Allah forgives all sins except associating partners with Him, GI

Destiny of unrepentant sinners rests with Allah: Punishment or forgiveness at His discretion, GI

Extremist groups embrace Kharijite ideology to brand Muslims apostates for major sins, GI

Al-Azhar Grand Imam (GI) said Allah forgives all sins except one sin, which is associating partners with Him. This is in accordance with the saying of Almighty Allah: “Surely, Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives anything apart from that for whomever He wills” (Qur’an, 4:48), and His saying: “Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah! Surely, Allah forgives all sins.’ (Qur’an, 39:53). Thus, Allah, glory be to Him, forgives all sins except associating partners with Him; no sin is superior to Allah’s forgiveness. His Eminence added that it is out of Allah’s generosity that He may pardon a sin despite warning a sinner against punishment in Hell, but He does not break a promise as He says in the verse “Surely, Allah forgives all sins,” which is a promise. 

During the 13th episode of his TV program Imam Al-Tayyeb Talk, in response to a question to the Grand Imam about those who commit major sins, he indicated that according to the doctrine of Ahl Al-Sunnah, all sins are forgiven except associating partners with Allah. The Mu’tazilites, on the other hand, maintain that those who commit major sins such as killing, adultery, drinking intoxicants, filial disobedience, and others are disobedient Muslims or transgressors who are in a middle position between Paradise and Hell. However, the Kharijites brand them apostates unless they repent. The opinion of the Sunni doctrine is the most common. The Sunni scholars believe that the status of such a sinner is up to Allah; if Allah wills, He will punish such a sinner, and if He wills to pardon him, he will be pardoned. 

The problem consists in the ideology advocated by the Kharijites, which resurfaces from time to time and is used by extremist groups to judge disobedient Muslims as disbelievers. They even charge them with disbelief and declare it lawful to shed the blood of anyone who commits a major sin without repentance. All the movements that have recently emerged depart from this principle, which is extremism. Therefore, they primarily judge the rulers who do not act upon revealed ordinances as sinners, disbelievers, and in turn can lawfully be killed.

About the lesson learned from the Allah’s name Al-Ghaffar, and how it reflects in in our daily life and conduct, His Eminence explained that a person should forgive his fellow humans, pardon them, and condone their mistakes. To get used to forgiveness, one needs to imitate the example of the Prophet (pbuh) and follow the dictates of the Quran. For example, Almighty Allah says, “Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love to be forgiven by Allah?” (Qur’an, 24:22).