Theft the worst sin?

“There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft.”

When I first read this, I thought it was a silly statement. That cannot be the case, I thought.

Then I read the second part, and things began to fit it. Things started to make sense.

“When you kill a man, you steal a life.
You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father.
When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth.
When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.”

I read this from a book titled “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.

This part is about how Amir, a child in Afghanistan, had learned in school that Islam considered drinking a terrible sin and that those who drank would answer for their sin on the day of Judgement Day. He went home and told his father (who drinks) about what he learned. His father then told him rather solemnly about what he thought of sin.

I started reading this book today, and was fully captivated. One reason was the interesting quotes, (like that above) that got me thinking. The other reason was the moving, yet sad story of betrayal and salvation.

Shall tell you more about it when I finished reading.