23 April, 2024

14 Shawwal, 1445 H

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"Silence saves you from regret"

- Imam Ali (as) -

Learning
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Core Curriculum
Section 1 - God, Religion and Islam: An Introduction

  • Topic 1.1 - God, Allah and Religion

  • Topic 1.2 - What is “Religion” and What’s the Point of it Anyways?

  • Topic 1.3 - Introduction to Islam

  • Topic 1.4 - A Brief Introduction to the Prophet Muhammad (s), the Prophet of Islam

Section 2 - Foundations of Islam - Theology

  • Topic 2.1 - Satan, Jinns and Angels: Their Influence in the World

  • Topic 2.2 - The Islamic Concept of the Nafs: Battling the Human Ego

  • Topic 2.3 - The Sharīʿa: Purpose and Practice

  • Topic 2.4 - Nubuwwa: The Purpose of Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 2.5 - Tawhīd: The Unity and Oneness of God in Islam

  • Topic 2.6 - The Usūl al-Dīn: The Fundamental Beliefs of Islam

  • Topic 2.7 - Adala: Divine Justice in Islam

  • Topic 2.8 - Entering Islam: The Shahada

  • Topic 2.9 - Maʿād: The Day of Judgment in Islam

  • Topic 2.10 - Imāmah or divinely guided leadership in Islam after the Prophet Muhammad.

Section 3 - Foundations of Islam - Obligatory Acts

  • Topic 3.1 - Accepting Islam: Putting Faith into Action

  • Topic 3.2 - The Furūʿ al-Dīn: The Fundamental Practices of Islam

  • Topic 3.3 - Salāt: Obligatory Ritual Prayers in Islam

  • Topic 3.4 - Fasting in Islam, its Purpose, Dos and Don’ts

  • Topic 3.5 - The Hajj Pilgrimage

  • Topic 3.6 - The Purpose of Zakat and Khums in Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.7 - Jihād in Islamic Law and Spirituality

  • Topic 3.8 - Commanding the Good and Forbidding Evil in Islam

  • Topic 3.9 - Tawalla and Tabarra, its Basics and Purpose

  • Topic 3.10 - The Five Categories of Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.11 - Niyya: Religious Intention as the Foundation of Islamic Practice

  • Topic 3.12 - Ritual Purity in Islamic Law: Understanding Tahāra and Najāsa

  • Topic 3.13 - Other Obligatory and Forbidden Acts in Islam

Section 4 - Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 4.1 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Childhood (PART I of III)

  • Topic 4.2 - Bio: The Prophet Muhammad as a Prophet of God (PART II of III)

  • Topic 4.3 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Character (PART III of III)

  • Topic 4.4 - The Prophet Muhammad (s) as Messenger and Teacher

  • Topic 4.5 - The Prophet and his Relationships

  • Topic 4.6 - The Prophet’s Sunnah and Hadith

  • Topic 4.7 - Ghadīr and Arafah: The Two Last Sermons of the Prophet

  • Topic 4.8 - Jesus and Mary in Islam

Section 5 - The Qur'an and Hadith

  • Topic 5.1 - Islam and Other Religions

  • Topic 5.2 - What is the Qur’an? A Short Introduction to Islam’s Holy Book

  • Topic 5.3 - The Structure of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.4 - The Quran and Islamic law

  • Topic 5.5 - The Qur’an, Allah and Humankind

  • Topic 5.6 - Hadith and Sunnah, difference and variations

  • Topic 5.7 - The Reliability of Hadiths

  • Topic 5.8 - A Reflection on Verses of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.9 - Hadith al-Thaqalayn

  • Topic 5.10 - Imam Ali (as) and Nahj al-Balagha.

  • Topic 5.11 - Taqlid and Tawḍih Al Masail Genre of Literature

Section 6 - Measuring Good and Bad in Islam

  • Topic 6.1 - Guidance According to Islam

  • Topic 6.2 - Life and Death in Islam

  • Topic 6.3 - Heaven and Hell in Islam

  • Topic 6.4 - The Effects of Our Actions in this World

  • Topic 6.5 - The Gray Areas of Islamic Law and Morality

  • Topic 6.6 - Benefits of Islamic Law in this World

  • Topic 6.7 - Good and Bad Deeds: The Spiritual Consequences of our Choices

  • Topic 6.8 - The Effect of Culture and Environment in Shaping our Religious Choices

  • Topic 6.9 - Fate and the Consequences of our Choices in Islam

  • Topic 6.10 - Trivializing the Harām

  • Topic 6.11 - Sinning Against Others and their Delayed Punishment

  • Topic 6.12 - The Three Kinds of Rights in Islam

  • Topic 6.13 - Major Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.14 - Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.15 - Kufr in Islam

  • Topic 6.16 - Why Allah Allows People to Sin

Section 7 - The Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 7.1 - Islam and Knowledge: the Importance of Islamic Education

  • Topic 7.2 - The Ahl al-Kisa

  • Topic 7.3 - Imamah in the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.4 - Fatima al-Zahrah (as)

  • Topic 7.5 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam al-Hasan until Imam Muhammad al-Baqir)

  • Topic 7.6 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam Jafar al-Sadiq until Imam Hasan al-Askari)

  • Topic 7.7 - A Brief Look at the Life and Importance of Imam al-Mahdi (aj)

  • Topic 7.8 - Salawat and Atonement in Islam

  • Topic 7.9 - The Companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet According to the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.10 - Clerical Hierarchies in Muslim Communities

  • Topic 7.11 - Mosques in Islam

  • Topic 7.12 - The Philosophy of Karbala and Majalis

  • Topic 7.13 - A Brief Biography of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)

  • Topic 7.14 - The Battle of Karbala: A Brief History

Section 8 - Islamic Relationships, Sects and Conflicts

  • Topic 8.1 - Islam and Rights

  • Topic 8.2 - Islam and Religious Conflicts

  • Topic 8.3 - Major Sects of Islam

  • Topic 8.4 - Sunnism and Shi’ism, beginnings and historical developments.

  • Topic 8.5 - Misconceptions about Shi’ism

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Special Topics
Section 9 - Independent Topics

  • Topic 9.1 - Muslim Converts – Welcome to Islam!

  • Topic 9.2 - Basic Dos and Don’ts of Being a Muslim

  • Topic 9.3 - Halal Food and Zabiha

  • Topic 9.4 - Modesty in Islam

  • Topic 9.5 - Family, Parents and Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.6 - Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.7 - Islam and Sex

  • Topic 9.8 - Women’s Menstruation in Islam

  • Topic 9.9 - Music, Alcohol, Drugs and Pork in Islam

  • Topic 9.10 - Islam and Science

  • Topic 9.11 - A Reading List of Islamic Knowledge

  • Topic 9.12 - Islam and Sufism

  • Topic 9.13 - Ritual Prayers and Supplications in Islam

  • Topic 9.14 - Death & Burial Rituals in Islam

  • Topic 9.15 - The Battle of Armageddon: An Islamic View

  • Topic 9.16 - The Muslim Calendar

  • Topic 9.17 - Muslims and non-Muslims in the Shariah

  • Topic 9.18 - A Timeline of Major Events in Islamic History

  • Topic 9.19 - Introducing the Qur’an: Why it is the way it is

  • Topic 9.20 - The School of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq

  • Topic 9.21 - Major Fields in Islamic Studies

  • Topic 9.22 - The Caliphate in Sunni and Shia Islam

  • Topic 9.23 - The Spread of Islam: After the Prophet until the Ottoman Empire

  • Topic 9.24 - Islam, Racism and Anti-Semitism

Section 10 - Islam, Religion, and Modern Controversies

  • Topic 10.1 - Modern Fallacies about God: where Theists and Atheists Agree

  • Topic 10.2 - Tawhīd: The Muslim God according to the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 10.3 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Being (Wujūd)

  • Topic 10.4 - God’s Existence: The Kalam Cosmological Argument

  • Topic 10.5 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Design

  • Topic 10.6 - The Problem of Evil, Suffering and Pain

  • Topic 10.7 - Why did God Create Us? The Purpose of our Creation

  • Topic 10.8 - Why Humans Need Religion according to Islam

  • Topic 10.9 - Jahl and Spiritual Ignorance in Islam

  • Topic 10.10 - Faith in Islam: Belief without Evidence?

  • Topic 10.11 - Do Non-Muslims Go to Hell?

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Sinning Against Others and their Delayed Punishment

Abstract

The worst sins are the ones we commit against others. They not only destroy our souls, but they ruin other people as well. God does not delay any of His punishments in this world, what He delays are their full punishments until the Hereafter.

INTRODUCTION 

 

Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm, As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. Peace be upon you brothers and sisters. 

 

Welcome back to the Muslim Converts Channel! Sins can be divided into multiple levels. On the basic level, any sin that we commit in this world affects us directly. They also affect others indirectly as the damage we do to ourselves leaves an imprint in this world.  

 

They not only pollute us but they also pollute the air around us. Think about a cold, you get sick and you sneeze. When you sneeze, the virus goes air born and people catch it.  

 

But looking at it from the context of “indirect effect” we aren’t held fully accountable by God for the indirect effects of our sins. That’s part of God’s mercy. However, there are sins in which we not only damage ourselves, but we also directly affect others.  

 

This is when we commit deliberate acts of evil against others. In this lesson, we will look at two things. First, we will list some of the direct sins we commit against others. Second, we will look into the question of why God sometimes delays His punishment of people who commit these deeds. 

 

BODY OF TEXT 

 

“And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allah. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” (Chapter 2, verse 281 of the Holy Qur’an) 

 

When we talk about the kind of evils we commit against others, the first thing that comes to most of our minds are things like murder or theft. But the kind of evils we commit against others are much more than these two, and they are more subtle. The following are a list of some sins we commit against others: 

 

Backbiting (ghībah) 

 

Backbiting or ghībah is speaking ill of someone behind their back. Ghībah is saying something that is true about someone, but is something that a person does not want exposed. In one hadith from the Messenger of Allah (s), the following is narrated: 

 

The Prophet (s) once gave counsel to Abu Dharr (r) , saying: “O Abu Dharr! Beware of backbiting, for backbiting is graver than adultery (zina’).” Abu Dharr (r) said: “Why is that so, O Messenger of Allah?” He (s) replied: “That is because when a man commits adultery and then repents to God, God accepts his repentance.  However, backbiting is not forgiven until forgiven by its victim.” (wasā’il al-shīʿah) 

 

The hadith tells us that ghībah is worse than zina or fornication. Why is it so? Remember that the Muslim community is a cradle the nurtures our souls. It is in a healthy community where there are strong religious bonds of trust that people spiritually grow the best in.  

 

By backbiting or lying which is also harām and a sin, erodes the bonds of our community by instilling hatred and mistrust of others. 

 

Lying  

 

The Prophet Muhammad (s) once said the following about lying: 

 

“When a believer utters a lie without a valid excuse, he is cursed by seventy thousand angels. Such a stench emanates from his heart that it reaches the sky and because of this single lie Allah writes for him a sin equivalent to that of committing seventy fornications. Such fornications that the least of which is fornication with ones mother.” (Mustadrak al-Wasā’il) 

 

Like ghībah, lying also erodes the trust that exists between people. Without trust, there are no bonds between people and without bonds, there is no ummah. But the problem goes even further. Lying leads to feuds between people, it leads to wars and economic corruption. It not only erodes trust, but it ruins the lives of whole nations.  

 

Most of the injustices, corruption and poverty people face in countries stems from one vice: lying. Much of the wars and poverty people suffer from are due to lies. This is why lying is worse than zina!  

 

Breaking Promises 

 

Imam Jafar al-Sādiq (as) once said:  

 

“A believer’s promise to his believing brother is a vow that has no expiation (It cannot be broken). But one who goes back on his word declares his opposition and enmity to Allah, and invokes the anger of Allah.” (wasā’il al-shīʿa) 

 

Breaking a vow is another sin that directly affects another person. Like backbiting and lying, it also erodes trust between people, corrupts the ummah which again, is essential as it is the nurturing womb for people’s souls.  

 

Breaking promises does something else as well, and this one is very detrimental. Breaking promises sows the seeds of hypocrisy in our hearts. What is hypocrisy? It is saying one thing but doing another.  

 

Hypocrisy is an act of deceit, it is deceiving others by creating the appearance of virtue while succumbing to sin. In other words, it is choreographing and maintaining an illusion to others. So the question here is, can anything stand on an illusion?  

 

Why Allah Delays His Punishment of Sinners 

 

We’ve talked about sins that are committed against others. But a question that is often asked is the following: if Allah hates injustice and evil, why doesn’t He punish it immediately? Why the delay? Doesn’t this encourage people to do more bad deeds?  

 

This question can be answered on two levels. The first level is that when Allah punishes a sin to its full extent in this world, it is an act of mercy for punishment in the next world is much, much worse. If a person fails to see much of a punishment vetted out against him or her in this life, you know that he or she is in real trouble.  

 

The second level is that all sins are punished in this world. What we call delay is a delay in “full punishment”. Consider the following hadith about backbiting from the Prophet Muhammad (s): 

 

“Whoever backbites a Muslim spoils his fasts and breaks his wudu', and shall come on the Day of Resurrection with his mouth's stench more putrid than a carcass', and it shall irk those who are with him in his station (mawqif).  If he dies before repenting, his death is like that of one who dies while considering permissible that which is prohibited by God, the Exalted and the Glorious.” (wasā’il al-shīʿa) 

 

Notice that people don’t get a mouth that stenches due to backbitting. People will only see that on the Day of Judgment, and the sin will be punished in its fullest in hell. Yet people are still punished in this world, as in the previous one we quoted earlier about God humiliating us in this world for speaking ill of others.  

 

So people are punished in this world for all the misdeeds they do. First, the punishment comes through the pollution and darkening of one’s soul. Second, God is often subtle in His punishments where it comes to us in ways we don’t expect or notice.  

 

Until Next Time, Thank you for watching. As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh 

 

Ghībah

Ghībah: Backbiting  

Zina

Fornication 

Q1

Why does God delay punishment? 

Delay of punishment is meant for the worst of people, as punishment in the next life is worse than the one in this world.

Q2

What is delay in punishment?

 It is a delay in full punishment, but people see the punishment partially in this world. 

 

Q3

Why are sins like backbiting or lying so bad?

They erode the trust in the Muslim community, and the community is essential for salvation as it is the spiritual cradle of people.

Muslim
God
Allah
Hereafter
Religion
Salvation
Soul
sin
sins
Muslim Community
harām
backbiting in islam
lying in islam
sinning against others
ghībah
zina
delay in punishment for sins

Greater Sins by Dastghaib Shirazi 

Forty Hadith by Imam al-Khumayni