Hundred Questions - Mortal Sin
Mortal Sin
Q78 What is the mortal or greatest sin, which cannot be forgiven? Please explain in detail.
A78 The mortal or greatest sin, which cannot be forgiven, is shirk (associating someone with God), as God says in the Qur'an: "God forgives not that partners should be ascribed unto Him. He forgives all save that to whom He wills. Whoso ascribes partners unto God has wandered far astray (4:116)". It should be well understood that as shirk is the greatest sin, to escape from this and to choose the path of tawhid (believing in one God alone) and His recognition is the greatest rewarding deed. However, if shirk and tawhid had been ordinary and comprehensible as the common people think, and they did not have some secrets, all people would have easily attained salvation and none would have gone astray. Obviously this is not the case, rather they contain some secrets.
Through investigating this verse we come to know that shirk results in going very far astray. In this connection the concept of the straight path and the true guide comes before us, because going astray is that state and condition of a person who has fallen away from the straight path and the true guide. This on the one hand shows that shirk and going astray have the same meaning and on the other hand that tawhid and guidance are not separate from the straight path and the Imam of the time.
Now, we have to see whether in religion, the ma`rifat (recognition) of God is universally accepted, or not. It is obvious that no Muslim can deny this fact. For, Islam is the straight path i.e. the path leading to the presence of God, which has four stages: shari`at, tariqat, haqiqat, and ma`rifat. Among these stages ma`rifat is the final stage in the sense that the ma`rifat or recognition of God is attained after having passed through all the distances on the path of religion. Only when God is recognized in this way does one get rid of shirk, which is the greatest sin and going the farthest away from the path of religion, otherwise not. It is because of this that in the beginning I said that shirk and tawhid are not what the common people think.
While it is true that ma`rifat is attainable in the light of the guidance of the guide appointed by God and the Prophet, and that the real tawhid comes after ma`rifat, it is obligatory upon mu'mins to endeavour always for the knowledge of the recognition of God.
In addition to this, regarding shirk, see the well-known book, Wajh-i din, Discourse 43, by the renowned Hakim Nasir-i Khusraw (may God sanctify his secret). The summary of his discussion is that according to ta'wil, shirk means to accept any other Imam in place of the true Imam, otherwise, after accepting God as such, none can conceive the association of any other entity with Him.
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