Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … From these ahadith it is understood that a crime related to a hadd (prescribed punishment) can be forgiven. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in practice, also gave glad tidings of forgiveness on some occasions regarding the implementation of hudud (prescribed punishments). And if a criminal escapes the hadd, then he is left to Allah Ta'ala; if He wills, He will forgive him, and if He wills, He will punish him. In the last hadith, the law of Allah Ta'ala regarding the concealment of sin in this world that has been mentioned, this law is not absolute for every crime—that is, it is not that every criminal whose sin is concealed in this world will be forgiven in the Hereafter. Rather, it is specific to that particular person for whom Allah Ta'ala has concealed the sin in this world and also forgiven him; then on the Day of Resurrection, he will not be punished for that crime. This is established by several other texts as well. The summary of the discussion is that if a criminal's sin is concealed, the result should not be that the person assumes his sin has already been forgiven. It is possible that Allah Ta'ala may forgive him, and it is also possible that He may take retribution for his sin. The latter possibility troubles the believer, as a result of which he strives to do good deeds and to sincerely repent.