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Major Sins, Neighbours' Privacy, Bufferzone

Issue 459 » January 11, 2008 - Muharram 2, 1429

General

Living the Quran

Al-Nisa (The Women)
Chapter 4: Verse 31

Major Sins
"If you avoid the most serious of what you are forbidden, We will erase your bad deeds, and shall cause you to enter an abode of glory."

In this verse, Allah Almighty has guaranteed the Garden of Paradise to those who avoid the major sins.

A Muslim should steer clear of all sins, major and minor ones. A faithful Muslim takes care of every utterance or deed, avoiding anything that makes him subject to the punishment of Allah and His Wrath.

Definition

The major sins are those acts which have been forbidden by Allah in the Quran and by His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Sunnah, and which have been made clear as forbidden by the actions of the first righteous generation of Muslims, the Companions of the Prophet.

Commonplace Examples

Associating anything with Allah; Murder; Abandoning the Pillars of Islam (i.e. Salah, Zakah); Showing disrespect to parents; Committing adultery; Committing sodomy; Dealing in riba (interest); Lying about Allah or His Messenger; Being proud and arrogant; Falsely accusing chaste women (i.e. of committing fornication or adultery); Consuming what is unlawful; Committing suicide; Giving and accepting a bribe; Showing off; Betraying a trust; Recounting favours; Swearing; Lamenting, wailing, tearing the clothing, and doing other things of this sort when an affliction falls; Treating one's spouse, servant, the weak, and animals badly; Offending one's neighbour; Giving short weight or measure; Persistently missing Friday Prayer without any excuse; Spying for the enemy of the Muslims against Muslim's interest.

Of course, there is a gradation among them, since some are more serious than others. From the text of the Quran we know that a person who associates anything with Allah (and dies on it) will not be forgiven and will remain in Hell forever. As one may notice that even though some of these actions are known and understood to be from the major sins, there are certain actions that we take very casually which have indeed serious repercussions since they also are considered to be from the same category. The full list enumerates other items, which are commonplace among the Muslims of today. May Allah protect us from these Sins.

Source:
IslamOnline.com
Understanding the Prophet's Life

Neighbours' Privacy

The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained that the reason why permission was to be sought was for fear that the person seeking to enter might see something private in the house: "The rule of seeking permission has been established for the sake of (not) seeing." (Reported by al-Bukhaari).

Nowadays, when houses and buildings are too close to one another or even attached, and doors and windows face one another, the possibility of neighbours seeing one another has increased greatly. Many people do not lower their gaze, and some of those who live on higher floors may deliberately look down from their roofs and windows into neighbouring homes that are lower than their own. This is an act of betrayal and an invasion of their neighbours' privacy. This may as well lead to other forbidden deeds. A great deal of misery and trouble has resulted from this, and that fact that the Shariah counts the eye of the one who spies as worthless, is sufficient proof of the seriousness of the matter. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever looks into somebody's house without their permission, it is permissible for them to put out his eye." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1699). According to another report, he said: "Put out his eye, and there will be no penalty or retribution." (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/385).

Source:
"Muharramat" - Salih Al-Munajjid
Blidspot!

Bufferzone

“Good” Customer Service is all about doing a little extra. Service Center personnel are now taught to ask that extra question: “Have I addressed all your concerns?” or instructed to make sure they thank us profusely for our call. And it is this extra that often differentiates the “good” from the “bad” – the one who we are willing to forgive and give a second chance. And this holds true in many facets of our life.

That extra little bit ensures that the quality of our works never falls below a certain minimum. If we are only targeting for the absolute minimum, once in a while we are going to fall short. And soon enough, if there are agents of procrastination around us, we will find ourselves failing to meet the minimum.

The same can be said about our acts of Worship. In our prayers we often forget to construct this Bufferzone around the Obligatory deeds. The 2 before Fajr, the 4 and 2 around Duhr, the 2 after Maghrib, the 2 and 3 after Isha. They provide that buffer that stops us from falling below the minimum threshold and allowing us to continue with the obligatory. But this buffer and sacrifice, may also dictate whom Allah forgives and provides a second chance.

For example, we can try creating the following bufferzones around our Obligatory prayers:

  1. Increase optional small details: Dhikr, Du’a, etc.
  2. Performing the Sunnah (Optional) prayers
  3. Praying Witr and over time continuously lengthening it
  4. Perform Obligatory prayers at its earliest time not only when it is convenient and there is nothing else to do

Source:
Editorial Contribution