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.
The major sins are those acts which have been forbidden by Allah in the Qur’an 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. Allah Almighty says,
{If you avoid the major (part) of what you have been forbidden (to do), We will cancel out for you your (other) evil deeds and will admit you (to Paradise) with a noble entry} (An-Nisaa’ 4:31)
In this verse, Allah Almighty has guaranteed the Garden of Paradise to those who avoid the major sins. And Allah Almighty also says,
{Those who avoid the greatest of sins and indecencies, and forgive when they are angry} (Ash-Shura 42: 37)
and {Those who avoid the greatest sins and indecencies, except for oversights, (will find that) surely your Lord is ample in forgiveness} (An-Najm 53: 32)
Allah’s Messenger was also reported to have said,
The five (daily) Prayers, Friday to Friday and Ramadan to Ramadan, make atonement for what has happened since the previous one, as long as major sins have been avoided.” (Authenticated by Al-Albani)
It is therefore very important to determine exactly what the greatest vices, technically called “the major sins” (kaba’ir), are in order that Muslims should avoid them.
