the verse means exactly what it says: Allah has stated that He forgives all sins, but He has not said that He forgives every sinner. Rather, He has stated in several places that He does not forgive those who die as disbelievers. He says:

“Indeed, those who disbelieve and turn others away from the path of Allah, then die as disbelievers—Allah will never forgive them.”

And He says concerning the hypocrites:

“It is all the same for them whether you ask forgiveness for them or do not ask forgiveness for them; Allah will never forgive them.”

Yet this wording, though universal with respect to sins, is unqualified with respect to sinners. It neither affirms nor denies forgiveness for the sinner: he may be forgiven, or he may not be forgiven. If he does what warrants forgiveness, Allah forgives him; if he persists in what is incompatible with it, He does not forgive him.

As for any given kind of sin, Allah does forgive it in some cases: disbelief, associating partners with Him, and all other sins—He forgives them for those who repent of them. No sin exists that the Lord Most High does not forgive; rather, Allah Most High forgives every sin in some cases.

This is a momentous, comprehensive verse, among the most beneficial of all verses. It refutes several groups, including those who say that the repentance of someone who calls others to religious innovation is not accepted. They cite as evidence an Israelite report which states:

“That advocate was told: ‘But what of those you led astray?’”

This view is held by some who affiliate themselves with the Sunnah and hadith but are not learned in them, such as Abū ‘Alī al-Ahwāzī and others like him who do not distinguish between