Ma'siya (disobedience, sin)

Lexically disobedience is leaving obedience and defying a command; technically it is a forbidden act intended in itself. A slip (zalla) differs because it is not intended in itself. ¹

Most scholars divide sins into minor and grave, a view a group of scholars rejected, holding that every sin is grave and only relatively smaller. ^{1 2} Al-Halimi used three categories, minor, grave and gross. ² Al-Mawardi divided them by the soul's inclination, those it craves and those it shuns. ⁹

Sins carry worldly penalties (fixed hudud for adultery, theft and drinking, and discretionary ta'zir) and spiritual deprivations such as lost knowledge and provision, shortened life, and weakened will to repent. ^{9 3}

Repentance is obligatory at once. ⁴ Persistence turns a minor sin into a grave one, and the Shafi'is recommend giving alms after each sin. ⁵ Concealment is recommended where a hadd is involved; public confession is not sinful in the Hanafi view, while boasting of sin is forbidden. ^{5 10}

Sin does not create a concession: an offender on a sinful journey does not shorten the prayer or break the fast, while sin that happens alongside a valid cause does not bar the concession. ⁶ Zakat is not given to a traveller on a sinful journey, nor to a debtor in sin before repentance, according to the majority. ^{6 7} Endowments, bequests, vows and hiring for sin are invalid. ^{7 8}