—for them is the curse, and theirs is an evil home.” And He says:

“Would you then, if you turned away, spread corruption on earth and sever your ties of kinship?”

“Those are the ones whom Allah has cursed, making them deaf and blinding their sight.”

And Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, those who exchange Allah’s covenant and their oaths for a small price will have no share in the Hereafter. Allah will neither speak to them nor look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And they will suffer a painful punishment.”

Likewise, any sin whose perpetrator is threatened with not entering Paradise or not even smelling its fragrance, concerning which it is said, “Whoever commits it is not one of us,” or whose perpetrator is described as sinful—all these are major sins. Examples include the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“No one who severs ties of kinship will enter Paradise.”

And his words:

“No one with an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise.”

And his words:

“Whoever cheats us is not one of us.”

And his words:

“Whoever takes up arms against us is not one of us.”

And his words:

“A person who commits unlawful sexual intercourse is not a believer while committing it; a thief is not a believer while stealing; a person who drinks wine is not a believer while drinking it; and a person who plunders something of great value, as people raise their eyes to watch him, is not a believer while plundering it.”

This is because denying someone’s faith and declaring that he is not among the believers does not mean what the Murji’ah claim: that “he is not among the best of us.” For even if he refrained from that sin, it would not necessarily follow that he was among their best. Nor does it mean what the Khawārij claim: that he has become a disbeliever. Nor does it mean what the Mu‘tazilah claim: that no faith remains in him whatsoever, but rather