Iṣrār

Persistence in minor sin — the principle that repeating a minor sin consistently without repentance can transform it, in spiritual weight, into a major sin. This is one of al-Dhahabi's most important and practically urgent doctrinal points: the believer who thinks they are safe because they commit only 'small' sins, but never repents, never changes, and never takes their condition seriously, is in a more dangerous position than they realise. Israr erodes the conscience, habituates the heart to sin, and gradually closes the space between the minor and the major. The antidote is frequent tawbah, muhasaba, and the refusal to treat any sin as too small to be addressed.

As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Dhahabī and the scholars of his school.