The most heinous of sins is the one that is considered to be...

The most heinous of sins is the one that is considered to be very minor and insignificant. "The worst of sins is the sin which the sinner takes to be easy and immaterial. The publicity of sin reduces its gravity in the eyes of the people and projects it to be immaterial". (Nehj-ul-Balaqha: Wisdom, 36).

( 148 ) It is for this reason that Islam says: if a sin has been committed but it could not be concealed and became public, then the sinner becomes liable to prosecution either for Divine PenAliy (Hadd) or for punishment under ordinary Law (Ta'zeer). In Islamic jurisprudence, it is said as a matter of Rule: Act ofommis-sion of every obligation and act of commission of every prohibition, if not visited with Hadd, is visited with Ta'zeer.

Ta'zeer involves penAliy lesser than Hadd and the sentence is awarded by a magistrate according to his discretion. As a consequence of commission of a sin, by one person and its publicity, the society gets closer to the sin by one step; and this is from amongst the worst of the evils. Thus every sinner must be punished with a penAliy proportionate to his sin, so that the society resumes the track, and the gravity of sin is not lost sight of.

For these reasons, penAliy and punishment is the love which diverts towards the society. Nehj-ul-Balagha: Wisdom, 11. Preface to Volume I., The last of the Prophets, pp. 11, 12. Nehj-ul-Balagha: Wisdom, 139. ( 149 ) Ibid: Discourse, 169. Kulliyat-i Dr. Iqbal Lahori (Persian) pp. 6-7.

Jalal-ud-Din Suyooti says in Durr-i-Mansoor, in the context of Verse 7 of Surah from Ibn-e-'Asaakar reporting from Jabir-bin-Abdullah, who said: "We were in a session of the Prophet; Ali also appeared there the Prophet said, 'By Him who is Master of my soul, this man and his Shi'ites are the exalted of the Day of Judgment".

And Manawi, on bases of two reports reproduces it in Kunooz-ul-Haqaiq, and Haithami in Majma'ul-Zawa'id, and Ibn-i-Hojr in As-Sawaiq-ul-Muhraqa have described the same subject in a different trance. Nehj-ul-Balagha: Wisdom, 62. Bihar-ul-Anwar: Vol: 6, pp. 281-2 (New print), and At-Tafseer-ul- Kabeer (Fakhr-i-Razi), under verse 9 of Surah KAHF. In the Dictionary called Burhan-i-Qati', it is said about Ikseer: "An element which melts, mixes and augments, i.e., Transmutes copper to gold.

Effective and useful medicine. Metaphorically: the glance of ideal leader of spirituality is also called Ikseer. Coincidentally, love has three characteristics; it melts, mixes and augments.