in matters of faith, and of refraining from the disbelief He has forbidden him, and of replacing his evil deeds with good through repentance, as Allah Most High said:

“Indeed, the messengers have no fear in My presence, except one who has done wrong, then replaces evil with good—for I am All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

And:

“Those are the ones whose evil deeds Allah will replace with good deeds.”

[Comment by Ibn Taymiyyah]

All such replacement occurs by Allah’s decree and predestination. This differs from the natural disposition with which they are born, for that is Allah’s creation, which no one but He has the power to replace, and He, glorified is He, never replaces it. Replacing disbelief with faith and vice versa is different: He brings this about continually, and the servant is capable of doing so because Allah grants him that ability.

This is further clarified by the words of Allah Most High:

“So set your face toward the religion, inclining to truth—the natural disposition upon which Allah created mankind. There is no replacing Allah’s creation.”

This, then, is a praiseworthy natural disposition that Allah commanded His Prophet to follow. How could it encompass both disbelief and faith when Allah Most High commands it? Does Allah Most High ever command disbelief?

We have already cited the early generations’ explanations of “There is no replacing Allah’s creation”: that it refers to Allah’s religion, or to altering the constitution of animals through castration and the like. None of them said that it means there is no changing the servants’ states from faith to disbelief or from disbelief to faith, for such changes do occur. Whatever change occurs is precisely what had already been decreed, and Allah Most High knows what