Should we laugh less and weep more?

Question: What is the meaning of the verse:

“Therefore they shall laugh little and weep much…” [Surah Taubah 9:82]

Does it mean that the Almighty Allah has commended us to laugh less and weep more? Though weeping more is not allowed by any jurist, secondly when laughing is caused by happiness and bestowed pleasure to the body and soul, then why  refrain from it?

Answer: Those who have explained the meaning of this verse have not reflected upon the context. The above verse of those verses of Surah Taubah in which there is discussion regarding the covenant breakers, hypocrites and the rules of Islamic Jihad. Before this is the verse: Those who were left behind were glad on account of their sitting behind Allah’ apostle and they were averse from striving in Allah’s way with their property and their persons and said:

Do not go forth in the heat. Say: The fire of hell is much severe in heat. Would that they understood (it).

Immediately after this is the verse that:

Those who have behaved in this way must as the consequence of their deeds laugh little and weep more.

The gist of the discussion is that the last part of this verse and the preceding and the succeeding verse in the same way the sentence Then laugh… begins with ‘Then’ which shows the connection with the previous verse. All this clearly shows that this verse is concerned with the hypocrites and the covenant breakers and it does not contain any command for the common people. And the last words show that their laughing less and weeping more is a punishment of their deeds. It indicates towards the fact that if they understood it, that what punishments they will get, they would laugh less and weep more and they will not get comfort from grief and sorrow, even for a moment.

Would there be interrogation on the day of Resurrection?

Question: It is mentioned in Surah Rahman that:

“So on that day neither man nor Jinni shall be asked about his sin.” [Surah Rahman 55:39]

Though in numerous other verses we read that the sinners will be questioned on that day.

Answer: As testified by the very next verse of this Surah here the statement that the sinners will not be questioned means that they will not be questioned verbally so that they could reply with their tongue like they do in this world. Rather their deeds will be exposed from their faces themselves. And their hands, legs and other physical organs will explain about all their deeds and actions.

In the same Surah after two verses it is mentioned that the sinners will be recognized from their faces. In Surah Yasin also it is said that:

“On that day We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness of what they earned.” [Surah Yasin 36:65]

Therefore if in the captioned verse it is said they shall not be questioned, it means that there will not be oral interrogation. But other witnesses that are the physical parts will give the replies.

Does the Prophet also seek Counsel?

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What are ‘Light’ and ‘Grave sins’?

Question: How can we differentiate between ‘light’ and ‘grave sins’?

Answer: Actually the source of judging the light and grave sins are the verses of the Holy Quran from whom is the following:

“If you shun the grave sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with you light sins…” [Surah Nisa 4:31]

Now let us see what the scale of determining whether a sin is light or grave is.

Our scholars say that every sin, be it light or grave is a grave sin in itself.

But the scale of finding whether a sin is light or grave is not that it should be inspected with relation to the Divine realm. Because from the aspect of such investigation it is all ‘grave’ even though this division of sins is done to compare between themselves. According to which there are two kinds of sins, ‘graver’ and ‘lighter.’

Now we should see what is the scale of differentiating the two? There are many techniques to discriminate the two of them and the most famous of them according to scholars is that every sin regarding which the Holy Quran has promised punishment is graver sin. For example, murder. regarding which the Holy Quran says:

“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it…” [Surah Nisa 4:93]

Some scholars have added another condition also that graver sin is that for which punishment is promised or it is emphatically prohibited. Because there are many sins which are not promised punishment but they are emphatically and repeatedly prohibited.

For example if we consider that only the following sentence has arrived for usury that those who take usury have made a declaration of war against Allah. Then this alone is a sign that usury is a graver sin. And if in other verses and traditions the usurers had not been promised hell, even its emphatic and repeated prohibition shows that it is a graver sin. From this aspect the magnitude of sins is not relative. Their limits are different. It can never be that a sin is lighter as well as graver. Because if it is promised punishment or if its performance is emphatically prohibited, it would be a greater sin, otherwise it is smaller.

Are Graver and Lighter relative terms?

Question: Some people say that the graver and lighter sins are comparable (ratio) that is, it is possible a sin is graver but in comparison to another sin it would be considered light. For example, theft is a graver sin but in comparison to intentional murder it is considered light. From the aspect of their comparability all the sins are eligible for forgiveness and remission. Because the Holy Quran says:

“If you shun the grave sins we shall do away with your light sins.”

Thus every sin that is shunned keeping in view a greater one will be forgiven but there is no sin greater than polytheism that if one shuns it one could be forgiven his polytheism.

On the basis of this one who has not made a partner to Allah will have all his sins forgiven.

Answer: In the reply to the previous the reply to this question has also become clear. Because as mentioned above the classification of sins into light and grave is an absolute clarification which is divided into two on the basis that some are those which are promised divine punishment or prohibited emphatically and some are not. They have not been classified due to their magnitude or on the basis of conjecture. And the captioned verse discusses this point and the conclusion derived from it is that if a Muslim refrains from one class of sins that is the grave sins, the Almighty Allah will forgive their sins of the second class, that are called Sayyat or Saghaer – that is lighter. And there are two separate limits of the two different classes of sins and none of them can overlap. Therefore, shunning the grave sins cannot cause the other grave sins to be forgiven. It can only help in forgiveness of light sins, (In the background we should also remember that repeating light sins make them into grave sins).