Likewise, those who hold that a man counts as having had intercourse if dawn breaks while he is still penetrating have two views concerning withdrawal, found in the school of Ahmad and elsewhere. According to the position we have defended, however, there is no need to address any of these questions: if someone breaks such an oath, he offers expiation for it, and the threefold divorce does not take effect. Nor is there any blame for eating or intercourse while ascertaining whether dawn has broken, because Allah says, “until”.

The point is that no one may despair of Allah’s mercy or cause anyone else to despair of it. Allah has forbidden this and has declared that He forgives all sins.

If it is objected: His words,

“Indeed, Allah forgives all sins,”

are a universal statement of fact, indicating that Allah forgives every sin. Yet it is known that He did not mean that He forgives everyone who sins, whether a disbeliever or anyone else, without punishing them either in this world or in the Hereafter. That would contradict what is established by self-evident knowledge, mass-transmitted reports, the Quran, and scholarly consensus. Allah has destroyed many nations because of their sins, and some members of this community have been punished for their sins in this world before the Hereafter, whether through His decree or through the punishments prescribed by His law.

Allah Most High has said:

“Whoever does evil will be recompensed for it.”

And He has said:

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it,”

“and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”

This would entail that the verse is not to be understood according to its apparent meaning. Rather, what is meant is that Allah may forgive all sins—that is, this is something He may do—or that He forgives them for everyone who repents. But then one may ask: Why does He use categorical, unrestricted wording where possibility and qualification are intended?

The reply is: Rather,