Shirk, Repentance and Forgiveness

Question

If God forgives ascribing partners to Him when one repents, then why is it said that God forgives all sins except ascribing partners to Him?

Response

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).^{(Addendum: I)}

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.

Addendum:

I There is one more category of people that may not be forgiven unless they repent. These are those who insistently deny the truth and die in such a state. In the time of the Prophet (pbuh), his opponents did the same when they denied him while knowing that he was a messenger of God. Quran labeled them as 'deaf, dumb and blind' and said that God had set a seal on their hearts. This was because of their knowingly denying the truth, and sets an example for us to not follow, and to strive for and live by the truth. (24-Oct-2005)