Ibn Abi Ahmed
IB Legend
- Messages
- 7,915
- Reaction score
- 2,837
- Gender
- Male
- Religion
- Islam

Ibn 'Abbas was once asked about what he preferred: a man with many sins but many good deeds as well, or a man with few good deeds but few sins as well? So, he answered: "Nothing can compare to being protected," meaning, the one with few sins is more beloved to me.
Some of the scholars said: "Every low and despised one can perform an act of obedience, but the noble one is he who abandons acts of disobedience."
And in the Book of Allah, there is proof that to abandon acts of disobedience is more virtuous than to perform acts of obedience, since Allah - the Exalted - indicates a limit or condition to the reward for the good deed that is brought in the Hereafter, while in regards to the abandonment of sins, He placed no such limits or conditions, as Allah - the Exalted - says: {"Whoever comes with a good deed will have (the reward) of ten like it."} [al-An'am; 160] and, the Exalted says: {"...and prevented the soul from its desire, then Paradise will be the destination."} [an-Nazi'at; 40-41] and desire is the basis of every sin.
Many conditions have been placed on good deeds being accepted, as well as there being specified times when they are to be performed. With this, the action is up to the Will of Allah to be accepted and be a cause of entrance into Paradise - with His Mercy and Favor - or to be rejected. But, with a sin, the only condition placed on its abandonment being a cause of entrance into Paradise is simply that it be abandoned, as Allah says: {"If you avoid the major sins that We have forbidden, We will expiate your sins for you and enter you a noble entrance..."} [an-Nisa'; 31] and it is Paradise.
[Adapted from 'Tanbih ul-Ghafilin' (Informing the Heedless) by Abul-Layth as-Samarqandi; chapter on 'Sins']