The fourth interpretation:
5008 - Ahmad ibn 'Uthman ibn Hakim al-Awdi narrated to us, Ahmad ibn Mufaddal narrated to us, Asbat narrated to us, from al-Suddi regarding His saying: "Then repent soon thereafter," he said: "Soon" is before death, as long as he is in his state of health. A similar view was narrated from Qatadah.
The fifth interpretation:
5009 - My father narrated to us, Ahmad ibn 'Ubayd Allah ibn Sakhr al-Ghudani narrated to us, Miskin ibn 'Abd Allah al-Tahi Abu Fatimah narrated to us, Hawshab narrated to us, from al-Hasan regarding His saying: "Then repent soon thereafter," he said: As long as he has not reached the death rattle.
His saying, the Exalted: "Then it is they to whom Allah will forgive"
5010 - Yunus ibn Habib narrated to us, Abu Dawud narrated to us, Shu'bah narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn Maymun informed me, a man from Balharith named Ayyub narrated to me, who said: I heard Abdullah ibn 'Amr saying: Whoever repents one year before his death, it is accepted from him; whoever repents one month before his death, it is accepted from him; whoever repents one week before his death, it is accepted from him; whoever repents one day before his death, it is accepted from him; and whoever repents one hour before his death, it is accepted from him. So I said to him: Allah, the Exalted, said: "Then repent soon thereafter, then it is they to whom Allah will forgive, and Allah is ever Knowing, Wise." He replied: I only narrate to you what I heard from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
His saying, the Exalted: "And Allah is ever"
5011 - Abu Sa'id al-Ashajj narrated to us, Abu Yahya al-Razi narrated to us, from 'Amr ibn Abi Qays, from Mutarrif, from al-Minhal, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn 'Abbas, who said: A man came to him and said: O Abu 'Abbas, I heard Allah saying: "And Allah is ever," as if it were something that occurred. Ibn 'Abbas said: As for His saying "And Allah is ever," it means He has always existed and will always exist; He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.
5012 - Abu Bakr ibn Abi Musa narrated to us, Harun ibn Hatim narrated to us, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hammad narrated to us, from Asbat, from al-Suddi, from Abu Malik regarding His saying: "And Allah is ever," he said: He is as such.
