Islam_in_Focus_text

play. It makes his life interesting and meaningful, not
monotonous and stagnant. On the other hand, it pleases God
to see His hondmen in a state of spiritual and moral victory.
According to the moral scale of Islam, it is not a sin that
man is imperfect or fallible. This is part of his nature as a
finite limited creature. But it is a sin if he has the ways and
means of relative perfection and chooses not to seek it. A sin
is any act, thought, or will that (1) is deliberate, (2) defies
the unequivocal Law of God, (3) violates the Right of God
or the right of man, (4) is harmful to the soul or body, (5) is
committed repeatedly, and (6) is normally avoidable. These
are the components of sin which is not innate or hereditary.
It is true, however, that man has the potential capacity of sin
latent in him; but this is not greater than his capacity of piety
and goodness. If he chooses to actualize the potential of sin
instead of the potential of goodness, he will be adding a new
external element to his pure nature. For this added external
element man alone is responsible.
In Islam, there are major and minor sins as there are sins
against God and sins against both God and man. Ali sins
against God, except one, are forgivable if the sinner sincere-
ly seeks forgiveness. The Qur'an has stated that truly God
does not forgive the sin of shirk (polytheism, pantheism, tri-
nity, etc). But He forgives sins other than this and pardons
whom He wills. Yet if the polytheist or atheist comes back
to God, his sin will be forgiven. vSins against men are forgiv-