Persisting On Sins

Minor Sins: Constant Dripping Wears Away Stone – الغزالي

Can persistence on a MINOR sin (الصغيرة) turn it into a MAJOR sin (كبيرة)?

The scholars disagree.

The majority say: yes, persistence on minor sins, makes it a major sin.

Some scholars say: no, a minor sin is a minor sin, regardless of repetition.

Al-Ghazali says:

و تواتر الصغائر عظيم التأثير في تسويد القلب، و هو كتواتر قطرات الماء على الحجر، فإنه يحدث فيه حفرة لا محالة، مع لين الماء و صلابة الحجر
“Persistence on MINOR sins has a MAJOR impact on the darkening of the heart.
It’s like continuously dripping water on a stone.
The drops are soft and the stone is hard, but those soft drops will eventually make a hole in the hard stone.”

[“Al-arba’in fi usul al-din”, 126].

If you Google “Chinese Water Torture”, this was actually a prisoner torture technique in the Middle ages. They used to tie up prisoners and continuously drip water on their heads. After a few days, each drop of water would feel like a heavy stone! It would make a hole in the skull of the prisoner and the skin and hair of the prisoner would fall out.

So don’t underestimate the power of small things.

Anyway, back to our topic – other scholars disagreed:

Imam al-Shawkani said:

فالإصرار على الصغيرة صغيرة
والإصرار على الكبيرة كبيرة
“Persistence on minor sins is a minor sin,
and persistence on major sins is a major sin.”

[“Irshad Al-Fuhul”, 53].

Others said:

Don’t look at how SMALL a sin is, look at how GREAT the One is Whom you are disobeying!

Allaahu A’alam