Persistence in Sins

1. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Nuhayki from ‘Ammar ibn Marwan al- Qandi from ‘Abd Allah ibn Sinan from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Minor sins are not minor if one persists committing such sins and major sins are not major if followed by plea for forgiveness.”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

114. Ibn Mahboub, from Jameel Bin Saleh, from Al-Waleed Bin Sabeeh, who has reported the following: Abu Abdullah (asws) having said: ‘Allah (azwj) Mighty and Majestic Revealed unto Suleyman Bin Dawood (as) that: “The sign of your (as) death is a tree which will come out from Bayt Al-Maqdas called Al-Kharnouba”. Suleyman (as) looked around one day and there was Al-Kharnouba tree which had emerged from Bayt Al-Maqdas. So he (as) said to it: ‘What is your name?’ It said, ‘Al-Kharnouba’. Suleyman (as) turned back to his (as) Prayer Niche and stood leaning upon his staff. His (as) soul was Captured (passed away) in that moment. The Jinn and the human beings kept on serving him (as) and were striving in his (as) command as before, and they were thinking that he (as) was alive and had not died. The morning came and passed, and he (as) was still standing still, until the woodworm gnawed away at his (as) staff and it broke, and Suleyman (as) fell down upon the ground. Have you not heard the Statemennt of the Mighty and Majestic: “[34:14] and when it fell down, the jinn came to know plainly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have tarried in abasing torment”.

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

2. Abu Ali al-Ash’ari has narrated from Muhammad ibn Salim from Ahmad ibn al- Nadr from ‘Amr ibn Shamir from Jabir from abu Ja’far (a.s.) who has said the following: “About the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, . . and who do not knowingly persist in their mistakes,’ (3:135) the Imam said, ‘Persistence is when one commits and does not ask forgiveness from Allah nor say anything to himself about repentance. Such attitude is persistence in sin.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

3. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Mansur ibn Yunus from abu Basir who has said the following: “I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘No, I swear by Allah, Allah does not accept any act of one’s obedience to Him when one is persisting in disobedience to Him.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.