Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When a man of the Children of Israel committed a sin, in the morning he would find written on his door: 'You committed such and such a sin, and its expiation is such and such a deed.' Perhaps it weighed heavily on him that (people) would come to know of it." Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I would not like Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to have given us that method in place of this verse: 'And whoever does evil or wrongs himself, then seeks forgiveness from Allah, will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful' [Surah al-Nisa: 110]."
Hadith Referenceالمعجم الكبير للطبراني / باب العين / 8762