except those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good deeds. And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. Whoever repents and does righteousness indeed turns to Allah in true repentance.’”

This warning in its entirety applies to all three deeds, and each deed has its share of it. If someone associated partners with Allah but neither killed nor committed adultery, his punishment would be less than that. If he committed adultery and killed but did not associate partners with Allah, he would have a share of this punishment, as in His saying:

“Whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein. Allah is angry with him, has cursed him, and has prepared for him a tremendous punishment.”

He did not say “forever.” It has been said that wording explicitly denoting eternity occurs only in connection with disbelief. Allah, Exalted is He, also says:

“And on the Day when the wrongdoer bites his hands, saying, ‘Oh, I wish I had taken a path with the Messenger! Woe to me! I wish I had not taken so-and-so as a close friend! He led me astray from the Reminder after it had come to me.’ And Satan ever forsakes man.”

There is no doubt that this includes the disbeliever who did not believe in the Messenger. Indeed, that was the circumstance in which the verse was revealed. The unqualified term “wrongdoing” encompasses this, as well as lesser wrongdoing, each according to its degree. Thus, whoever forms a close friendship with a created being in opposition to the command of Allah and His Messenger has a share of this warning, as Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“Close friends on that Day will be enemies to one another, except the righteous.”

And He, Exalted is He, says:

“When those who were followed disown those who followed them, and they see the punishment, and all ties between them are severed.”

Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyād said: “Al-Layth narrated to us from Mujāhid: ‘These are the bonds of affection that existed between them for other than Allah’s sake.’”

Close friendship entails mutual love and affection. Hence the saying:

“A person follows the religion of his close friend.”

When two people love one another, each loves what the other loves in proportion to their love. If one follows his companion in loving what Allah and His Messenger hate, their religious commitment diminishes accordingly, until it reaches