Sūrah Al-Infiṭār The Cleaving: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī Qurʾānic Rulings and Law

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAl-InfiṭārMeccanCosmic dissolution and the recording of every deed

Key Fiqh IssueKabāʾir vs. ṣaghāʾir major vs. minor sins and their expiation pathsMajor sins require explicit tawbah / Minor may be expiated automaticallyDetermines what worship acts can expiate and what requires deliberate repentance

School ComparisonAll four schools: major sins require explicit tawbah; minor sins expiated by prayers, fasting, good deeds; debate on definitive list of major sins; Shāfiʿī: most detailed taxonomy; Ḥanbalī: strict definitionTwo-tier expiation systemDaily worship expiates minor sins automatically

Uṣūl PrincipleAl-ḥasanāt yudhhibna l-sayyiʾāt good deeds erase small sinsAutomatic expiationThe Qurʾānic basis for minor sin expiation through worship

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verses 10-12 "indeed over you are appointed guardians, recording your deeds they know all that you do" the complete recording of all acts, establishing the framework of full moral accountability. He then maps this to the fiqh distinction between kabāʾir (major sins) and ṣaghāʾir (minor sins): major sins are those explicitly threatened with severe divine punishment in Qurʾān or authentic Sunnah; minor sins are all other prohibited acts.

The legal consequence: minor sins are automatically expiated by the five daily prayers, Jumuʿah prayer, Ramaḍān fasting, and good deeds in general based on Qurʾān 11:114 "good deeds erase evil deeds" and prophetic traditions. Major sins require explicit, deliberate tawbah with the four conditions. Al-Qurṭubī addresses the definition debate: the Shāfiʿī school provides the most detailed taxonomy of kabāʾir (from Imām al-Dhahabī's seventy major sins list); the Ḥanbalī school has a stricter, shorter definition. The number of major sins ranges from 7 (according to one hadith) to over 70 in expanded scholarly lists.

وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ Wa-inna ʿalaykum la-ḥāfiẓīna kirāman kātibīna yaʿlamūna mā tafʿalūn Meaning: "Indeed over you are appointed guardians noble, recording who know all that you do" Al-Qurṭubī: "yaʿlamūna mā tafʿalūn" (they know all you do) complete recording with no gap in coverage; al-Qurṭubī derives that the completeness of divine recording includes both major and minor acts, reinforcing that all prohibited acts are recorded regardless of their severity level.

إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ Inna l-abrāra la-fī naʿīmin wa-inna l-fujjāra la-fī jaḥīm Meaning: "Indeed the righteous are in bliss and indeed the wicked are in hellfire" Al-Qurṭubī: "abrār" (righteous) and "fujjār" (wicked) are categorical the contrast grounds the importance of the kabāʾir/ṣaghāʾir distinction; persistent minor sin without expiation can accumulate to the level of "fujjār" status; persistent major sin without tawbah places one in the "fujjār" category.

Major sins (kabāʾir): require explicit tawbah with all four conditions no automatic expiation through regular worship.
Minor sins (ṣaghāʾir): automatically expiated by the five daily prayers, Jumuʿah, Ramaḍān fasting, and good deeds based on Qurʾān 11:114 and prophetic traditions.
Definition of kabāʾir: those explicitly threatened with severe punishment in Qurʾān or authentic Sunnah ranges from 7 (narrow hadith-based) to 70+ (expanded scholarly lists).
Persistent minor sin without repentance can approach the moral gravity of major sin habituation to small sins is itself dangerous and may eventually require explicit tawbah.
Good deeds that expiate: the five prayers, Jumuʿah, Ramaḍān, ḥajj (for eligible), charity each is described in authentic traditions as expiating sins between two performances.

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