A--- In this connection, companions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him)

and the earlier pious scholars said: This implies all sins that incur a major Prescribed Penalty. It is also said: this implies all sins that are followed by a curse, wrath, fire or any sort of punishment. It is also said: this implies all sins the committing of which shows the indifference of the doer towards religion and Allah the Almighty.

Among the well-known major sins are: To join partners in worship. with Allah, to practice sorcery, to kill a person which Allah has forbidden except for a just cause (according to Islamic Law), to eat up Riba (usury), to eat up the property of an orphan, to show one's back to the enemy and fleeing from the battlefield at the time of fighting, to accuse chaste women who never even think of anything touching their chastity and are good believers, to drink wine, and to show imprudence to parents, etc.

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said: the Major Sins could reach 70 in numbers. Whosoever traces the sins called major ones, will find them more than seventy. Moreover, if one counts the so-called major sins mentioned in various Hadiths, the number will surely exceed 70.