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  • Difference Between Haram And Makruh (Major Sins And Minor Sins)

    Posted by Mohammad Ali Soomro on March 17, 2023 at 5:36 am

    hello there i wanted to ask that what is the difference between makruh and Haram?

    secondly, does anything which we say to be makruh, or ‘not recommended’. is it necessarily a minor sin to do it? if a person keeps on doing something which is makruh then would he be doing Istikbaar? is every makruh thing a sin?

    a passage from Islamqa website telling difference of makruh is

    “Disliked is that which the Lawgiver disallowed, but not in the sense of it being obligatory to refrain from it.”

    but if Allah disallowed it, then would it be a sin to do it?

    examples include giving and taking with the left hand; women following funeral processions; conversing after ‘Isha’; praying in a single garment of which no part is over the shoulder; offering supererogatory prayers after Fajr until the sun is fully risen, or after ‘Asr until the sun has set.

    will doing any of these be sinful? and doing it continuously constitute istikbar?

    Dr. Irfan Shahzad replied 1 year ago 3 Members · 6 Replies
  • 6 Replies
  • Difference Between Haram And Makruh (Major Sins And Minor Sins)

  • Umer

    Moderator March 19, 2023 at 10:05 am

    The term Makruh does not belong to the basic religious sources of the Shariah rather it has been coined by some juristic schools of thought. Some of the jurists believe that if a Hadith narration ascribed to the Holy Prophet (sws) renders something forbidden then it is Makruh. Then there are two categories of Makruh: Makruh-e-Tehrimi and Makruh-e-Tanzihi. The former being Wajib and the latter being not wajib in Hanfi epistemology. This categorization is based on the nature of mode of transmission of knowledge i.e. akhbar-i-ahad. And if a Wajib is left then it entails sin accordign to them.

    According to Ghamidi Sahab, term Makruh can be referred to things not Haram but disliked in religion (Please see for further details: Discussion 89744 ).

    However as far as Sins are concerned, according to Ghamidi Sahab, the Quran describes sins in two forms:

    i) major sins:

    In broad terms, when someone commits an act prohibited in Quran (i.e. declared Haram) or ignores any obligatory part of religion, then it will result in a major sin. A broad list of Major Sins has also been provided in Quran 17:22-39 (See: Discussion 63831 • Reply 63846) and in other places Quran 42:37 and Quran 53:32 mention them as “وَ الَّذِیۡنَ یَجۡتَنِبُوۡنَ کَبٰٓئِرَ الۡاِثۡمِ وَ الۡفَوَاحِشَ” (And those who abstain from major sins and open vulgarities): The actual words are إِثْم and فَوَاحِشْ. The former refers to wrongdoings which relate to injustice and to usurping the rights of others. The latter relates to wrongdoings which stem from sexual desires like fornication, homosexuality and similar acts of lewdness. Here abstention from only the major sins of these wrongdoings is mentioned. This is a special favour of the Almighty; by giving due regard to human weaknesses, people are not expected to lead sinless lives. Thus, at other instances, it is stated that if a person abstains from major sins, God will forgive his minor ones (Quran 4:31).

    ii) mistakes (saiyyat/laghzishain) which can be called minor sins in loose terms:

    Violation of all matters of etiquettes, recommended acts in religion or adoption of discouraged acts which are transmitted through Quran and Sunnah, if intentional, would result in minor sins. for example, if one intentionally eats with his left hand despite being right handed.

    However, it should be kept in mind that matters of Sadd-e-Zariya (either in Quran or Sunnah) can be considered as waived if the illat of that directive has either vanished or new circumstances have made that illat redundant (for example: two women witnesses in place of one or no iddah if pregnancy can be ensured with certainty are examples of sadd-e-zariya directives). In such circumstances, there is no sin on the person. But if a person intentionally violates any Sadd-e-Zariya directive without going through the process of determining illat and fulfiliing objective of the directive through other means, then it will result in a minor sin as well. (Further Details: Discussion 6015 • Reply 17690).

    Istikbar cannot manifest itself in minor sins solely, it ultimately manifests itself in major sins. As long as one is free from major sins, then it is more likely that there can be no istakbar in the person. However, one should be mindful of intentional violations resulting in minor sins as well, because such an attitude can encompass whole personality of a person and a person may commit major sin eventually or may ultimately adopt istakbar in front of Lord’s commandment.

    The examples quoted in the question are sadd-e-zariya directives based on guidance available in Quran and Sunnah and the principle for Sadd-e-Zariya directives has already been described above. (For example, see: Discussion 1626)

    Following videos will help understand the matter in more depth:

    Plese refer to the link below from 11:42 to 14:00

    https://www.youtube.com/live/9SrLbGRunKg?feature=share&t=702

    Plese also refer to the link below from 9:55 to 16:19

    https://www.youtube.com/live/PanbSbnjDpw?feature=share&t=595

    ___

    Please also refer to the video below from 25:06 to 26:56

    • Mohammad Ali Soomro

      Member March 25, 2023 at 3:29 am

      @Irfan76 @UmerQureshi as here in this video ghamidi Sahab said that it would be a minor sin if a person does not adopt something that is mustahab. but i remember that in another video ghamidi Sahab was saying that in Deen there are some things which are farz and some which are nafl, so between distinguishing them he said if we do farz then we receive reward but if we don’t do farz then we receive sin, whereas in the matter of nafl prayer he said, that if we do that then we get reward but if we don’t do that, even so that if we don’t do that throughout our whole life then still Allah won’t hold us accountable for it. but we know nafl are mustahab, and according to that video of we don’t do that we don’t get accountable but here in this video he says it would be minor sin

    • Umer

      Moderator March 25, 2023 at 11:12 pm

      Minor Sins are for intentional violation of those acts which are independent injunctions, not necessarily obligatory, but injunctions nevertheless and explicitly mentioned in Quran or Sunnah. For example, eating with right hand, trimming nails, circumcision, loan contract in writing, two female witnesses in place of one etc.

      Salah is itself a separate injunction and a part of it is fard; nafl Salah is not an independent injunction, rather an extension of an independent injunction which already exists (i.e. fard salah) and falls in category of pure nafl.

  • Umer

    Moderator March 19, 2023 at 10:05 am

    Please also refer to the video below from 32:14 to 34:18

  • Umer

    Moderator March 19, 2023 at 10:05 am

    Please also refer to the video below from 34:50 to 37:00

  • Dr. Irfan Shahzad

    Scholar March 26, 2023 at 12:46 am

    sin (major or minor) occurs when there is a violation, in leaving nafl, there is no violation because they are already optional. So no question about sin in not offering nafl.

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