The second is what Sa‘id narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas concerning the verse, “Whoever deliberately kills a believer”: he said, “There is no repentance for a killer, except that he seeks Allah’s forgiveness.” Ibn Jarir recorded it (5/138) with a sound chain. Perhaps he meant, in accordance with his initial view, that Allah would not forgive him; then he qualified his own statement, saying, “except that he seeks Allah’s forgiveness.” And Allah knows best.

2800 — “Whatever the People of the Book tell you, neither affirm them nor deny them. Rather, say: ‘We believe in Allah, His Books, and His messengers.’ If it is true, you will not have denied them; and if it is false, you will not have affirmed them.”

It was recorded by Abu Dawud (2/124), ‘Abd al-Razzaq in al-Musannaf (20059), Ibn Hibban (110), al-Dulabi in al-Kuna (1/58), al-Bayhaqi (2/10) and in al-Shu‘ab (2/99/1), Ahmad (4/136), and Ibn Mandah in al-Ma‘rifah (2/266/2), through al-Zuhri, who said: Ibn Abi Namla informed me, from his father, who said: I was with the Prophet when a Jewish man came in to him and said, “O Muhammad, does this funeral bier speak?” The Prophet said, “Allah knows best.” The Jew said, “I bear witness that it speaks.” The Prophet then said the words cited above.

Its chain consists of trustworthy narrators who are among the narrators of the two Sahih collections, apart from Ibn Abi Namla. Al-Bayhaqi said: “He is Namla ibn Abi Namla al-Ansari.” I say: Al-Taqrib classifies him as maqbul (“acceptable”). He is therefore counted among the unknown narrators, and on this basis the chain is weak. Ahmad’s wording is: “If the People of the Book tell you...”