Belittling Sins

“Guard against al-Muhaqqarat (sins); they will not be forgiven.’ I then asked the Imam, ‘What is al-Muhaqqarat ?’ The Imam said, ‘A man commits a sin and says, “I will have Tuba (a tree in paradise) if I did not have any other sins.’”

“I heard abu al-Hassan (a.s.) saying, ‘Do not consider a great deal of good a great deal, and do not consider a little sin very little; little sins accumulate and become a great deal. Have fear of Allah in private so you can yield to justice against yourselves.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Once the Messenger of Allah stopped, during a journey on a barren land, for rest and asked his companions to collect firewood. The companions said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we are in a barren land and there is no firewood around here. ’ He said, ‘Let everyone bring whatever he can.’ They collected firewood and placed one piece over the other before him. The Messenger of Allah then said, ‘This is how sins also accumulate.’ Then he said, ‘You must never commit al-Muhaqqarat (see Hadith 1 above) of sins; everything is in demand. You must know that the finder of sins writes them down: “It is We Who bring the dead to life and record the deeds of human beings and their consequences (of continual effects). We keep everything recorded in an illustrious Imam (leader or Book).”’ (36:12)