Al-Kabair li Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (matbu within Muallafat al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, al-juz al-awwal)
- Author died
- 1206 AH
- Editions
- Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University
Kitab al-Kabair (Arabic: كتاب الكبائر, lit. 'The Book of Major Sins') is a treatise on Islamic ethics and major sins composed by the Najdi theologian and reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1115–1206 AH / 1703–1792 CE) . The work classifies and warns against major transgressions in Islam, relying entirely on direct proofs from the Quran, prophetic hadith, and early scholarly traditions .
Purpose and Method
The work was composed to enumerate the various categories of major sins (al-kabair) and illustrate the scriptural prohibition of each . Ibn Abd al-Wahhab structured the treatise into distinct thematic chapters (abwab). Under each chapter heading, he presents relevant verses from the Quran, followed by one or more prophetic hadiths demonstrating that the specified act constitutes a major sin, occasionally appending interpretive statements from early authorities (al-salaf) .
Structure and Content
The treatise comprises 125 chapters containing 258 hadiths and reports (athar) . It opens with foundational Quranic verses on avoiding major sins, including إِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ ("If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins", Surat al-Nisa: 31) and الَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ ("Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight offenses", Surat al-Najm: 32) . It then cites definitions transmitted by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari and Abd al-Razzaq al-Sanani on the authority of Abd Allah ibn Abbas, who characterized a major sin as any offense concluded with the threat of Hellfire, divine curse, wrath, or punishment .
The opening chapter is titled "Bab Akbar al-Kabair" (Chapter on the Greatest of Major Sins), citing the hadith of Abu Bakrah: ألا أنبئكم بأكبر الكبائر؟ قلنا: بلى يا رسول الله. قال: الإشراك بالله، وعقوق الوالدين، وكان متكئا فجلس فقال: ألا وقول الزور، ألا وشهادة الزور ("Shall I not inform you of the greatest of major sins? We said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: Associating partners with Allah, and disobedience to parents. He was reclining, then sat up and said: Beware of false speech and false testimony!") .
Subsequent chapters cover a wide range of sins, including:
- Inward sins of the heart, such as arrogance (al-kibr), self-admiration (al-ujb), ostentation (al-riya), despairing of divine mercy, holding ill thoughts of God, seeking haughtiness and corruption, and harboring malice and enmity .
- Sins of the tongue, including lying, breaching promises, excessive chatter, affectation in speech, and foul language .
Transmission and Publication
The attribution of the book to Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was recorded by classical chroniclers of Najd, including Husayn ibn Ghannam in Rawdat al-Afkar wa-l-Afham and Ibn Bishr in Unwan al-Majd .
Multiple manuscript copies of the treatise are preserved, including copies in the library of Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh, the collection of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Latif, the manuscript of Abd al-Rahman al-Husayn, as well as copies held in Kuwait, Rampur, and several libraries across Saudi Arabia .
The work has been published in standalone verified editions—including an edition edited by Ismail ibn Muhammad al-Ansari and Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Latif Al al-Shaykh—and as part of the first volume (creed section) of Muallafat al-Shaykh al-Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, published under the auspices of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University .
Answer updated