they are not committed. Thus, the five daily prayers erase the minor sins, but they do not expiate the major ones.

Cheating in business dealings is a case in point: it is one of the major sins, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disavowed the one who does it, saying, “Whoever cheats us is not one of us.” Therefore, if a person performs the five prayers while continuing to cheat, that cheating will not be forgiven, for it is a major sin.

Taking a false oath to promote merchandise is likewise a major sin. In the hadith: “Three people will not be spoken to by Allah on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He look at them, nor will He purify them, and they will have a painful punishment: the one who reminds others of what he has given, the one who lets his garment trail out of arrogance, and the seller who markets his goods with a lying oath.”

In the same way, if someone lets his garment fall below the ankles out of pride, this is a major sin and will not be expiated by the prayer. Indeed, even if he lowers it below the ankles without arrogance, it is still counted among the major sins and therefore will not be forgiven merely by his prayer.

Backbiting is also among the major sins. Should a person backbite even a single individual between the dawn prayer and the noon prayer, the noon prayer will not wipe away that backbiting, because it is a major sin—even if it happened only once and concerned only one person. Backbiting—called sabbābah by ordinary people—means to mention your brother with something he dislikes.