Sins Committed From Time to Time (al-Lamam)

“Once I said to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘How do you consider the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, “. . . those who avoid major sins and indecent acts except al-Lamam (sins committed from time to time). . . .” (53:33) The Imam said, ‘It is the sin that one may commit then stops it, as Allah wills, and then commits it again.”

“Once I read the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, before one of the two Imam (a.s.) . . those who avoid the major sins and indecent acts except the al-Lamam ones . . (53:33) The Imam said, ‘It is a thing after a thing, that is, a sin after a sin that a servant (of Allah) commits.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Every believer may have a sin and he shuns it for a period of time, then he commits it again and this is that which is mentioned in the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, as ‘Except al-Lamam’ (the sins committed from time to time).’ The narrator has said that I asked the Imam about the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘. . . those who avoid the major sins and the indecent acts, except the al- Lamam .’ (53:33) The Imam said, ‘Indecent acts are fornication and theft and al-Lamam is that which a man commits, and then pleads before Allah for forgiveness.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Whoever comes to us seeking to learn Fiqh (laws of Shari’a) and the Holy Quran, allow him to come in. Whoever comes to us to make public what Allah has covered, you must move him away.’ A man from the people then said, ‘May Allah keep my soul in service for your cause, I have been involved in sin for a long time and I want to change to something else but I am not able to do so.’ The Imam said, ‘If you are true, Allah loves you. There is nothing to prevent Him from changing you to something else, it is only as such so that you can be fearing Him.’”

“Any sin that may become imprinted in a believing servant (of Allah) he shuns it for a period of time then commits it again as it is mentioned in the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘ . . . those who avoid the major sins and the indecent acts except the al-Lamam . . .’ (53:33) The Imam said, ‘One committing al-Lamam, sins often, is he (servant) who commits such sins one after the other and it is not of his normal behavior and nature.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘A believer does not have lying, stinginess or indecent acts as part of his nature and normal behavior, perhaps he may commit certain sins in which he does not continue.’ It was asked, ‘Does he commit fornication?’ The Imam said, ‘Yes, but no child is beggotten from that seed.’”