الَّذينَ يَجتَنِبونَ كَبائِرَ الإِثمِ وَالفَواحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ واسِعُ المَغفِرَةِ ۚ هُوَ أَعلَمُ بِكُم إِذ أَنشَأَكُم مِنَ الأَرضِ وَإِذ أَنتُم أَجِنَّةٌ في بُطونِ أُمَّهاتِكُم ۖ فَلا تُزَكّوا أَنفُسَكُم ۖ هُوَ أَعلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقىٰ

Those who avoid major sins and indecencies, excepting [minor and occasional] lapses. Indeed your Lord is expansive in [His] forgiveness. He knows you best since [the time] He produced you from the earth, and since you were foetuses in the bellies of your mothers. So do not flaunt your piety: He knows best those who are God-wary.

EXEGESIS

Kabāʾir (major) is the plural of kabīr (large). The word kabāʾir could be an adjective to describe actions, as if to say: actions that are major sins.^{‎[1]Razi, 29/269.} Or it could mean al-kabāʾir min al-ithm (the major ones from amongst the sins).^{‎[2]Zamakhshari, 4/425.} A better explanation is that kabāʾir is an adjectival construct.^{‎[3]Iḍāfat al-ṣifah ilā al-mawṣūf, like saying faḍīlat al-shaykh instead of al-shaykh al-fāḍil. Both would mean ‘honourable scholar’ in English.}

The term kabāʾir or kabīrah has in usage been adopted to mean the major sins on its own, without the need of saying kabāʾir al-ithm.

Ithm (sin) means that which takes a person further away from good and reward, thus it is used for sins.^{‎[4]Nemuneh, 22/536-537.}

Fawāḥish (indecencies) is the plural of fāḥishah. It refers here to the ugliest and most vile of sins.^{‎[5]Tibyan, 9/432; Tabrisi, 9/272.} It is mentioned in addition to kabāʾir because it refers ordinarily to sins that have a vile appearance, meaning they are known to the public and seen by others, as opposed to kabāʾir, which may be done in secret.^{‎[6]Razi, 29/270.} Indeed, a sin becomes even more vile and even more harmful when it is done in public and the doer does not feel shame for what they have done, because this spreads the corruption of the sin and normalises it in society.

Lamam (lapses) comes from the verb lamma, meaning to gather something or bring it together. In this sense it also has the meaning of closeness or being near to something.^{‎[7]Zubaydi, 17/657; Lisan, 12/547-548.} Here it means to do something that is not habitual. Hence with regards to a sin, that sin should not be habitual for a person and can therefore accurately be translated as a lapse.

Anshaʾakum (produced) comes from nashʾ, meaning to bring something about and to nurture it.^{‎[8]Raghib, p. 807.} Here it is referring to the earliest stages of man’s creation.

Tuzakkū is a plural imperative from tazkiyah, meaning to purify something. Tuzakkū anfusakum (flaunt your piety), means to try and present yourself as being without blemish. In other words, it means ‘do not praise yourselves’.^{‎[9]Thalabi, 9/150.}

Ajinnah (foetuses) is the plural of jinīn, meaning the child that is still in its mother’s womb. It is called that because it is hidden.^{‎[10]Thalabi, 9/150.}

Ittaqā comes from the word wiqāyah, meaning to protect something from that which harms it. The word taqwā (the quality of being God-wary) derives from the same root, and has the literal meaning of protecting the self from that which is feared.^{‎[11]Raghib, p. 881}

EXPOSITION

God continues from the previous verse that mentioned those who do good. A major part of being good is to avoid sins, so God describes them as Those who avoid major sins and indecencies. This is similar to the verse, If you avoid the major sins that you are forbidden, We will absolve you of your misdeeds, and admit you to a noble abode (4:31). For more explanation on what constitutes major sins, see the commentary on that verse. See also the commentary on 42:37.

Avoiding sins does not mean that they never make mistakes or occasionally suffer from lapses of judgement. That is why God follows it by saying excepting lapses. However, a believer would never allow such sins to become part of his nature, and would always repent as soon as he has made such a mistake.^{‎[12]Nemuneh, 22/538.}

The address then changes to the Prophet to whom God further emphasises His mercy by reminding all people that He is forgiving and accepts repentance: Indeed your Lord is expansive in [His] forgiveness. This means that His mercy encompasses all sins.^{‎[13]Tabrisi, 9/272.} God will forgive minor sins and lapses into major sins for those who do good. Of course, with repentance all sins may be forgiven if one is sincere and changes their ways: Say [that Allah declares]: ‘O My servants who have committed excesses against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah will forgive all sins (39:53).

The address then changes once again to the plural you: He knows you best since [the time] He produced you from the earth, which could be referring to the faithless or the believers, but considering this statement and the command do not flaunt your piety, it seems to be addressing both.

He produced you from the earth is generally said to refer to God creating Prophet Adam (a) from the clay of the earth.^{‎[14]This is the opinion of Tibyan, 9/433; Tabari, 27/41; Thalabi, 9/150; Qurtubi, 17/109; Muhit, 10/21.} This is a rebuttal to those who doubt the declaration of the previous verse, that He may requite those who do evil for what they have done, as some may reject the possibility of such a requital because they reject the possibility of a resurrection. By reminding him that man was once created from the earth, he is being admonished that the same can be done again.^{‎[15]Razi, 29/271.}

And since you were foetuses in the bellies of your mothers, means that God is aware of man in all his various stages, even when he was but a foetus, and even before that when he was merely scattered primordial elements, God knew all there is to know about him. How can one imagine that the God who knows all this would not know what actions they have done?^{‎[16]Tabrisi, 9/272.} He knows whatever you hide and whatever you disclose (64:4). God mentions His knowledge of foetuses as an example of His knowledge of the unseen (ʿilm al-ghayb), to which no one else is privy to (see the commentary on 31:34).

Since God knows all of man’s actions, there is no need for a person to tell others of his own merits, so God commands him, do not flaunt your piety, do not attribute to yourselves great merits of piety, obedience, or worship, or to claim that you are free from sins and flaws.^{‎[17]Zamakhshari, 4/426.} For more on this see the commentary on verse 4:49.

He knows best those who are God-wary. The verse is addressing the disbelievers who regarded themselves as paragons of morality and virtue; The faithless say about the faithful: ‘Had it been [anything] good, they would not have taken the lead over us toward [accepting] it’ (46:11). In this sense, when God declares that He knows best those who are God-wary, it can mean He is most aware about who is the one that is most capable of warding off punishment from themselves.

Alternatively, it could refer to the fact that God knows who is pious and God-wary, so there is no need to inform others of one’s merits or worship done in secret. Indeed, doing so is an act of ostentation and can nullify one’s good deeds and can even cause what was once a good action to count as a sin. In fact, if a person is truly God-wary, he would know that his actions are nothing in comparison to the duty owed towards God and the blessings bestowed upon him.^{‎[18]Nemuneh, 22/533-534.}

Finally, we should note that this is directly related to the theme of spiritual eminence, which is something that one cannot claim for oneself. God knows who has earned these stations and false claims avail no one.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

There are various different reports mentioned as to the reason of revelation for this verse. It is reported from Ibn Abbas and others that the faithless used to say to the Muslims, ‘just yesterday you were engaging in the same sins as we are’, so God revealed this verse as a response.^{‎[19]Muhit, 10/21.} According to another report, it is said that people used to commit indecencies and then say ‘our prayer, our fast, our pilgrimage’, which prompted the revelation of this verse.^{‎[20]Thalabi, 9/150.} These reports seem to be more educated guesses looking at the situations that existed, rather than an actual reason of revelation per se.

1. From Imam Ali (a): ‘The severest of sins are the ones which are belittled by their doer.’^{‎[21]Nahj, saying 348; Wasail, 15/312.}
2. From Muhammad ibn Muslim, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said regarding the statement Those who avoid major sins and indecencies, excepting lapses, that it means: ‘It is a sin into which man lapses, then as much time passes as God wills, and then he lapses into it again.’
3. From Isḥāq ibn ʿAmmār, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘There is no believer except that he has some sins which he then abandons for some time then lapses into again. This is the meaning of the word of God, mighty and glorious, excepting lapses.’ ‘I asked him regarding the word of God, mighty and glorious, Those who avoid major sins and indecencies, excepting lapses. He said: “Indecencies are adultery and theft, and lamam means a man lapses into sin and then seeks forgiveness from God.”’^{‎[22]Kafi, 2/442.}
4. From Ibn Riʾāb, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Lying, stinginess, and debauchery are not part of a believer’s character; he might lapse into them occasionally, but he does not persist in them.’

Note: A believer may occasionally lapse into sins and mistakes, but they should not become part of his nature. It is not possible to be a believer and persistently sin. This is the message of the verse in question.

5. From Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Maintaining a good deed until it becomes sincere is more difficult than [performing] the action [itself]. The sincere action is the one for which you desire the praise of none but God, the mighty and glorious.’^{‎[23]Kafi, 2/16.}

Note: Praising oneself by telling others of one’s good deeds can be a way of losing the divine reward for those actions.

6. From Imam Ali (a): ‘If it were not for the fact that God has forbidden a person from praising themselves, one might mention some of his many merits which are known to the memory of the believers, and the listeners would not mind hearing.’^{‎[24]Nahj, letter 28.}

Note: Imam Ali (a) is referring to himself, meaning there are many merits which he could list of himself, yet the important ones are known to the believers. Although it should be kept in mind that in some situations it becomes necessary to mentions one’s merits. An example of this is Prophet Joseph (a) saying, put me in charge of the country’s granaries. I am indeed fastidious [and] well-informed (12:55), which is comparable to what a person might have to say in any job interview. Other situations might be the necessity of the Prophet or an Imam informing people of his own merits. The above excerpt is from the letter of Imam Ali (a) to Muʿāwiyah, which was written in reply to the latter’s attempt to belittle the merits of the Banī Hāshim. Imam Ali (a) mentions the honourable positions given by the Prophet to Ḥamzah and Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib, and says he would have mentioned many of his own merits as well, were it not that it could be construed as boasting.

7. From Muhammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr, that he heard Imam al-Kāẓim (a) say: ‘God will not make anyone stay in hell forever except the people of faithlessness (kufr), denial (juḥūd), misguidance (ḍalāl), and polytheism (shirk). Whoever from amongst the believers avoids the major sins will not be asked about the minor sins. God – blessed and exalted – has said: If you avoid the major sins that you are forbidden, We will absolve you of your misdeeds, and admit you to a noble abode [4:31].’ ‘I said to him: “O son of the Messenger of God, to whom is intercession for then from amongst the believers?”^{‎[25]The narrator asks this because intercession is generally understood to be for those Muslims who should go to hell were it not for intercession.} He said: “My father has told, from his fathers, from Ali (a), that he heard the Messenger of God (s) say: ‘My intercession is for those in my nation who have committed major sins. As for the goodly (muḥsinūn), there is no way against them.’”’^{‎[26]Meaning they are not in need of intercession.} Muhammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr said to him: ‘O son of the Messenger of God, how is intercession for those who have committed major sins, whilst God – exalted be His name – says: and they do not intercede except for someone He approves of [21:28], and those who commit major sins, surely God does not approve of them?’ He said: ‘O Abū Aḥmad, there is no believer who commits a sin except that he despises himself for having done so and regrets doing it. The Prophet (s) has said: “Regret is sufficient as repentance.” Whosoever is pleased by his good deeds and displeased of his bad deeds is a believer. Whosoever does not regret a sin that he has committed is not a believer and intercession is not for him. He is a wrongdoer (ẓālim) and God – exalted be His name – has said: the wrongdoers will have no sympathiser, nor any intercessor who might be heard [40:18].’ ‘I said to him: “O son of the Messenger of God, how is the one who does not repent for having committed a sin not a believer?” He said: “O Abū Aḥmad, there is no one who commits a major sin – knowing that he will be punished for it – except that he would regret what he has done.^{‎[27]Meaning logic dictates that if you truly believe you are going to get punished for something, you would regret having done it, if not for any other reason than the fear of the punishment.} When he regrets, he has repented and is deserving of intercession. If he does not regret, he is insistent [on continuing the sin], and the insistent is not forgiven, because he does not believe that he will be punished for what he has done. If he believed that he is going to be punished, he would regret. The Prophet (s) has said: ‘There is no major sin if there is repentance and no minor sin if there is insistence.’ As for God – mighty and glorious – saying and they do not intercede except for someone He approves of [21:28], that means that they do not intercede on behalf of those whose faith (dīn) God does not approve of. Faith means to accept that there is a recompense for good and evil actions. If God approves of the faith of a person that means that the person in question has regretted whatever sins he has committed, because he knows that he will be punished on the Day of Resurrection.”’^{‎[28]Tawhid, pp. 407-408.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The concept of major sins has sparked lots of discussion amongst the exegetes and scholars:

1. Ṭūsī clarifies that all the sins are major sins, but some are considered greater than others. It is only in comparison to one another that can one be called greater or lesser.^{‎[29]Tibyan, 9/432. He says it is possible to classify a sin as a major sin when it is one which is not forgiven except through repentance.} Ṭūsī is probably saying this in order that no one should think that since God has promised to forgive the minor sins that they can freely engage in those. As we read in a hadith earlier, it is a person’s attitude that can also make a small sin into a great one. Rāzī agrees and adds that the degree of severity also depends on the person. What may be a major sin for one person, might not be so for another. For example, it could be a major sin for a scholar to ignore his prayers in exchange for trivial pursuits such as games, whereas it might not be for a layman. He also ponders that this can depend on time and location, as in different conditions and places different things can be considered major sins.^{‎[30]Razi, 29/270.}
2. Zamakhsharī says it is a sin the punishment of which is not averted except through repentance.^{‎[31]Zamakhshari, 4/425.}
3. Tabatabai defines the major sins as those for which God has promised hell.^{‎[32]Mizan, 19/42.}
4. Makārim Shīrāzī tries a more comprehensive approach and considers it to be a sin that fulfils any of the following conditions: a sin for which God has promised hell; sins which have been mentioned to be great sins in authentic narrations; a sin which has been mentioned in authentic narrations as being very reprehensible; any sin that has been reliably mentioned in the sources as being greater than one of the aforementioned conditions.^{‎[33]Nemuneh, 22/541-542.}

There is some discussion about whether the terms kabāʾir and fawāḥish are referring to two different things or the same thing. Tabatabai has considered them to mean the same thing.^{‎[34]This is the opinion of Mizan, 19/42.} Others have suggested ithm refers to private sins while fawāḥish refers to public or social sins,^{‎[35]Mudarrisi, 14/179.} which seems to be the more accurate view.

As for lapses (lamam), different interpretations have also been suggested:

1. Ṭūsī and Ibn Manẓūr say it is to draw close to something without doing it; for example, a person comes close to a sin and wishes to commit it, without actually doing so.^{‎[36]Tibyan, 9/433; Zubaydi, 17/658; Lisan, 12/549; Razi, 29/270.} Or perhaps to not draw close to it except as a lapse.^{‎[37]Razi, 29/271.} Makārim Shīrāzī criticises this, saying that since God immediately follows this by saying your Lord is expansive in [His] forgiveness, it would only make sense that lapses should mean a sin for which forgiveness is required, and it cannot simply be to draw close to a sin.^{‎[38]Nemuneh, 22/538.}
2. Related to the above, from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Masʿūd, that it refers to minor sins, such as looking or kissing, that does not reach the level of fornication (zinā).^{‎[39]Tibyan, 9/433; Tabari, 27/39; Zubaydi, 17/657; Thalabi, 9/148. This is adopted by Zamakhshari, who does not qualify it with any of the examples that others mentioned (Zamakhshari, 4/426).} Related to this, Qurṭubī says it is the minor sins that none but the Infallibles can avoid.^{‎[40]Qurtubi, 17/106.} This option would avoid the criticism that Makārim Shīrāzī pointed out. In this sense, lamam would mean sins that draw one close to major sins.
3. From Hasan al-Baṣrī and others, it is to lapse into a sin once and not return to it again.^{‎[41]Tabrisi, 9/272; Tabari, 27/39-40; Zubaydi, 17/657; Thalabi, 9/148.} Related to this is that he regrets it as soon as he has done it, similar to the verse, those who, when they commit an indecent act or wrong themselves, remember Allah, and plead [Allah’s] forgiveness for their sins (3:135), and also, when those who are God-wary are touched by a visitation of Satan, they remember [Allah] and, behold, they perceive (7:201). Similar to this is the opinion that lamam is a major sin into which a Muslim lapses occasionally and repents each time.^{‎[42]Thalabi, 9/149. This is also the opinion adopted in Nemuneh, 22/537-538.}
4. Some, such as Ṭabarī, have suggested that it is a disjointed exception (istithnā munqaṭiʿ), meaning that it is not a part of the preceding statement about major sins. In this sense it would mean that anything besides the major sins and indecencies is lamam, and is therefore forgiven.^{‎[43]Tabari, 27/41. This option is also entertained by Zamakhshari, 4/426; Muhit, 10/20.}

And many other suggestions.^{‎[44]For example from Zayd ibn Thābit and others, it refers to the sins people committed before becoming Muslims (Tabrisi, 9/272; Tabari, 27/38; Thalabi, 9/148). From ʿIkramah and others, that it is every sin that does not have a defined punishment (ḥadd), nor is it punished with hell in the hereafter (Tabari, 27/40; Thalabi, 9/149). For some more of these see Qurtubi, 17/106-109.} In any case, most of these opinions echo what was said in the narrations, that lamam is a sin that does not become part of a believer’s nature, so that he habitually engages in it. Hence, a believer may lapse and, for example, eat impermissible meat, but he would not regularly buy it as his food.

Finally, Ṭabrisī entertains the possibility that He produced you from the earth refers to God nourishing people with food that comes from the ground and causes them to grow.^{‎[45]Tabrisi, 9/272. As does Muhit, 10/21.} Some others have understood this to refer to Prophet Adam (a).^{‎[46]Qurtubi, 17/109.} Others have said it refers to the elements that compose man.^{‎[47]Mizan, 19/43.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that does not lead to death. We know that whoever is born of God does not keep on sinning. But whoever has been born of God guards himself, and the wicked one cannot touch him.^{‎[48]1 John 5:17-18.}
2. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.^{‎[49]Proverbs 3:7.}
3. Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?^{‎[50]Proverbs 20:6.}
4. A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.^{‎[51]Proverbs 21:2.}
5. Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.^{‎[52]Proverbs 27:2.}

[1] Razi, 29/269.
[2] Zamakhshari, 4/425.
[3] Iḍāfat al-ṣifah ilā al-mawṣūf, like saying faḍīlat al-shaykh instead of al-shaykh al-fāḍil. Both would mean ‘honourable scholar’ in English.
[4] Nemuneh, 22/536-537.
[5] Tibyan, 9/432; Tabrisi, 9/272.
[6] Razi, 29/270.
[7] Zubaydi, 17/657; Lisan, 12/547-548.
[8] Raghib, p. 807.
[9] Thalabi, 9/150.
[10] Thalabi, 9/150.
[11] Raghib, p. 881
[12] Nemuneh, 22/538.
[13] Tabrisi, 9/272.
[14] This is the opinion of Tibyan, 9/433; Tabari, 27/41; Thalabi, 9/150; Qurtubi, 17/109; Muhit, 10/21.
[15] Razi, 29/271.
[16] Tabrisi, 9/272.
[17] Zamakhshari, 4/426.
[18] Nemuneh, 22/533-534.
[19] Muhit, 10/21.
[20] Thalabi, 9/150.
[21] Nahj, saying 348; Wasail, 15/312.
[22] Kafi, 2/442.
[23] Kafi, 2/16.
[24] Nahj, letter 28.
[25] The narrator asks this because intercession is generally understood to be for those Muslims who should go to hell were it not for intercession.
[26] Meaning they are not in need of intercession.
[27] Meaning logic dictates that if you truly believe you are going to get punished for something, you would regret having done it, if not for any other reason than the fear of the punishment.
[28] Tawhid, pp. 407-408.
[29] Tibyan, 9/432. He says it is possible to classify a sin as a major sin when it is one which is not forgiven except through repentance.
[30] Razi, 29/270.
[31] Zamakhshari, 4/425.
[32] Mizan, 19/42.
[33] Nemuneh, 22/541-542.
[34] This is the opinion of Mizan, 19/42.
[35] Mudarrisi, 14/179.
[36] Tibyan, 9/433; Zubaydi, 17/658; Lisan, 12/549; Razi, 29/270.
[37] Razi, 29/271.
[38] Nemuneh, 22/538.
[39] Tibyan, 9/433; Tabari, 27/39; Zubaydi, 17/657; Thalabi, 9/148. This is adopted by Zamakhshari, who does not qualify it with any of the examples that others mentioned (Zamakhshari, 4/426).
[40] Qurtubi, 17/106.
[41] Tabrisi, 9/272; Tabari, 27/39-40; Zubaydi, 17/657; Thalabi, 9/148.
[42] Thalabi, 9/149. This is also the opinion adopted in Nemuneh, 22/537-538.
[43] Tabari, 27/41. This option is also entertained by Zamakhshari, 4/426; Muhit, 10/20.
[44] For example from Zayd ibn Thābit and others, it refers to the sins people committed before becoming Muslims (Tabrisi, 9/272; Tabari, 27/38; Thalabi, 9/148). From ʿIkramah and others, that it is every sin that does not have a defined punishment (ḥadd), nor is it punished with hell in the hereafter (Tabari, 27/40; Thalabi, 9/149). For some more of these see Qurtubi, 17/106-109.
[45] Tabrisi, 9/272. As does Muhit, 10/21.
[46] Qurtubi, 17/109.
[47] Mizan, 19/43.
[48] 1 John 5:17-18.
[49] Proverbs 3:7.
[50] Proverbs 20:6.
[51] Proverbs 21:2.
[52] Proverbs 27:2.