Allah Most High to forgive his sin even though he has not repented of it. This is despair of Allah’s mercy, and his forgiveness cannot be assured, for he is merely offering a supplication.

It is established in the two Sahīh collections that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“No one offers a supplication involving neither sin nor the severing of kinship ties without receiving one of three things: either Allah grants his request promptly, reserves an equivalent reward for him, or averts an equivalent evil from him.”

They said, “Messenger of Allah, then we shall supplicate abundantly!” He replied, “Allah has still more.”

Such a supplication may bring forgiveness. If it does not, it must bring either the averting of some other evil or the attainment of some other good. Thus, it is beneficial, as every supplication is beneficial.

As for the statement of some scholars, “Seeking forgiveness while persisting in sin is the repentance of liars,” this applies when the person seeks forgiveness as an act of repentance, or claims that his seeking forgiveness constitutes repentance and that he has thereby repented. There is no doubt that, while persisting in sin, he has not repented, for repentance and persistence in sin are opposites. Persistence in sin is incompatible with repentance, but not with seeking forgiveness without repentance.

As for the question, “Does acknowledging a particular sin necessarily avert the consequences of multiple sins, or must one call all one’s sins to mind?”—the answer rests on several principles: