his eyebrows having fallen over his eyes, and said: O Messenger of Allah, a man who has acted treacherously and immorally—he left no minor or major sin but that he committed it with his own hand; if his sins were divided among the people of the earth, they would destroy them—is there any repentance for him? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Have you embraced Islam? He said: As for me, I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Then Allah will forgive you for what you were like, and will replace your evil deeds with good deeds. He said: O Messenger of Allah, and my acts of treachery and immorality? He said: And your acts of treachery and immorality. He said: So the man turned away, pronouncing the greatness and oneness of Allah [1].
15445 - Abu Zur'ah narrated to us, Yahya ibn 'Abd Allah reported to us, Ibn Lahi'ah narrated to me, 'Ata' narrated to me, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr regarding the saying of Allah: "And Allah is Ever Forgiving, Merciful," he said: He means, for what happened during the time of polytheism, and He means, Merciful to them in Islam.
His saying, the Exalted: "And whoever repents"
15446 - Through the same chain from Mujahid, his saying: "And whoever repents," he said: Allah accepts his repentance.
His saying, the Exalted: "And does righteous work, then indeed, he returns to Allah with [accepted] repentance."
15447 - My father narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn Musa reported to us, Hisham ibn Yusuf informed us, from Ibn Jurayj, from 'Ata', from Ibn 'Abbas, he said: The righteous deeds are: Glory be to Allah (Subhan Allah), and praise be to Allah (Al-Hamdulillah), and there is no deity but Allah (La ilaha illa Allah), and Allah is the Greatest (Allahu Akbar).
His saying, the Exalted: "And those who do not bear witness"
15448 - Abu Yazid al-Qaratisi informed us in what he wrote to me, Asbagh informed us, he said: I heard 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd—meaning Ibn Aslam—regarding the saying of Allah: "And those who do not bear witness to falsehood," he said: These are the Emigrants (Muhajirun).
His saying, the Exalted: "do not bear witness to falsehood"
15449 - Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, al-'Abbas ibn al-Walid informed us, Yazid ibn Zuray' reported to us, Sa'id reported to us, from Qatadah regarding his saying: "do not bear witness to falsehood," he said: They do not assist the people of falsehood in their falsehood, nor do they join them in it.
(1). Ibn Kathir 6/138.