Sins are the greatest hindrance or obstruction in achieving or furnishing a fuller state of God-fearingness (taqwa). The Messenger of God ﷺ gave us a glimpse of what sins do the spiritual heart as narrated by Imam at-Tirmidhi in his Sunan,

Abu Huraira reported, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Verily, when the servant commits a sin, a black mark appears upon his heart. If he abandons the sin, seeks forgiveness, and repents, then his heart will be polished. If he returns to the sin, the blackness will be increased until it overcomes his heart. It is the covering that Allah has mentioned: No, rather a covering is over their hearts from what they have earned.” (83:14)

In this fascinating book entitled al-Kabair (the book of enormities), Imam Dhahabi confines himself to listing the sins agreed upon by the scholars of Islam as being enormities or major sins and mentioned in the Holy Qur’an or the blessed Sunnah. We will use the 20 one-hour lessons to explore the 70 sins listed. We will use the time to study the sins in more depth sins and look at the detrimental impact they have on the soul of the perpetrators in this world, along with the dreadful punishment promised by God or His Prophet ﷺ for those who fail to repent from them before they die. The hope is that through this journey, we will be able to comprehend the gravity of these sins and protect ourselves and those close to us from ever committing such sins.