Three Categories of Sin
Imam Muslim collected in his authentic compilation on the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said: “The Arab pre-Islam pagans indulged in an enormity of the worship of idols, murder, and fornication. Upon hearing Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ call to Islam, they responded: ‘Your calling is pure and good if only there were expiation for the atrocities we committed.’
Upon this statement, Allah responded:
“And those who do not invoke another deity with Allah or kill the soul Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated. Except for those who repent, believe, and do righteous work. For them, Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. And he who repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance” (Quran 25: 68-71).
What is the gravest sin?
In another narration collected by both Bukhari and Muslim, Ibn Mas’ood narrates that he asked the Prophet ﷺ, What is the gravest sin? The Prophet ﷺ responded: “That you worship another along with Allah even though it is Allah alone who has created you.” Ibn Mas’ood asked: “And after that?” The messenger of Allah ﷺ replied: “That you kill your child fearing that he might infringe upon your sustenance.” Ibn Mas’ood then asked: “And after that?” The Prophet ﷺ said: “That you fornicate with your neighbor’s spouse.”
Looking closely at these above narrations, we find a pattern of three types of sin:
- The first is a sin against one’s Lord.
- The second is a sin against one’s fellow man.
- The third is a sin against one’s own heart and soul.
What about those in between heaven and hell?
In the Quran and Sunnah texts, we often observe this pattern repeating itself. Mentioned are examples of the extreme of these three types of sin. For instance, Allah mainly mentions in the Quran the people of paradise and their opposites–the people of hellfire. What about those in between heaven and hell? Those who have mixed good and evil, righteousness and sinfulness?
The Quran is a reference that is not only comprehensive but concise. Hence, Allah addresses and dwells mainly upon extreme examples: idolatry, murder, adultery, etc. We [Islamic scholars] deduce less severe rulings from these extreme examples. For instance, Allah speaks of disbelievers whose hearts are cold, and their actions follow suit. We conclude from this extreme example that those who believe in their hearts but whose faith is contaminated with impurities and whose activities mirror those of the disbelievers are thus comparable to the disbelievers.
Similar to how a painter has primary colors and doesn’t need the color gray at their disposal; they need black and white from which they can make any shade of gray for the intended task. Likewise, when Allah explains to us one extreme or primary condition, we can derive any other shade from it that applies to the present.
By: Sh. Ali Mashhour