Some of the Major Sins (Gunah-e-Kabira)

“And if anyone earns sin, he earns it against his own soul: for God is full of knowledge and wisdom.” (Holy Qur’an 4:111)

Islamic Laws help us protect ourselves from dangerous or harmful effects. The harm doesn’t have to be to you alone, it could also be to those around you. If we deliberately reject the rules of Islam, we commit a sin, and we actually are harming ourselves in one way or another. Some of the sins we commit are between us and Allah (swt) and some are between us and others. Many of these are known as the major sins or gunah-e- kabira.

Major sins have a very bad effect for a long time spiritually and bodily for the community, the society, and the self. For example killing, drinking alcohol, stealing and not praying with intention and without excuse.

Gunah-e- saghira (minor sins) have a minor effect on our self, our society and spiritually, for example, if you speak about someone without the intention of gossiping or hurting that person, or if you miss your prayers because you accidentally forgot or overslept.

Let’s focus on three major sins that are often overlooked in our society:

We should be aware that in Islam lying is considered to be a major sin, not just a small sin.

“And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when you know (what it is).” (Holy Qur’an; 2:42)

Backbiting is another one of the major sins in Islam. Backbiting means to talk about a person, and say things about him when he is not there, in such a way as to displease him. The Holy Prophet (S) once said,

…the backbiter can not be pardoned unless he has been pardoned by the one about whom he has been backbiting.”

Lastly we should realize that persisting in small sins is also a habit that is considered to be a major sin. If we do small sins we should not think it is alright to continue doing them just because they are small.

Our 1st Imam, Imam Ali (a) has said that the biggest sin that a person does is the one that he considers the smallest. He also said:

“Do not assume that the sin is small because you are committing the sin against Almighty Allah (swt)”.