Explanation

The meaning in a few plain lines

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in this Hadīth the sins that are considered the gravest and worst ones. These sins include associating partners with Allah, the Almighty, in His lordship or His worship. He started with polytheism because it is the gravest sin ever. Another sin is losing hope in Allah’s mercy, because it involves having ill expectations of Allah, and ignorance of the vastness of His mercy. It is one of the gravest sins as well to feel secure against being dragged by way of favors until Allah punishes the sinner all of a sudden. The Hadīth, however, does not aim at listing all the major sins, rather, it aims at highlighting the gravest of them, because the list of major sins contains so many more.