Report 79: ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; my father narrated to us; Abū Dāwūd narrated to us; ʿImrān narrated to us, from Qatādah, from ʿAbd Rabbihi, from Abū ʿIyāḍ, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd—that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Beware of sins that you consider trivial, for they accumulate around a man until they destroy him.”

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then gave a parable for such sins: “A people halted in a barren land. When the time came to prepare their meal, one man went off and brought a stick, another brought a stick, until they had gathered a sizable pile, lit a fire, and cooked whatever they placed upon it.”