He was asked:

If a Jew or a Christian embraces Islam, do any sins remain chargeable to him after embracing Islam?

He replied:

If he embraces Islam inwardly and outwardly, the disbelief of which he has repented by embracing Islam is forgiven, without dispute. As for sins of which he has not repented—for example, if he persists in a sin, wrongdoing, or an indecent act without repenting of it upon embracing Islam—some people have said that these are forgiven through embracing Islam. The correct view, however, is that only those sins of which he has repented are forgiven.

As established in an authentic hadith, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was asked:

“Will we be held accountable for what we did in the days of pre-Islamic ignorance?”

He replied:

“Whoever practises Islam well will not be held accountable for what he did in the days of pre-Islamic ignorance. But whoever does evil after embracing Islam will be held accountable for both his earlier and his later deeds.”

“Practising Islam well” means committing oneself to doing what Allah has commanded and abandoning what He has forbidden. This is the meaning of comprehensive repentance. Whoever embraces Islam in this manner has all his sins forgiven. Such was the Islam of the earliest forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in righteousness. For this reason, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said in the hadith