for each of them regards those evil deeds as good deeds and thus feels secure from Allah’s plan. Many people believe that the repentance of one who introduces religious innovations is not accepted. Yet Allah Most High has said:

“Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

In the two Sahīh collections, Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would tell us his names. He said, ‘I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad, the one who follows the earlier prophets, the Gatherer, the Prophet of Repentance, and the Prophet of Mercy.’”

In another hadith:

“I am the Prophet of Mercy, and I am the Prophet of Battle.”

This is because he was sent with battle—meaning the killing of those who disobey him—with repentance for those who obey him, and with mercy for those who believe him and follow him. He is a mercy to all worlds. The prophets before him were not commanded to fight.

When someone from their communities committed certain sins, he needed, in addition to repentance, to undergo severe punishments. As Allah Most High said:

“And when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, you have certainly wronged yourselves by taking the calf as an object of worship. So repent to your Maker and kill one another. That is better for you in the sight of your Maker.’ Then He accepted your repentance.”

It is reported from Abū al-ʿĀliyah and others that when one of them committed a sin, he would find the sin and its prescribed expiation written on his door the following morning. Allah then revealed concerning this community:

“And those who, when they commit an act of sexual immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins,”

up to His words:

“And excellent is the reward of those who do good.”

He thus singled out sexual immorality for mention alongside His words, “wrong themselves,” even though wrongdoing encompasses sexual immorality and other sins, confirming what we have stated