Righteous Deeds: Kaffarah کَفَارَہ of Minor Sins

Kaffarah is what makes amends, expiation. So the meaning is that righteous deeds will be taken as Kaffarah for minor sins which will thus be written off, resulting in reward instead of punishment and Paradise instead of Hell. This is in accordance with authentic ahadith where it has been stated that when a person makes wudu for salah, the act of washing each part of his body becomes the Kaffarah for sins; the washing of the face becomes the Kaffarah for sins committed by the eye, the ear, the nose; gargling becomes the Kaffarah for the sins of the tongue; washing feet a washes way the sins of the feet - and when he walks towards the masjid, every step he takes brings with it the Kaffarah of sins.

Major Sins are forgiven by Taubah تَوبَہ alone

From the verse, we find that the expiation of sins through righteous deeds such as wudu, salah and the rest, which appear in ahadith, concerns minor sins. As for major sins, they are not forgiven without Taubah (Repentance); and for minor sins, the condition is that one should have made the effort to stay away and remain safe from major sins. This leaves us with a note of warning - if someone, while staying involved in major sins, goes on performing his wudu' and salah, then this wudu' and salah and other righteous deeds will not at all expiate for even his minor sins, let alone the major ones. It is a warning that when a person appears on the fateful Day of Resurrection, carrying the heavy burden of his major and minor sins, he will find no helping hand to make his burden any lighter.

It will be recalled that some major sins were mentioned in the previous verses alongwith the warning of severe punishment for those who commit them. It is a peculiar style of the Holy Qur'an that when it warns of punishment against a sin, it is generally followed by some aspect of persuasion towards obedience.

In the present verse too, a particular Divine reward has been mentioned and people have been persuaded to acquire it by staying away from major sins, in which case, Allah Almighty will forgive their minor sins on His own. Thus, cleansed of all sins, major and minor, one could look forward to entering the home of honour and peace, the garden of Paradise.

The two kinds of sins

This verse tells us that there are two kinds of sins. Some of them are kabirah, that is, major sins; others are saghirah صغیرہ ، (termed as Saiyyat, in this verse) that is, minor sins. He, who musters enough courage and succeeds in staying away from major sins, has been given a promise by Allah Almighty that He will forgive his minor sins on His own.

Now, the act of staying away from major sins also includes the act of fulfilling all obligations (fard and wajib) because neglecting or abandoning obligations is a major sin in itself. Thus, we come to the conclusion that if one dutifully fulfills all obligations and succeeds in saving himself from all major sins, Allah Almighty will overlook his minor sins.

Defining Major and Minor Sins

The word, "Kaba'ir" used in the verse is the plural of 'kabirah' meaning 'major sins.' Before we proceed further, we should understand the nature and identification of 'major sins'. Also, we should know the definition of minor sins, and their number. Being an impor-tant subject, scholars of the Muslim community have devoted regular books to throw light on this subject from various angles.

Let us, first of all, realize that sin, in the absolute sense, is the name of an act which is against the command and the will of Allah Almighty. Starting from this particular point, you will be able to see that the sin known as 'saghirah' or, technically, a minor sin, is, in fact, no minor sin for that matter. To disobey Allah Almighty and to oppose His will is, invariably, a grave crime. Therefore, based on this view, a large number of scholars of the Muslim community have ruled that every disobedience of Allah and every opposition to His will is nothing but 'kabirah' or major sin. The distinction between 'kabirah' and 'saghirah', major and minor sins, is made only when these are compared to each other. It is in this sense that the blessed Companion, Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has been reported to have said: کُل ما نھی عنہ فھو کبیر which means that 'Any act forbidden by the Shari’ ah is a major sin.

In short, a sin which is technically known as minor does not mean that people should go about indulging in it neglectfully, indolently or just ignore it as something ordinary. On the contrary, the fact is that a minor sin, if done with nerve or heedlessness, does not remain minor anymore - it becomes a major sin. A good example of a major and a minor sin, as given by some sage, is that of a small scorpion and a big scorpion, or that of a large ember and a tiny spark, for man cannot bear the pain given by any of these. Therefore, Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi said that the greatest act of worship offered for Allah is to give up sins. The ` ibadah or worship by people, who offer prayers and remember Allah, yet do not give up sins, is not accepted. The famous mystic, Fudayl ibn 'Ayad said: 'The lighter you take a sin to be, the greater it will become with Allah as a crime.' The most righteous elders of the Muslim community used to say: Every sin is a courier of kufr which invites people to manners and morals typical of disbelievers.

According to the Musnad of Ahmad, Sayyidna ` A'ishah ؓ wrote a letter to Sayyidna Mu` awiyah ؓ which she said that a servant of Allah who disobeys Allah Almighty finds his fans become fault-finders, and friends turn into enemies. Heedlessness towards sins is the cause of man's permanent ruination. It appears in an authentic hadith that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: When a true believer falls in sin, a black dot appears on his heart. If, after that, he repents and seeks forgiveness from Allah, this dot disappears. If he does not repent, this dot keeps on increasing, so much so that it covers his whole heart. In the Qur'an, the name given to this dot is 'rayn', as in كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَ‌انَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ that is, their evil deeds have rusted their hearts - 83:14.

However, it is necessary that there be a method to distinguish between sins in terms of corruption they cause, evil results they bring and harmful outcome they produce. Thus, it is because of this need to differentiate that a certain sin is called 'major' and a certain other 'minor'.

Major Sins

The definition of 'kaba'ir', as indicated in the Qur'an and Hadith and as explained by the most revered elders, is that a sin on which a Hadd or punishment has been prescribed in the Qur'an and/or Sunnah to be enforced in this present life or on which words of curse or la'nah have appeared, or on which stern warning of Hell has been mentioned, are all major sins. Similarly, every sin the evil outcome of which is equal to or more than a major sin shall be counted as a major sin. Also, a sin done with a rebellious attitude or done as a permanent habit is also included in the major sins.

Someone said before Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that the number of major sins was seven. He said: 'Not seven. Say seven hundred, which is better.' In his book Al-Zawajir, Imam Ibn Hajr al-Makki (رح) has given a list of all such sins with their full explanations, sins which are included under kaba` ir in accordance with the definition given above. The number of major sins listed in his book reaches upto four hundred and sixty seven. The truth of the matter is that some scholars have considered it sufficient to count prominent major sins only and thus the number they have come up with is lower. Others who went in details and dealt with all divisions and subdivisions of the subject came up with a higher number. Therefore, this is not much of a contradiction. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has himself pointed to many sins as being major. Then, as appropriate under given circumstances, he has also named them in threes and sixes and sevens or even more elsewhere. From this, the scholars of the Muslim community came to the conclusion that the purpose is not to determine any particular number as a universal statement. Rather, each number mentioned in a hadith relates to particular occasions or circumstances where that particular number was deemed appropriate in the given situation.

In a hadith of al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: I warn you against the top ones from among the major sins. They are three in number - to associate a created being as a partner in the divinity of Allah, to disobey parents and to give false witness or to lie. In yet another narration of al-Bukhari and Muslim, it has been reported that someone asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ as to what could be the greatest of all sins. He said: 'That you ascribe partners to Allah although He has created you.' He was then asked as to the greatest of all sins after that. He said: 'That you kill your child for fear of his sharing in your sustenance and that you will have to feed him.' He was again asked as to the greatest of all sins after that. He said: 'Committing adultery with the wife of your neighbour.' Since the protection of the family of a neighbour is the responsibility of all human beings very much like the protection of one's own family, therefore, the gravity of this crime becomes twofold.

According to yet another hadith reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'That someone uses abusive language for his parents is also one of the major sins.' Surprised, the noble Companions who asked: '0 Messenger of Allah, how is it possible that someone starts using abusive language against his very own parents?' He said: 'Yes. A person abuses the parents of another person as a result of which the later abuses the parents of the former. This too is as if he had abused his own parents, because he was the one who became the cause of those abuses.'

As in a narration of Sahib a1-Bukhari, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has counted - shirk (ascribing partners to Allah), unjust killing, eating up of the property of an orphan by false means, devouring income from interest, deserting the battlefield of jihad, false accusation against chaste women, disobedience to parents and the desecration of the Holy Ka'bah - among major sins. In some hadith narrations, the eventuality - that a person winds up living in a country of disbelievers (dar al-kufr) and emigrates to a country of believers (dar al-Islam), but later, leaves the country to which he has migrated and goes back to live into the country of disbelievers - has also been ruled as a major sin.

There are other narrations of ahadith where some of the forms of behaviour cited below have been included in the list of major sins, such as, taking a false oath, holding back water in excess of one's need and refusing to share it with those who need it, to learn magic, and to practice magic. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said, 'Drinking is the greatest of major sins'; he also said: 'Drinking is the mother of all shameful deeds,' because once drunk, man can fall into any conceivable evil. There is another hadith where he said: 'The gravest major sin is that one imputes to his Muslim brother a fault which stains his character.' According to one hadith, one who brackets two salahs (time-bound prescribed prayers) at one time without an excuse approved by the Shari’ ah has committed a major sin. It means that he did not perform a salah at the time it was due, but performed it as qada (missed) prayer along with another salah. Some ahadith narrations declare that losing hope in the mercy of Allah Almighty is also a major sin; and so it will be in the event if one becomes careless or daring enough to forget all about His punishment and retribution. Another narration rules that making a will to bring loss to an inheritor or to reduce his share in the inheritance is also one of the major sins.

And it appears in a narration from the Sahib of Muslim that the Holy Prophet once spoke the words: 'Destitutes, losers, they are ruined.' He repeated this three times. Sayyidna Abu Dharr al Ghifari ؓ asked: '0 Messenger of Allah, who are these unfortunate people?' He replied: 'One: a person who lets his trouser or wrap or shirt or robe hang all the way down below his ankles; two: one who spends something in the way of Allah, then publicizes his favour; three: one who, inspite of his old age, indulges in shameful deeds; four: one who, despite holding a position of authority, tells lies; five: one who, despite having a family, waxes proud; six: one who gives his hand of allegiance in the hands of a worthy Imam or master just for the sake of material gains.

Concluding in the same vein, we refer to another hadith from al-Bukhari and Muslim which proclaims that the back-biter will not be admitted into the Paradise. And a hadith in Nasa` i and the Misnad of Ahmad enlarges on the theme by saying that some kinds of people will not be admitted into the Paradise, that is, the drinker, the disobeyer of parents, the unjustified severer of relations with kinsmen, the publicizer of a favour, the diviner of the unseen through jinns, satans and other mediums and the dayyuth (دَیُّوث), a wittol or cuckold who is so contented with his shamelessness that he never stops his wife and family members from going the way of immodesty. And a hadith from the Sahih of Muslim says that la'nah or the curse of Allah is for one who sacrifices an animal for anyone other than Allah.