ignorant, and everyone who repents before death has repented soon afterward.’”
(The second response):
The distinction mentioned between one repentant person and another regarding Allah Most High’s love for those who repent has no basis. Rather, the Quran and the Sunnah indicate that Allah loves those who repent and rejoices at their repentance, whether or not they knew that what they had done was a sin.
Anyone who knew that what he had done was a sin and then repented must replace his blameworthy qualities with praiseworthy ones. If he hated the truth, he must come to love it; and if he loved falsehood, he must come to hate it. The repentant person’s knowledge of the truth, his love for it and adherence to it, and his hatred and avoidance of falsehood are all things that Allah Most High loves and is pleased with. Likewise, Allah’s love corresponds to the extent to which His servant does what He loves. The more a person does what Allah loves, the greater Allah’s love for him.
When he turns from what Allah dislikes to what He loves, intensely hating the falsehood he formerly followed and intensely loving the truth to which he has turned, Allah’s love and affection for him must therefore increase. Indeed, Allah replaces his evil deeds with good deeds: because he has replaced his blameworthy qualities with praiseworthy ones, Allah replaces his evil deeds with good deeds. For recompense is of the same nature as the deed.
Thus, if the repentant person does more of what Allah loves than someone else does, Allah’s love for him is greater. And if he does more of what Allah loves him to do than he did before repenting, then