the women who do not cover themselves are cursed. Being cursed is a sign that the sin is a grave major sin, as stated by the scholars may Allaah have mercy upon them.

With regard to what Prophet Jonah (Yoonus) may Allaah exalt his mention did whether it is a sin or a mistake, then Al-Qurtubi may Allaah have mercy upon him when interpreting chapter Al-Anbiyaa’ (Quran 21) about the story of Jonah (Yoonus) may Allaah exalt his mention said: “His act was either a minor sin or neglecting doing what is more appropriate to be done…”, meaning that his sin may be a minor sin and it may be that he did other than what is more appropriate to be done, so it is not considered a sin.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 81433.

Allaah Knows best.

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