Is There a Punishment for Persistent Minor Sins if One Did Not Repent? – Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is there a guaranteed punishment for repeated minor sins without repentance?
I want to know if there is specific punishment for minor sins to motivate me to avoid repeating them. Will we be punished in the grave if we don’t repent from it? If so, what is the proof for this?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
If one were to persist in committing a minor sin until it became a part of one’s lifestyle, and one does not repent, then it would be deemed a major sin since that would indicate little care and concern about one’s religious practice.
[Ibn ʿAbidin , Radd al-Muhtar; Ibn Nujaym, Fath al-Ghaffar Sharh al-Manar]
Beware of Accumulating Many Minor Sins
Abdullah ibn Masud (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Beware of minor sins. Verily, they pile upon a man until he is ruined.” [Musnad Ahmad]
Books of theology mention that a major sin requires repentance (tawba) to be erased; otherwise, Allah Most High may choose to pardon it or decide to punish the servant for it.
Specific Type of Obedience Erases Minor Sins
Minor sins, however, can be erased by certain acts of obedience as mentioned in many hadiths, such as excellently performing wudu, the ritual prayer, the Friday prayer; fasting in Ramadan; having an accepted Hajj, and as stated in the Quran, avoiding major sins.
Allah Most High states, “If you shun the major sins which you are forbidden, We will efface your [minor] sins for you and cause you to enter an honorable place of entering.” [Quran, 4:31]
[Bajuri, Tuhfat al-Murid Sharh Jawharat al-Tawhid; Sawi, Sharh Jawharat al-Tawhid]
No Sin Too Major, No Sin Too Minor
Sa’id ibn Jubayr (Allah be pleased with him) reported, A man said to Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him), “How many major sins are there? Are they seven?” Ibn Abbas said, “They are closer to seven hundred than only seven, yet no sin is too major if forgiveness is sought, and no sin is too minor if committed persistently.”
[Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari, authenticated by Ibn Muflih in Al-Adab al-Shar’iyya]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
Related Answers
What is the Difference Between Major Sins and Minor Sins? – SeekersGuidance
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If Good Deeds Expiate Sins, Does That Mean I Can Commit Sins? – SeekersGuidance
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Prayer of Repentance: Salat al-Tawba – SeekersGuidance
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I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
