on this matter within Ahmad’s school and others; this view is weak, and the first is sounder.

Those who hold this view say that the prescribed punishment was waived because he retracted his confession, and that his retraction is admissible. This is weak. Rather, there is a distinction between someone who confesses repentantly and someone who confesses without repentance. Waiving punishment on account of repentance—as the scriptural texts indicate—is more justified than waiving it on account of retracting a confession. A confession is a person’s testimony against himself. If retraction were accepted, no prescribed punishment would ever be carried out on the basis of a confession. If repentance is not accepted after confession, even though he may be sincere, then a retraction in which he is lying is all the more deserving of rejection.

Here it ends. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. May Allah bless our master Muhammad and his family, and grant them abundant peace until the Day of Judgment.