Respected Shaykh, Assalamu Alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Does persistently committing a minor sin turn it into a major sin? الإصرار على الصغائر

All praise is due to Allah. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions.

To proceed:

Wa alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

To answer your question, I say:

The scholars have two opinions about whether persistently committing a minor sin turns it into a major sin.

The first opinion: is that persistently committing a minor sin turns it into a major sin. This was the opinion of ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), and it was transmitted from other Sahabas (may Allah be pleased with them) besides him. This is the opinion of the majority of the scholars.

The second opinion: is that persistently committing a minor sin does not turn it into a major sin.

The scholars who held these opinions supported them with some proofs. The most prominent proof for the first view is what was transmitted from ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, "A sin is not minor if it is committed persistently, and a sin is not regarded as a major sin if the perpetrator repents." This report was transmitted with  chains of narrators which link back to the Prophet (peace be upon him). However, these chains of narrators were graded as weak by ibn Rajab and other scholars of hadeeth.

The proof for those who held the second opinion were the texts which differentiate between major and minor sins like Allah's statement: "If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins and admit you to a noble entrance [into Paradise]" [an-Nisaa: 31], and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) statement which was transmitted by Muslim (223) from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet said, " The five daily (prescribed) Salat, and Friday (prayer) to the next Friday (prayer), and the fasting of Ramadan to the next Ramadan, is expiation of the sins committed in between them, so long as major sins are avoided."

My view is that the second opinion is the preponderant one because a small  sin does not turn into a major sin by being persistently and regularly committed.

What was transmitted about ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) is interpreted to mean the persistence in committing sins by a person who does not care about the limits of Allah, respect  Allah's restrictions, and does not give due regard to Allah's commands and prohibitions. Undoubtedly, this is a major sin. However, if a person persistently commits a minor sin because of being overcome by desire yet he fears being punished, then this sin is not a major sin. And Allah knows best.

Shaykh Khalid al-Mosleh

20/9/1428 H