A study of relevant verses of the Quran reveals the
following points:
1. If someone had committed shirk and then sincerely repented
afterwards, amended his behavior and did good deeds, God shall forgive his
sins. Obviously, this not only applies to Shirk but also to other sins.
(Quran 25:68-70)
2. If someone commits shirk and does not repent and dies in such a
state, then this will not be forgiven by God. Other sins that fall in this
category are fornication and murder. (Quran 25:68) In addition, if someone commits a sin and his sin surrounds him and he dies in such a
state, then he shall also not be forgiven by the Almighty. (Quran
2:82). Another category of people that may not be forgiven unless they repent are those who insistently deny the truth and die in such a state.1
If someone commits crimes other than shirk and those mentioned above
and even dies in such a state, then they may still be forgiven by the
Almighty. (Quran 4:48) Parallel verses of Quran show that in
such cases, one's good deeds will wash out one's bad deeds, but if bad
deeds are more than good ones, then they shall be in overall loss and vice
versa. (Quran
101:6-11)
3. Repentance, in general, may not be accepted in all cases. For
instance, if someone repents close to their death, then they may not be
forgiven. If someone repents soon after they have committed a crime then
God shall accept the repentance and forgive the sins. Lastly, if a person
does not repent right after committing a sin, but neither does he wait
till the time of death, for such a case, Quran is quite. Perhaps they
shall both be hopeful and fearful, and shall strive their best to exceed
in good deeds as they may overcome their bad ones. For instance,
إِنَّمَا
التَّوْبَةُ
عَلَى
اللّهِ
لِلَّذِينَ
يَعْمَلُونَ
السُّوَءَ
بِجَهَالَةٍ
ثُمَّ
يَتُوبُونَ
مِن قَرِيبٍ
فَأُوْلَـئِكَ
يَتُوبُ
اللّهُ
عَلَيْهِمْ
وَكَانَ
اللّهُ
عَلِيماً
حَكِيماً
*
وَلَيْسَتِ
التَّوْبَةُ
لِلَّذِينَ
يَعْمَلُونَ
السَّيِّئَاتِ
حَتَّى
إِذَا
حَضَرَ
أَحَدَهُمُ
الْمَوْتُ
قَالَ
إِنِّي
تُبْتُ
الآنَ وَلاَ
الَّذِينَ
يَمُوتُونَ
وَهُمْ
كُفَّارٌ
أُوْلَـئِكَ
أَعْتَدْنَا
لَهُمْ
عَذَابًا
أَلِيمًا
Allah accept the repentance of those who do evil in
ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in
mercy: For Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. Of no effect is the
repentance of those who continue to do evil, until death faces one of
them, and he says, 'Now have I repented indeed;' nor of those who die
rejecting Faith: for them have We prepared a punishment most grievous.
(Quran 4:17-18)
Similarly, for those who do shirk and then repent:
فَأَمَّا
مَن تَابَ
وَآمَنَ
وَعَمِلَ
صَالِحًا
فَعَسَى أَن
يَكُونَ
مِنَ
الْمُفْلِحِينَ
But any that (in this life) had repented, believed, and
worked righteousness, shall hope to be among those who achieve salvation.
(Quran 28:67)
May God show us the path of His guidance and keep us away from sins
especially shirk.
1In the time of the Prophet (pbuh), his opponents denied him while
knowing that he was a messenger of God. There were labeled as 'deaf, dumb and blind' and it was said that God had set a seal on their hearts. This was because of their knowingly denying the truth, and it set an example for us
to not follow, and to strive for and live by the truth. Quran has similarly pointed that 'those who disbelieve and deny' God's 'signs' will be in Hellfire and will live therein forever.
(Quran 2:39).
