Second:
The first man may have known that the act was forbidden, whereas this one did not, being a recent convert to Islam.

Third:
The first may have done it while deeming it lawful, whereas this man never considered it lawful; he was simply mistaken.

Fourth:
The first may have meant, by the deed in question, to kill himself, while it is possible that this man did not intend suicide at all but had some other aim.

Fifth:
The first may have possessed few good deeds, insufficient to offset the gravity of his sin, and thus he entered the Fire. This man, by contrast, may have had many good deeds; they outweighed the sin, so he did not enter the Fire. Instead, he was forgiven because of his emigration to his Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Yet the blemish remained only in his hands. The rest of his appearance was pleasing, so he kept the defect covered. When al-Tufayl ibn ʿAmr saw him concealing his hands, he asked, “What is the matter with you?” He replied, “It was said to me, ‘We will not restore what you have ruined.’” (1)

When al-Tufayl told this to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he supplicated: “O Allah, and for his hands—forgive!”—that is, mend in them what had become corrupt. It is established that Allah answered the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, on behalf of al-Tufayl ibn ʿAmr’s companion.

The Story of al-Aʿshā (2) ibn Qays
Ibn Hishām (3) said: Khallād ibn Qurrah ibn Khālid al-Sadūsī, together with other learned elders of Bakr ibn Wāʾil, related to me that al-Aʿshā (2) ibn Qays ibn Thaʿlabah ibn ʿUkābah ibn Ṣaʿb ibn ʿAlī ibn Bakr ibn Wāʾil set out for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, intending to embrace Islam, and he composed verses in praise of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:

(Ṭawīl metre)
Have your eyes not closed that night when pain kept them sore,
And you lay, like a snake-bitten man, wakeful and worn?

It was not women’s love that stirred you so;
Until today you had forgotten fellowship with Mahdad. (4)

Yet I see time—a treacherous foe—
Whenever my two hands set something right, it returns and spoils it. (5)

I have lost elders, youths, and wealth as well—
By Allah, how strangely time keeps turning!

Since my early youth I have pursued riches—
As a boy, a gray-haired man, and even now in old age.

I wear out noble riding camels, pushing them on,
Covering the stretch between al-Nujayr and Ṣarkhad. (6)