5.4.3 Minor Sins

Understanding Minor Sins

Minor sins are a reality of human life. Islam does not demand perfection from every person at every moment. Instead, it teaches how to live within human limitation while constantly turning back to Allah. To understand minor sins correctly, they must be seen in contrast with major sins, but this chapter will focus only on what is unique to minor sins themselves and how a believer should deal with them.

Allah reminds us that not every wrong action is of the same level of seriousness.

“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.”
(Qur’an 4:31)

This verse shows that there are “major sins” and “lesser sins,” and that Allah treats them differently in His mercy and judgment.

What Makes a Sin “Minor”?

A minor sin is any sinful act that is not described in revelation as a major sin, yet it is still disobedience to Allah and requires regret and caution. The same action can be minor in one case and become serious in another, depending on the heart and circumstances.

The Prophet ﷺ pointed to the existence of small, everyday wrongs that people may overlook.

“Beware of the sins that are looked down upon, for they will gather upon a man until they destroy him.”
(Reported by Ahmad)

From this we understand that:

A minor sin is not “allowed” just because it is minor. It is still a sin that displeases Allah.
A sin does not become major simply because it is frequent, but frequent repetition of a minor sin shows a dangerous attitude and can destroy a person.
Minor sins are usually those daily slips, lapses in speech, gaze, manners, or behavior that a believer may fall into without planning or persistence.

Examples of Everyday Minor Sins

Because this course has a separate chapter for major sins, we will not list them here. Instead, we look at the sorts of common faults that are usually regarded as lesser, provided they do not grow into major disobedience.

One example mentioned in the Sunnah is taking another’s property in a playful way.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “It is not lawful for a man to take the property of his brother in play or in earnest. If he has taken his stick, he should return it.”
(Abu Dawud)

Taking something without right is sinful. In small, casual cases among friends, it is usually counted as a lesser sin, but the Prophet ﷺ still warned against it.

Other common examples include speaking without remembering Allah, unintentional hurtful words, brief slips of the gaze, or minor show-off behavior that a person quickly regrets. About the tongue the Prophet ﷺ said:

“A man may speak a word that is pleasing to Allah, not realizing its significance, by which Allah raises him in degrees. And a man may speak a word that is displeasing to Allah, not realizing its significance, by which he falls into Hellfire.”
(Al‑Bukhari)

This hadith reminds us that even small words matter. Some of them may count as minor sins, but they can still carry serious consequences if repeated carelessly.

The Danger of Treating Minor Sins as Unimportant

The main danger with minor sins is not usually the single act itself, but the attitude that grows in the heart when a person sees them as “nothing.” That attitude weakens faith and opens the door to greater disobedience.

The Prophet ﷺ gave a powerful image for this.

“The example of the minor sins is like a people who came to a valley, and this one brought a twig and that one brought a twig, until they had gathered enough to bake their bread. Likewise, minor sins, when they are gathered, destroy a person.”
(Reported by Ahmad and others)

Here the Prophet ﷺ shows that just as one small twig cannot cook anything, many twigs together become a fire. In the same way, small sins, if allowed to pile up without repentance, become very heavy.

To clarify the right attitude, the companions taught that the believer fears even small mistakes, because he knows Whom he has disobeyed. Ibn Masʿud رضي الله عنه said:

“The believer sees his sins as if he is sitting beneath a mountain which he fears may fall upon him, while the wicked person sees his sins as a fly that passes by his nose and he brushes it away like this.”
(Al‑Bukhari in al‑Adab al‑Mufrad)

This is the core problem with minor sins. They appear small in our eyes, which can lead to boldness and carelessness.

When a Minor Sin Turns into Something Serious

Although some sins are described in revelation as “lesser,” the way a person commits them can raise them to a far more serious level. The same outward action is not always judged the same way.

One factor is persistence. Continual practice of a minor sin, without any effort to stop, without seeking forgiveness, turns it into a grave matter. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Every son of Adam commits sins, and the best of those who commit sins are those who repent.”
(At‑Tirmidhi)

This hadith shows that what protects a believer is not that he never sins, but that he never stops repenting. If there is no repentance and no attempt to change, even small disobedience becomes a path to destruction.

Another factor is belittling the sin. To see disobedience as light is itself a dangerous sin. Allah criticizes those who take their wrong actions as harmless amusement.

“And you took them in ridicule until they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them.”
(Qur’an 23:110)

A third factor is to be pleased with the sin, to boast about it, or to commit it openly. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“All of my Ummah will be forgiven except those who sin openly. Among showing sins openly is that a man does a deed at night which his Lord has concealed for him, then he comes in the morning and says: ‘O so and so, I did such and such last night,’ when he spent the night with his Lord having concealed him, and in the morning he uncovers what Allah had concealed for him.”
(Al‑Bukhari and Muslim)

This open display turns a lesser sin into a shameful defiance.

How Minor Sins Are Erased

One of the special features of minor sins is that Allah has promised many ways to remove them when a believer is sincere. This does not apply in the same uncomplicated way to major sins, which require specific and serious repentance. For minor sins, Allah has gifted the believer with many doors of mercy.

Allah says:

“…Indeed, good deeds erase bad deeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.”
(Qur’an 11:114)

This verse was revealed in connection with prayer, but the principle applies more widely. A sincere good deed, done for Allah alone, wipes away a previous small sin.

The five daily prayers, Friday prayer, and Ramadan fasting are all mentioned as means of wiping away lesser sins.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The five daily prayers, and Friday to Friday, and Ramadan to Ramadan are expiation for what is between them, so long as the major sins are avoided.”
(Muslim)

The condition “so long as the major sins are avoided” shows that these regular acts of worship cleanse the minor sins that accumulate between them.

Simple practices also have this effect.

He ﷺ said: “Whoever performs wuḍūʾ and perfects the wuḍūʾ, his sins come out from his body until they come out from under his fingernails.”
(Muslim)

And about dhikr he ﷺ said:

“Whoever says: subḥānallāhi wa bi ḥamdih, one hundred times a day, his sins will be erased even if they are like the foam of the sea.”
(Al‑Bukhari and Muslim)

These narrations show that Allah has opened many easy ways for the believer to clean minor faults, as long as his heart is alive, aware, and repentant.

The Role of Constant Tawbah and Istighfar

Even for minor faults, the believer is taught to turn back to Allah immediately with tawbah and istighfar. Tawbah is sincere turning with regret and intention not to return. Istighfar is asking for forgiveness with the tongue and heart.

The Prophet ﷺ, who had the highest status and whose past and future shortcomings were forgiven, still sought forgiveness repeatedly.

“By Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to Him more than seventy times a day.”
(Al‑Bukhari)

If this is the practice of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then the believer should never think that his own minor sins are too small to deserve sincere repentance.

Allah commands the believers in general:

“And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.”
(Qur’an 24:31)

This command includes repentance from both major and minor sins. For the small daily slips, frequent istighfar softens the heart and keeps the record light.

There are also specific forms of istighfar taught in the Sunnah. One of the most famous is called “the master supplication for seeking forgiveness.”

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The master of supplication for seeking forgiveness is that the servant says: ‘O Allah, You are my Lord, there is none worthy of worship except You. You created me and I am Your servant…’” He ﷺ then said: “Whoever says it during the day with firm belief in it and dies during that day before evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and whoever says it at night with firm belief in it and dies before morning, he will be from the people of Paradise.”
(Al‑Bukhari)

This shows that regular sincere istighfar is not only about erasing minor sins, it is a path to Paradise itself.

Using Minor Sins as a Mirror of the Heart

Minor sins serve as a type of mirror for a believer. They reveal the state of the heart. The sin itself may be small, but the reaction to it can be very significant.

If the heart feels quick pain, regret, and shame when a minor sin occurs, this is a sign of living faith. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Righteousness is good character, and sin is what wavers in your soul and you dislike that people should know of it.”
(Muslim)

So when a believer feels unsettled or ashamed after even a small slip, this inner reaction is valuable. It is a sign that the heart is still sensitive to Allah.

On the other hand, if the heart feels nothing at all when slipping into small wrongs, this numbness is a warning. Allah describes some hearts that became hardened through repeated disobedience.

“Then, because of their breaking of their covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts hard…”
(Qur’an 5:13)

The minor sin itself might be simple, but when it no longer troubles the heart, it is a sign that one must quickly revive faith through remembrance, prayer, and repentance.

Balancing Fear of Sins with Hope in Allah’s Mercy

In dealing with minor sins, a believer must avoid two extremes. One is to ignore them and feel safe. The other is to fall into despair, thinking that even small faults will lead certainly to ruin.

Allah describes the servants of the Most Merciful as those who seek a middle path in their feelings about the future.

“And those who give what they give while their hearts are fearful, because they will be returning to their Lord.”
(Qur’an 23:60)

They do good deeds, yet they fear that their shortcomings and faults may harm them. At the same time, they do not give up striving, because they trust Allah’s mercy and promises.

Allah has opened the doors of forgiveness very widely.

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’”
(Qur’an 39:53)

If this promise covers even great sins for the one who repents, then it surely covers minor sins many times over for the one who is constant in tawbah and good deeds.

So the balanced believer pays attention to minor faults, does not call them “nothing,” seeks to erase them with worship and repentance, but at the same time does not lose hope. He walks to Allah between fear and hope, using even the smallest sin as a step back toward his Lord.

Turning Minor Sins into Opportunities for Growth

One unique aspect of minor sins is that they can become a cause of spiritual growth when handled correctly. The sin itself remains wrong, but the response to it can lift a person closer to Allah.

Sometimes a believer may commit a lesser sin, then feel intense regret, make sincere tawbah, increase in humility, and perform extra good deeds. This chain of reactions can make him more aware of his need of Allah than he was before. Allah says:

“Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.”
(Qur’an 2:222)

The “constantly repentant” are those who keep slipping and then returning, and through this cycle they grow in knowledge of their Lord and in reliance upon Him.

The Prophet ﷺ mentioned that Allah is pleased with the repentance of His servant:

“Allah is more delighted with the repentance of His servant than one of you would be if he lost his riding animal in a barren land, then found it suddenly.”
(Al‑Bukhari and Muslim)

For minor sins in particular, this means that every small slip can be followed by a sincere “return” that is itself beloved to Allah. In this way, even daily mistakes become regular reminders of mercy and dependence upon Him.

In this way, minor sins are not treated as “permitted mistakes” but as gentle alarms that call the believer to continuous purification, humble worship, and steady progress toward his Lord.