Do Not Belittle Sin (Part 1)
Do Not Belittle Sin (Part 1): Man should not think that a minor sin to be a trivial thing not to worry about! However small a sin, its consequences might be very grave! When one commits minor sins, Satan emboldens and makes the person perpetuate sinful acts in the future. A time comes when the person thinks that the major sins too are trivial. Therefore not repenting minor sins is in itself a major sin. Sometimes sins assume the shape of infidelity and hypocrisy!
Therefore one should treat a sin as a sin, however small or minor it might be. Therefore Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (A.S) has said, “A thing, howsoever small, that can benefit a person on the Day of Reckoning, is not small. Similarly a small thing that can bring retribution to the person on the Day of Judgement cannot be termed small.”
Imam Reza’ (A.S) has said, “The minor sins are the way to commitment of the major sins! The person who commits minor sins, might indulge in major sins also! Even if Allah had not created the Heaven and the Hell, as incentive and disincentive respectively, for acts fair and foul, he would even then have made it mandatory for men to pray. His disobedience would even then be punishable because He has endowed man with lot of Blessings to thank about!”
The Prophet of Allah (PBU) has said, “Don’t consider sin minor, however insignificant that might be. Don’t also rate your virtues high, however significant they might be! The major sins can be condoned with Asthghfar (Craving mercy from Allah) but repetition of minor sins might render them major!”
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (A.S) says, “One of the sins that may not be condoned is one saying, ‘I wish there is no retribution for my sins other than this!’”
Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) has said, “Forty sins of a person will remain hidden under forty curtains. Once he completes the forty sins, the curtains get torn and the angels responsible for recording the sins of men submit to Allah,’ All the curtains hiding the sins of the person have gone up!’ Allah asks them to hide the sins with their wings. The person continues to commit more sin and keeps bragging with his compatriots. The angels tell to Allah, ‘O Allah! This person doesn’t abstain from any type of sin! We feel ashamed of watching him commit sins!’ Then Allah asks them to remove the cover of their wings. Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (A.S) added, “Now the person starts showing antagonism to us, the Ahl-ul-Bayt, and Allah makes him the subject of ridicule on the earth and in the Heavens. The angels then tell to Allah, ‘This creature of Your’s was protected for long and is facing much more ridicule now! Then Allah will say, ‘If I had noticed any virtue in him, I wouldn’t have asked you to lift the cover of your wings from his sins!’”
It is narrated that the Prophet of Allah (PBUH) has said, “It is easier to avoid sinning than being penitent after committing them. A moment’s emotion can become the cause of shame for long. Death does not leave any time for the person to make amends for his wrong acts.”
Imam Jafar Sadiq (A.S) says, “When Allah wishes a person well, He involves him in severe hardship after he commits a sin. This hardship makes the person repent and do penance. If Allah finds no ray of virtue in the man, then He removes the desire for penitence and regret from the sinner’s mind to remain in his own world of sin and abuse. Allah says in His Holy Book, ‘We test them in a way that they don’t feel that they are being tested. They indulge, more and more, in sins and We keep sending bounties to them (that they don’t think of penitence for their sins.).’”
