32 – Muhammad b. Harun told me; al-Hasan b. Musa narrated to us; Mahdi b. Maymun narrated to us; Wasil, the client of Abu ‘Uyaynah, narrated: Yahya b. ‘Aqil handed me a written sheet in which it was stated that I had been informed ‘Abd Allah b. Mas‘ud used to say:

“Sins fall into four classes: two that are forgiven and two that are not.

1. A person commits a sin unintentionally; Allah graciously overlooks it and does not punish him, for He has revealed, ‘There is no blame on you for what you do by mistake’ (Al-Ahzab 33:5).

2. A person commits a sin while aware of its gravity, then repents to Allah and regrets what he has done. Allah rewards such people with the finest recompense, for He has said in His Book: ⦗56⦘ ‘And those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember Allah…’ (Aal ‘Imran 3:135) to the end of the verse.

As for the two that are not forgiven their perpetrators:

3. A person commits a sin knowingly, persists in it, and does not repent to Allah. Allah will not relent toward a servant until he repents, and He will not forgive a sinner until he seeks forgiveness.

4. A person whose evil deed has been made to appear fair to him so that he sees it as good. It is this category that destroys the majority of those in this ummah who are ruined.”