Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 70

(Ayah 70) ➊ { اِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَ اٰمَنَ وَ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا …:} Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Some people among the polytheists had killed and killed a lot, and committed adultery and committed it a lot. Then they came to Muhammad (peace be upon him) and said: 'What you say and what you invite to is very good. If you could tell us whether there is any expiation for what we have done?' So this verse was revealed: «{ وَ الَّذِيْنَ لَا يَدْعُوْنَ مَعَ اللّٰهِ اِلٰهًا اٰخَرَ … }» [ الفرقان : ۶۸ ] and this verse was revealed: «{ يٰعِبَادِيَ الَّذِيْنَ اَسْرَفُوْا عَلٰۤى اَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوْا مِنْ رَّحْمَةِ اللّٰهِ }» [ الزمر : ۵۳ ] 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves! Do not despair of the mercy of Allah.' [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب کون الإسلام یھدم ما قبلہ… : ۱۲۲ ] This verse is a glad tiding for those whose lives were previously stained with various crimes and who are now ready to reform themselves. This was the day of general amnesty which, by supporting millions of people in that corrupt society, saved them from future corruption and, by showing them the light of hope, encouraged them to reform. If they had been told that there was no way to escape the punishment for the sins they had already committed, they would have been trapped in the whirlpool of evil forever. The blessing of repentance supported those who had gone astray, as can be seen from the many incidents that occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Amr bin Al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When Allah put the love of Islam in my heart, I came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said to him: 'Extend your right hand so that I may pledge allegiance to you.' The Prophet (peace be upon him) extended his right hand, but I withdrew my hand. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'O Amr! What happened to you?' I said: 'I have a condition.' The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'What is your condition?' I said: [ أَنْ يُّغْفَرَ لِيْ، قَالَ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ يَا عَمْرُو! أَنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ يَهْدِمُ مَا كَانَ قَبْلَهُ؟ وَ أَنَّ الْهِجْرَةَ تَهْدِمُ مَا كَانَ قَبْلَهَا؟ وَأَنَّ الْحَجَّ يَهْدِمُ مَا كَانَ قبْلَهُ؟ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب کون الإسلام یھدم ما قبلہ و کذا الھجرۃ والحج : ۱۲۱ ] '(My condition is) that my sins be forgiven (those I have committed so far).' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'O Amr! Do you not know that Islam wipes out whatever was before it? And that migration wipes out whatever was before it? And that Hajj wipes out whatever was before it?'"

➋ Allah Almighty has set three conditions for turning evil deeds into good deeds: the first is repentance, that is, to desist from sin, to feel remorse for past sins, and to resolve not to commit sin in the future. The second condition is faith, because without faith no deed is accepted. The third condition is righteous deeds, that is, to act according to the command of Allah and His Messenger. {’’ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا ‘‘} Because it is indefinite, it has been translated as "and did some righteous deeds." Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) translated it as "and did some good deeds." In this is the glad tiding that with repentance and faith, even a few righteous deeds are highly valued by Allah Almighty.

➌ { فَاُولٰٓىِٕكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللّٰهُ سَيِّاٰتِهِمْ حَسَنٰتٍ :} There are two interpretations of this: one is that Allah Almighty will grant them the ability to do good deeds in place of those sins in this world; instead of disbelief and polytheism, they will be established on faith and monotheism; instead of killing believers, they will kill disbelievers on the battlefield; instead of adultery, they will be chaste; instead of lying, they will be truthful; and instead of disobedience, they will be obedient. (And so on by analogy.) This interpretation has been narrated by Tabari from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with an authentic chain.

The second is that Allah Almighty will turn all their sins into good deeds on the Day of Resurrection. This interpretation has come from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ إِنِّيْ لَأَعْلَمُ آخِرَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ دُخُوْلًا الْجَنَّةَ، وَآخِرَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ خُرُوْجًا مِنْهَا، رَجُلٌ يُؤْتٰی بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَيُقَالُ اعْرِضُوْا عَلَيْهِ صِغَارَ ذُنُوْبِهِ وَارْفَعُوْا عَنْهُ كِبَارَهَا، فَتُعْرَضُ عَلَيْهِ صِغَارُ ذُنُوْبِهِ، فَيُقَالُ عَمِلْتَ يَوْمَ كَذَا وَ كَذَا، كَذَا وَ كَذَا، وَ عَمِلْتَ يَوْمَ كَذَا وَ كَذَا، كَذَا وَ كَذَا، فَيَقُوْلُ نَعَمْ، لَا يَسْتَطِيْعُ أَنْ يُّنْكِرَ، وَهُوَ مُشْفِقٌ مِنْ كِبَارِ ذُنُوْبِهِ أَنْ تُّعْرَضَ عَلَيْهِ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُ فَإِنَّ لَكَ مَكَانَ كُلِّ سَيِّئَةٍ حَسَنَةً، فَيَقُوْلُ رَبِّ! قَدْ عَمِلْتُ أَشْيَاءَ لَا أَرَاهَا هٰهُنَا، فَلَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ ضَحِكَ حَتّٰی بَدَتْ نَوَاجِذُهُ] [مسلم، الإیمان، باب أدنٰی أہل الجنۃ منزلۃ فیھا : ۱۹۰ ] "I know the last person to enter Paradise and the last to come out of Hell. He will be a man who will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said: 'Present his minor sins to him and keep back his major sins.' So his minor sins will be presented to him and it will be said: 'You did such and such on such and such a day, and you did such and such on such and such a day?' He will say: 'Yes!' He will not be able to deny, and he will be afraid of his major sins being presented. Then it will be said to him: 'For you, every evil deed will be replaced with a good deed.' So he will say: 'O my Lord! I have done things which I do not see here.' (Abu Dharr said:) 'So I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) laugh until his molar teeth became visible.'"

➍ The scholars have explained the turning of sins into good deeds by saying that every time a sin is remembered, feeling remorse and seeking forgiveness is a continuous good deed. Likewise, after repentance, the resolve that if given the opportunity in the future, I will always do good instead of evil, is such a good deed that it makes a person an eternal inheritor of Paradise. Remorse for the past or resolve for the future, along with the grace and mercy of Allah Almighty, becomes the cause for sins to be turned into good deeds. (Biqai) Another explanation is that a person who has never committed a sin, for example, never committed adultery or theft, does not find it difficult to avoid sin, unlike the person who used to commit adultery; for him, the difficulty he faces in giving up adultery and not committing sin is a great good deed.

➎ { وَ كَانَ اللّٰهُ غَفُوْرًا رَّحِيْمًا :} Apparently, turning sins into good deeds seems far-fetched, but the answer is given that Allah Almighty has always been the One who conceals sins and is exceedingly merciful; such grace is not far from Him at all.

70-1 From this it is understood that in this world, every sin can be forgiven through sincere repentance, no matter how great it is. And in Surah Nisa, verse 93, the punishment of Hell that is mentioned for the killing of a believer will apply in the case when the killer did not repent and died without repenting. Otherwise, it is mentioned in the hadith that even the killer of a hundred people, when he sincerely repented, Allah forgave him (Sahih Muslim).

70-2 One meaning of this is that Allah changes his condition; before accepting Islam, he used to do evil deeds, now he does good deeds; before, he used to commit shirk, now he worships only Allah alone; before, he used to fight against Muslims alongside disbelievers, now he fights against disbelievers on behalf of Muslims, and so on. The second meaning is that his evil deeds are turned into good deeds. This is also supported by hadith. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "I know the person who will be the last to enter Paradise and the last to come out of Hell. He will be the man whose minor sins will be presented to him on the Day of Judgment, while the major ones will be set aside. He will be told, 'Did you do such and such on such and such a day?' He will answer in the affirmative, he will not have the strength to deny, and besides this, he will also be afraid that now the major sins will also be presented. Then it will be said to him, 'Go, for every evil deed of yours, you will have a good deed.' Seeing Allah's mercy, he will say, 'There are many deeds of mine that I do not see here.' After narrating this, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughed until his teeth became visible (Sahih Muslim).

70. Except for those who repent, believe [87], and do righteous deeds—for them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good ones. And Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

[87]
The Benefits of Accepting Islam:

That is, even among such disbelievers who have committed severe crimes, whoever believes, Allah will completely forgive his previous sins. As is clear from the following hadiths:
1. Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ narrates that a man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: O Messenger of Allah! Will we be held accountable for the sins we committed during the time of ignorance? The Prophet ﷺ replied: "Whoever accepted Islam and then continued to do good deeds, he will not be held accountable for the sins of the time of ignorance." [بخاري۔ كتاب استتابة المرتدين]
2. Hazrat Bara bin Azib narrates that a man (during jihad) came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He had covered his face with iron weapons. He said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Should I fight the disbelievers first or accept Islam? The Prophet ﷺ said: "First accept Islam, then fight." So he became Muslim and then started fighting until he was martyred. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Look, he did little action but received a great reward." [بخاری۔ کتاب الجہاد۔ باب عمل صالح قبل القتال]
3. Hazrat Hakim bin Hizam says that I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! "The good deeds I did during the time of ignorance, such as maintaining ties of kinship, freeing slaves, or giving charity—will I get a reward for them?" The Prophet ﷺ replied: "Why not. You accepted Islam with your previous good deeds intact." [بخاری۔ کتاب البیوع۔ باب شراء المملوک من الحربی]

How Are Sins Turned Into Good Deeds?:

From these hadiths, it is concluded that there are two major benefits of accepting Islam. One is that all previous sins are forgiven, and the one who accepts Islam becomes as pure and clean from sins as if he was born today. The second benefit is that he will also receive the reward for his previous good deeds, whereas if he had died in a state of disbelief, he could not have received the reward for his good deeds. This is one scenario. The second scenario is that in the record of deeds of the one who accepts Islam, in reality, good deeds are written in place of his sins. The third scenario is that the person who becomes accustomed to righteous deeds, his habit of evil deeds leaves him, and his previous sins are forgiven. Similarly, in a society where good deeds become common, evils automatically begin to disappear.