Kabāʾir
الكبائرDefinition
Major sins — defined by the scholars as any sin for which Allah has specifically threatened punishment in the Quran, or for which the Prophet ordained a hadd (prescribed legal penalty), or which is described in hadith as among the most grave violations. Al-Dhahabi cites multiple scholarly definitions and settles on the most inclusive: any sin the Quran or Sunnah specifically warns against with severe consequence. The distinction between major and minor sins is not to make some sins acceptable but to clarify the different spiritual treatments they require: minor sins are expiated through regular good deeds; major sins require deliberate, specific, sincere repentance to be forgiven.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Dhahabī and the scholars of his school.
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