The Major Sins: Shirk, Family Obligations, Social Crimes, and Moral Violations

Al-Kaba'ir covers the major sins across several broad categories. The most serious of all — shirk, associating partners with Allah — opens the work, since it is the one sin that the Quran specifically declares will not be forgiven if a person dies in that state without repentance. Adh-Dhahabi presents the Quranic statements on shirk with their full weight, making clear that this is the foundational transgression against which all other sins are measured.

The category of major sins involving family and social obligations is extensive. Disobedience to parents — qaq al-walidayn — is among the most seriously emphasized, with multiple hadith establishing it as one of the gravest transgressions after shirk and murder. Adh-Dhahabi presents the prophetic teaching on the enormous right that parents hold over their children and the severe consequences of violating that right. He distinguishes this from mere disagreement or gentle correction — the sin is specifically in the contemptuous or harmful treatment of parents, which the Quran describes with the word uqq, a term carrying strong connotations of injustice and ingratitude.

The category of social crimes includes murder, false testimony, theft, consuming orphan property, backbiting that leads to serious harm, and a range of financial and contractual injustices. For each, adh-Dhahabi cites the specific prophetic warning that establishes it as a major sin and sometimes adds a brief comment on the nature of the harm it causes — both to the victim and to the soul of the perpetrator.

The moral violations include various forms of sexual transgression, the consumption of intoxicants, gambling, and related behaviors that the Quran and Sunnah address with specific legal penalties or strong prophetic condemnation. The section on riba (usury and forbidden commercial transactions) is particularly detailed, reflecting the seriousness with which the Prophet, peace be upon him, described this transgression.

The work concludes with a reminder that however serious the major sins are, sincere repentance erases them, and that Allah's mercy is greater than any sin. This balance — taking sin seriously while maintaining hope in divine forgiveness — is characteristic of the Islamic ethical tradition at its best.