Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, Page 221❖ Question:
If a person repents from major sins such as fornication and theft, but does not repent from other major sins like usury or slandering chaste women, will such partial repentance be accepted?
Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد:
ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله
① Qur’anic Evidence:
Imām al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله states:
“There is consensus among the Ummah that Allah’s command:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا
(Surah al-Tahrīm: 8)
obliges sincere repentance upon the believers.”
He further clarifies:
“It is valid for a person to repent from one type of sin while remaining persistent upon another, unrelated sin.
This is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah, unlike the Muʿtazilah, who claim that no repentance is valid if the person remains involved in any other sin.
Ahl al-Sunnah maintain that one sin is not dependent on another.”
— Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī, Vol. 5, p. 90
② Scholarly Perspectives:
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله explains in Madārij al-Sālikīn (Vol. 1, p. 273):
“Repentance from a sin is valid even if the person continues to commit another sin.”
He notes:
“There are two well-known views among scholars on this issue, and even from Imām Aḥmad two narrations exist.”
“Those like Imām Nawawī رحمه الله who mention consensus (ijmāʿ) on its validity were unaware of this scholarly disagreement.”
“This issue is nuanced and complex.”
③ Ibn al-Qayyim’s Preferred View:
Ibn al-Qayyim’s inclination is:
“Repentance from one sin is not valid if the person **persists in another sin of the same category.”
For example:
- If one repents from riba al-faḍl (usury of excess) but continues with riba al-nasīʾah (deferred usury), the repentance is invalid, because the two are related.
But he adds:
“However, if the sin from which one repents has no direct link with another sin he continues, then the repentance is valid.”
For example:
- If someone repents from usury but does not repent from drinking alcohol,
❖ His repentance from usury is valid.
Conclusion:
◈ It is valid to repent from one sin while still committing another, as long as they are not interrelated.
◈ If both sins are of the same type or category, then the repentance is not valid according to stronger scholarly views.
◈ True and complete repentance requires one to eventually renounce all disobedience, but partial repentance is still rewarded and valid within limits.
ھٰذا ما عندي، واللّٰه أعلم بالصواب
