Major sins mistakenly considered minor:

 Dear brother, we have been tackling the subject of The Major Sins for two lessons so far. I mentioned in those two lessons that all Muslims know the major sins such as killing, adultery and theft. However, there are other major sins which some people mistakenly consider minor. Performing the ritual acts of worship such fasting, prayer, Zakat and Hajj is meaningless as long as you are oblivious to the major sins which you commit. Whoever commits a major sin will be detached from Allah by a thick barrier Some Muslims do not know that severing the ties of the kinship is one of the major sins. If you abstain from visiting your relatives you fall into a major sin except if corruption, mixing, gossip, backbiting or mockery takes place whenever you pay a visit. When such bad things occur in visiting relatives, it is preferable to keep away from them; as averting evil is preferable to bringing benefits. However, if you have daughter or sister lives in the suburbs and you do not visit her, then you fall into a major r sin. Almighty Allah says:

(O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you.)

(An-Nisa': 1)

 Beware of cutting the relations of the wombs (kinship.) I told you previously that visiting your relatives is not enough to keep good relation with them; your visit should be intended to see their conditions, help them whenever they need your help and guide them to Allah. Whoever is close to Allah and feel pleased for keeping in touch with Him, will never forget to help those who are around him. If you work on calling your relatives to Allah and guiding them to obey Him through upholding the ties of your kinship, you will be achieving the optimum goal of this act of worship. Almighty Allah says:

(Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land, and sever your ties of kinship? Such are they whom Allah has cursed, so that He has made them deaf and blinded their sight)

(Muhammad:22-23)

Some of the Major sins:

1- Cutting the relations of the wombs (kinship):

 Whoever cuts the relations of the wombs deserves the curse of Allah; that is why scholars have considered cutting the relations of kinship one of the major sins. Narrated Jubair bin Mut'im that he heard the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, saying:

((The person who severs the bond of kinship will not enter Jannah.))

(Al-Bukhari)

 I said that there is an exceptional case; if visiting kinship is based on corruption and wrongdoings. Once this corruption no longer occurs, and you have no excuse to cut the relations of your kinship you fall into a major sin. Islam has organized the realm of life according to the social solidarity, and as you know society is but a group of families. It will remain solid as long as the domestic relations are solid. Thus, the members of the family should visit their relatives, help them and guide them to almighty Allah.

 I was told that in one of the districts of Damascus, some people who live in the same building have good understanding to one another; they meet each other once a week, they go to the same Masjid every Friday and they invite some scholars to deliver Islamic lectures. This is a wonderful picture of cooperation in Islam. Those neighbors are strangers to each other. Nevertheless, they keep in touch with each other, and help one another for the goodness of the worldly life and the Hereafter. Therefore, believers should do the same with their relatives and people who are around them. Visiting your relatives begins with checking their conditions, and it goes beyond that by helping them to end up with guiding them to Allah. Only then the foremost aim of kinship will be achieved. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, said:

((He who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him not harm his neighbour; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him keep good relations with his relatives and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him show hospitality to his guest; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day let him speak good or remain silent.))

(Agreed Upon)

The prerequisites of having faith:

 One of the requisites of having faith is keeping good relations with relatives and being good to your neighbors; this is how our religion is manifested. Cutting the ties of kinship is a major sin. Someone may be guided to Allah's Path by his good friends, so he keeps in touch with them on the expense of his relatives. He may not like the lifestyles of his relatives, but he has to do something about that instead of keeping away from them. He should find a way to guide them to Allah and lead them to Islamic awakening. Keep in mind that you are responsible for guiding your relatives. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((Allah created the creations, and when He finished from His creations, Ar-Rahm i.e., womb said, "(O Allah) at this place I seek refuge with You from all those who sever me (i.e. sever the ties of Kith and kin). Allah said, 'Yes, won't you be pleased that I will keep good relations with the one who will keep good relations with you, and I will sever the relation with the one who will sever the relations with you.' It said, 'Yes, O my Lord.' Allah said, 'Then that is for you. ' Allah's Apostle added, Read (in the Qur'an) if you wish, the Statement of Allah: 'Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land and sever your ties of kinship?'))

(Al-Bukhari)

Seeking Allah's Bounty can be by gaining provision or doing good deeds:

 Almighty Allah says:

(Then when the (Jumu'ah) Salat (prayer) is finished, you may disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allah (by working, etc.), and remember Allah much, that you may be successful.)

(Al-Jumu'ah: 10)

 This means that after Friday prayer man should visit his relatives; his sister, his aunt, his uncle …etc. Friday is a holiday and visiting relatives is one of the requirements of Friday prayer: seeking the bounty of Allah can be either by gaining provision or by doing good deeds. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((Whoever is pleased that he be granted more wealth and that his lease of life be prolonged, then he should keep good relations with his Kith and kin.))

(Al-Bukhari)

 It is reported by Abdur Rahman ibn Abu Bakrah on the authority of his father that a man asked:

(("O Messenger of Allah! Who is the best of all people?" He replied, "He who lives long and does good deeds."))

(Narrated by Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi)

 Hence, whoever desires to live long and do good deeds, he should maintain his kinship.
 Some people think that kinship is but a visit they pay to their relatives. This visit should have a noble goal; a piece of advice may draw one of your relatives closer to Allah. Also you may find your sister a righteous man to marry her and guide her to Almighty Allah. It is a great deed to help your relatives and make them proud of you when you dedicate some of your time to help them. Your sister, for example will be proud of you before her husband when she notices how caring you are. Whatever good deed you do to help your relatives will be added to your book. Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessing upon, him said:

((The bond of relationship is suspending from the Throne, and says: "He who keeps good relations with me, Allah will keep connection with him, but whosoever severs relations with me, Allah will sever connection with him."))

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

 That is why I keep saying that breaking kinship ties is a major sin.

The scholars have considered cutting the ties of kinship a major sin:

 Do you know why the scholars have considered cutting the ties of kinship a major sin? The answer is in the following ayah:

(Such are they whom Allah has cursed, so that He has made them deaf and blinded their sight.)

(Muhammad: 23)

 Whoever performs prayers and bears witness that there is no god but Allah Alone and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performs prayers, gives Zakat, fasts Ramadan, performs Hajj is Muslim, so you have no excuse to severe relations with him. Narrated Abdur Rahman bin Awf: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, saying:

((Almighty Allah says: "I am al-Rah¬man (the All Merciful), and I have created rahm (the womb) and derived its name from My name. Whoever takes care of it, I will take care of him, and whoever cuts it off, I will forsake him."))

(A Hadith Qudsi reported by Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, and by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and AT-Tirmidhi.)

 I once told you a touching story which I will repeat now: a man visited his sister and found her arguing with her husband about an amount of money she asked for every month in order to buy clothes for their children. The husband refused to give her money, because his income was limited. Although the brother was not rich, he told her that he would give her the money she needed every month. Six months later, the sister asked her brother to give them religious lesson weekly. He started to give his sister and her daughters simple lessons containing ayat, As7adeth, stories of Companions, Islamic rulings and so on. He went on giving them lessons, and after a period of time, p his nieces wore the scarf (Hejab) and he could find young believers for three of them to marry. You see how the whole thing started; a simple amount of money solved a problem and gave life to a whole family and guided them to the Path of Allah.

 I would like you dear brother to bear in mind that all of us should care for our parents, sisters, brother, aunts, uncles and other relatives. Pay them visits from time to time, see if they need help and guide them to Allah. You may give them a tape to listen to a religious lesson, ask them to come with you to the Masjid or even give them a religious lesson. You should never ever cut them off;
 Almighty Allah says:

(Such are they whom Allah has cursed, so that He has made them deaf and blinded their sight.)

(Muhammad: 23)

Whoever severs the bond of kinship on him is the curse of Allah:

(And those who break the Covenant of Allah, after its ratification, and sever that which Allah has commanded to be joined (i.e. they sever the bond of kinship and are not good to their relatives), and work mischief in the land, on them is the curse (i.e. they will be far away from Allah's Mercy); And for them is the unhappy (evil) home (i.e. Hell)

(Ar-ra'd: 25)

 Listen again; sever that which Allah has commanded to be joined (i.e. they sever the bond of kinship. Allah has commanded you to uphold the ties of kinship, so if you cut them off you will be cursed.

 I would like to repeat the aforementioned Hadith; narrated Abdur Rahman bin Awf: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, saying:

((Almighty Allah says: "I am al-Rah¬man (the All Merciful), and I have created rahm (the womb) and derived its name from My name. Whoever takes care of it, I will take care of him, and whoever cuts it off, I will forsake him."))

(A Hadith Qudsi reported by Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, and by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and AT-Tirmidhi.)

 Now we come to the last Hadith I would like to mention concerning kinship; Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((Wet the relation of the kinship (womb) even with greetings (by saying peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.))

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

 You can keep in touch with your relatives by at least a phone call. If you do not have time to visit your aunt, for example, call her. Greet her in your phone call, and tell her that you miss her. By these words you keep good relation with your kinship. The least you can do is sending them a message or making them a phone call: ((Wet the relation of the kinship (womb) even with greetings (by saying peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.))

2- Gossip:

 The second major sin is gossip; Almighty Allah says:

(And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, A slanderer, going about with calumnies)

(Al Qalam: 10-11)

 Also, He says in the following ayah:

(The believers are nothing else than brother (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brother, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy. O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one's brother after having Faith [i.e. to call your Muslim brother (a faithful believer) as: "O sinner", or "O wicked", etc.]. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.).)

(Al-Hujuraat: 10-11)

 The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((He who stirs up enmity among people by quoting their words to each other will not enter paradise.))

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Gossip destroys relations:

 From the very beginning of our lesson today, I told you that most people do not know that cutting the ties of kinship and gossip are major just like the other major sins that they know; such as theft, drinking alcohol, killing, polytheism and fleeing from the battlefield.
 Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, once passed by two graves and said:

(("These two persons are being punished not for a major sin (to refrain from). One of them never saved himself from being soiled with his urine, while the other used to go about with calumnies (to make enmity between friends)." The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, then took a green leaf of a date-palm tree, split it into (pieces) and fixed one on each Grave. They said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why have you done so?" He, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, replied, "I hope that their punishment might be lessened till these (the pieces of the leaf) become dry."))

(Bukhari - Book 4, Hadith 217)

 One of them is being tormented because he used to spread gossip and stir up enmity among people by quoting their words to each other. Spreading malicious gossip among people causes the corruption of relations between people. Consequently, the whole society will be socially fragmented. On the authority of Abu Hurairh, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, said:

((You find that among the worst people is someone who is two-faced, showing one face to some and another face to the sh3er.))

(Sound Hadith: Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

 This is widely spread; a smart person knows how to please two parties of people. He praises the first party (the people who he addresses) and defames the second one, and vise versa; when he meets the second party he backbites the first one before it in order to please it. What this double dealing person does among people is a major sin. Abu Dawud narrated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

"Let none of you transmit to me [evil news] about my companions, for I like to meet with them with a pure heart"

 A friend of yours may have a solid relationship with his friends, but suddenly their friendship is severed, because some people get used to backbiting each friend before the other. Those who made gossip one of their habits and work on cutting off relations between people commit a major sin and they will be tormented in their graves as it is mentioned in the Noble Hadith. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him said:

((Beware of gossip, for the gossiper never escapes the torment of the grave.))

 I would like you dear bsh3er to pay attention to the last two ayat of the following Surah; Almighty Allah says:

((Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet), and perish he!* His wealth and his children (etc.) will not benefit him!* He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames!* And his wife too, who carries wood (thorns of Sadan which she used to put on the way of the Prophet or use to slander him)* In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad (palm fibre).)

(Al- Masad: 1-5)

3-Giving less in measure and weight:

 Giving less in measure and weight is one of the major sins which people wrongly think that it is minor. Almighty Allah says:

(Woe to Al-Mutaffifin [those who give less in measure and weight (decrease the rights of sh3er)],* Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, demand full measure,* And when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due,* Think they not that they will be resurrected (for reckoning),* On a Great Day,* The Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)?)

(Al-Mutaffifin:1-6)

 Some scholars said: "At-Tatfif (giving less in measure and weight) is a kind of stealing other people's property and betraying them; it is taking what is not yours by cheating sh3er. Al-Tatfif even by one date hurts the person's reliability.". If you weigh something, outweigh it. Some sellers put the coffee and the tea in heavy bags which will give more weight. Almighty Allah says:

(Woe to Al-Mutaffifin [those who give less in measure and weight (decrease the rights of sh3er)], Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, demand full measure, And when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due, Think they not that they will be resurrected (for reckoning), On a Great Day, The Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)?)

(Al-Mutaffifin: 1-6)

 A butcher sometimes throws the box of meant in the scales to increase its weight by that push. Also some sellers put the fan opposites to the scales; when it is on the scales will be affected by it and so the weight increases. Cheating people in measure and weight regardless the goods that people buy (fruit, vegetable, meat, sugar, fabrics, textiles…etc) is tatfif.

4- Feeling secure against the plan of Allah:

 Believe it or not, feeling secure against the plan of Allah is one of the major sins. Whoever commits sins and is content with that means he feels secure against the plan of Allah. Almighty Allah says:

(Did they then feel secure against the Plan of Allah. None feels secure from the Plan of Allah except the people who are the losers.)

(Al-A'raf: 99)

 Whoever is content with his wrongdoings like; earning ill-gotten money, missing prayers, gazing at what is forbidden and having mixed meetings where he wastes his time with backbites sh3er, gossips, smokes and playing dice, is someone who feels secure against the plan of Allah. He never imagines that he will be punished, disciplined or afflicted by Allah. This man does not fear Allah. Remember, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of Allah and whoever feels secure against the plan of Allah commits a major sin; Almighty Allah says:

(So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.)

(Al-An'am: 44)

 A man told his friend he had to be in Damascus in two hours and ten minutes by his expensive car. His car turned into pieces after two minutes of his journey, and he died leaving behind two thousand million Liras. Who guarantees that he will live for another day, will come back home if he gets out or will wake up if he sleeps? Whoever feels secure against the plan of Allah will never repent; Almighty Allah says:

(So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.)

(Al-An'am: 44)

(Verily, those who hope not for their meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the present world, and those who are heedless of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), Those, their abode will be the Fire, because of what they used to earn.)

( Yunus: 7-8)

 I repeat; feeling secure against the plan of Allah is a major sin. It is committed by someone who is content although he is neither righteous nor upright. He oppresses other people, misses prayers, severs ties of kinship, wastes his times in playing dice, and never fears Allah. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((Whoever plays with dice, it is as if he dipped his hand in the flesh and blood of a pig.))

 Keeping on committing sins and feeling secure against the plan of Allah is a major sin

5- Never give up hope of Allah's Mercy:

 Another major sin is giving up hope of Allah's Mercy. The morale of somebody may be weakened, so he gives up hope of Allah's victory. Never ever give up; Allah will not let you down if you keep your hope of His Mercy and His victory. When things are not going well with you, then there is absolutely something wrong with you; there must be a sin committed, and it makes things difficult for you. Your car may stop working while you are driving, so you start shouting and looking for the defect in the engine. If you cannot figure out what is wrong with your car, then you should look for the sin which you might commit and never give up. Allah the Almighty says:

("O my sons! Go you and enquire about Yusuf (Joseph) and his brother, and never give up hope of Allah's Mercy. Certainly no one despairs of Allah's Mercy, except the people who disbelieve.")

( Yusuf: 87)

 Listen to the following ayah, please:

(And He it is Who sends down the rain after they have despaired, and spreads abroad His Mercy. And He is the Wali (Helper, Supporter, Protector, etc.), Worthy of all Praise.)

( Ash-Shu'ara: 28)

 Once I was in the company of some brother, and one of them was a member of Damascus Basin Committee. He mentioned things that scared other brother. He said that the level of the ground water severely dropped, and the water sources in Damascus would soon dry, so its inhabitants had to find another place to live in. He was sure about the information he gave for he was an experts and he had rigorous evidence. The rain rate for the next year was unexpectedly contrary to what he said; it was three hundred and fifty mm in Damascus, whereas the annual average rate was two hundred and twelve mm. more than forty springs which had been dried for more than thirty years were filled with water once again. I repeat the above mentioned ayah:

("O my sons! Go you and enquire about Yusuf (Joseph) and his brother, and never give up hope of Allah's Mercy. Certainly no one despairs of Allah's Mercy, except the people who disbelieve.")

( Yusuf: 87)

 Almighty Allah makes people relieved after being distressed, strong after being weak and wealthy after being poor. Almighty Allah says:

(Say: "O 'Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.)

( Az-Zumar: 53)

 In this ayah, Almighty Allah forbids us from being desperate of His Mercy; Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: I heard the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, saying three days before his death:

((Let none of you die unless he has good expectations from Allah.))

(Muslim)

 You should seek Islamic knowledge which will make you realize the real faith; it is based on good expectations from Allah.

 We have tackled five major sins so far, and I would like to remind you of them: severing the ties of kinship, gossip, giving less in measure and weight, feeling secure against the plan of Allah and giving up hope of Allah's Mercy. Now, we come to the sixth one which is ingratitude.

6- Ingratitude:

 If someone helped you and you didn't appreciate that or you weren't grateful to him, it would be a major sin. You should never deny the favor done to you by someone. Beware, dear brother, ingratitude is a major sin. Almighty Allah says:

(And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years give thanks to Me and to your parents, unto Me is the final destination.)

(Luqman: 14)

 Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((Whoever is ungrateful to people is ungrateful to Allah.))

(At-Termidhi)

 You should thank the one who helps you and does you a favor, rather than being ungrateful and deny his help; one of the poets said telling us about an ungrateful man:

I taught him archery, but as soon as he excelled in it,
I was his first target
And how many times I taught him to write poetry,
but as he learned it, it was me he satirized
***

 Scholars referred to seventy major sins which have been deduced from the Noble Qur'an. These major sins are implicitly indicated in the ayaht in which Allah's Wrath, His Curse and His severe punishment are mentioned. Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that Allah's Apostle, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((A lady was punished because of a cat which she had imprisoned till it died. She entered the (Hell) Fire because of it, for she neither gave it food nor water as she had imprisoned it, nor set it free to eat from the vermin of the earth.))

(Al-Bukhari Vol.4, Book 56, #689)

 That woman committed a major sin, so she were punished and entered the Hellfire. Every wrongdoing that deserves Allah's Wrath and Curse is a major sin.

Gratefulness can be either by a reward or by an invocation:

 Some of the forefathers said: "Ingratitude is one of the major sins, and being grateful can be manifested by a reward or an invocation." It was narrated that Ibn Umar said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((Whoever seeks refuge (with the name of Allah,) grant him refuge; whoever asks of you (in the name of Allah,) give him; whoever seeks protection (with the name of Allah,) give him protection. Whoever does you a favor, then reciprocate, and if you cannot, then supplicate for him until you think that you have repaid him.))

(Da'if: An-Nisa'i)

 You can reciprocate his righteous deed, thank him for his gift by giving him a gift, or you can appreciate his favor by making Du'a for him. Once, I came back home after al-Fajr prayer, but while I was going to sleep, the bell rang. A child was at the door; he gave me the key of my door saying that I forgot it. I thanked him for that, but then I thought that the child was not old enough to understand the words I said to him. I looked for sweets in my house, ran after the child and gave them to him. Listen again to the aforementioned Hadith:

((Whoever does you a favor, then reciprocate, and if you cannot, then supplicate for him until you think that you have repaid him.))

(Da'if: An-Nisa'i)

 You can give him a gift in return and if you cannot, then at least be grateful to him.
 The Prophet said:

((Make gifts to one another for a gift removes rancor from the chest.))

(At-Tirmithi)

 Prophet Muhammad, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((O Muslim women, do not think that any gift is too insignificant to give to a neighbor, even if it is only a sheep's foot.))

(Bukhari and Muslim)

 Exchanging gifts is a mutual sharing and a mutual giving. When we thank one another, benevolence will grow, but if we stop being grateful to each other, we will put an end to doing favor. Listen to this anecdote: a man was in the desert riding his horse, and then he passed by a thief of horses who was in a very miserable situation. He felt pity for him and asked him to ride his horse. As soon as this thief was on the back of the horse, he pushed the rider back to fall down and ran away with the horse. The owner of the horse called him saying: "I give you this horse, I will not ask for it any longer, but when you wonder in the desert riding my horse, do not tell people about what you did. Otherwise, chivalry will be lost. It is the foremost virtue of the desert."

 Reciprocating favor with a gift or whatever to someone who does you a favor will strengthen relations between you. On the other hand, being ungrateful to those who help you and do you favor will make them stop helping you. Ungratefulness severs the relations and it turns society into pieces. A man asked his neighbor to allow him to live in his house for no more than ten days, because he was painting his house. He stayed in his friend's house for fifteen years; he refused to get out of it claiming that he rented it. The case now is being solved in the court. There are so many other stories about such kind of ungrateful people. Causing harm to whoever helps you will discourage him to help you any longer; he no more trusts you, and so the relations between you will be severed.

 Nowadays people hesitate to get a stranger in their cars and drive wherever he wants. They fear that he may have drugs or he may be a bad man. When a favor is returned by doing harm, then people will no more trust each other and they will be reluctant to help one another. Those who entrap whoever does them favors are actually refusing the small kindness which is a major sin. They strayed from the right path and kept away from Allah, so they turned into beasts. Get yourself used to be grateful to people who help you and appreciate their help. As a believer you are order to do good deeds; helping sh3er and do them favor will be added to your good deeds.

7- Leaving Friday prayers:

 The last major sin for our lesson today is leaving Friday prayers. Abdullah bin Masud, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated what the Messenger of Allah, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, once said about the people who did not come to the Friday Prayer without a good reason:

((I wish to appoint someone to lead the prayer and myself go to the houses of those who missed the Friday Prayer and set fire to their houses with the occupants in them.))

(Muslim and Ahmad)

 The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, wanted to show us how devastating it is to miss the Friday prayer, because it is an educational act of worship
In the following Hadith the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((Either they (meaning people who do not attend the Friday prayer) stop neglecting Friday prayers or Allah will set a seal on their hearts so they cannot find the right path again.))

(Muslim, Abu-Dawud and An-Nisa'i)

 In another Hadith the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:

((A person who leaves three Friday prayers consecutively, Allah puts a seal on his heart.))

(Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi, Narrated by Abu Dawud)

 I told you on our Friday lesson that there are more than two hundred As7adeth mentioned in Sihah on the subject of Friday prayer.

Conclusion:

 I repeat again; leaving Friday prayers is one of the major sins: Almighty Allah says:

(O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salat (prayer) on the day of Friday (Jumu'ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allah [Jumu'ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salat (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing), that is better for you if you did but know!)

(Al-Jumu'ah: -9)

 In brief, you should keep away from all the major sins; severing the ties of kinship, gossip, giving less in measure and weight, feeling secure against the plan of Allah, giving up hope of Allah's Mercy, ingratitude, leaving Friday prayers and other sins that are collected in a book. It contains about seventy major sins with ayat and sound As7adeth the scholars have referred to in it. Whoever avoids committing major sins will be pleased; Almighty Allah says:

(If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden to do, We shall remit from you your (small) sins, and admit you to a Noble Entrance (i.e. Paradise).)

(An-Nisa': 31)