Shaykh al-Islām Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-Halīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Taymiyyah al-Harrānī—may Allah sanctify his soul—said:

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On the words of Allah Most High:

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’”

“And turn to your Lord in repentance and submit to Him.”

We have mentioned elsewhere that this verse concerns those who repent. As for the two verses in Surah al-Nisā in which He says:

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives anything less than that for whom He wills,”

they cannot concern those who repent, as some of the Muʿtazilah claim. For whoever repents of associating partners with Allah is forgiven even that sin, according to the explicit texts of the Quran and the consensus of the Muslims.

The verse from al-Nisā contains a restriction and a qualification, whereas the other verse is general and unqualified. In the former, He singles out associating partners with Him as something He does not forgive, while He does not state categorically that He forgives other sins. Rather, He makes their forgiveness contingent upon His will, saying:

“But He forgives anything less than that for whom He wills.”