The Criteriology of Major Sins with an Educational Approach

The purpose of the present study is to review the criteria for the identification of major sins in religious instructions not having a certain interpretation and semantic coherence in the Qur’ān and tradition. The following research considers this subject with an approach to the views of theologians and analyzes them with a descriptive-analytic method. The results indicate that some of these criteria are invalid or without any comprehensive and accurate definition. It seems that although some sins have been determined as major or minor, when there is doubt, the criterion for the identification of major sins would be inconsistency with the divine insight. However, another view that attributes the philosophy of ambiguity in criterion to a man’s more caring for his behavior and act is not unrealistic either.