Don't Take Sins Lightly

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

From Sahl ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

Beware of sins which are treated as being minor, just like a people who encamp in the centre of a valley, so someone brings a stick of firewood and someone else brings a stick until they are therefore able to bake their bread. Likewise sins which are treated as being minor and for which the person is taken to account will destroy him.

[Ahmad & Others]

Reported in a hadith by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, in two narrations: One from the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the other from himself, saying

The believer sees his sins as if he were sitting beneath a mountain which he feared was about to fall upon him, whereas the wicked sees his sins like a man who finds a fly settle upon his nose, so he does this (one of the narrators said: He brushes it away from his nose).

[Bukhari]

One should not think of his sin as being great or small. Rather he should think of it with regard to the One he is disobeying. When a person regards sins and acts of disobedience as something slight then he is oppressing his own soul.

Oppression is of two types: (1) A person oppressing his own soul; and (2) his oppressing others. Both types are forbidden by Allah.

A person oppressing his own soul causes him to feel at home with his sins and to commit them, and causes him to abandon acts of obedience to Allah.

One aspect of oppression is darkness. By you oppressing someone you become the means of that person entering into disobedience of Allah. You are, in fact, pushing others into darkness.

For example, the person who is being lied to or backbitten becomes angry and start backbiting himself; the person whose property has been stolen might miss his prayers because he is busy trying to recover his lost property; the person who has been cheated of his money in a sale/purchase is now busy going up and down the courthouse that he couldn't perform his regular worship; your poor sister (and single mother) that you (her brother) neglected to help start begging for food or waiting on tables in a nightclub. You may recall other examples that people might have done something bad to you which disorient you or detract you from your daily routine and your worship.

From Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

Beware of committing oppression for on the Day of Resurrection oppression will be darkness, and beware of avarice for avarice destroyed those who came before you, it led them into shedding blood and into making lawful that which was forbidden for them.

[Muslim]

May Allah save us from His disobedience and the trials and tribulations of this life and the next. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam