Ibn Taymiyyah said that the one who apostates, then repents, then apostates again, does not become someone whose repentance is automatically rejected just because this happened more than once. He explained that the Qur’an verses in Surah Aal ʿImran and Surah al Nisa about those whose repentance is not accepted refer to the one who continues in disbelief, remains upon it, and dies upon it, or repents only when death comes. He said that “then increase in disbelief” means they stayed on disbelief, insisted on it, and continued in it until death. So, according to Ibn Taymiyyah, the one who truly returns before death has repented in time, and his repentance is accepted by Allah, even if he had apostatised more than once.
Ibn Taymiyyah also said that the verse in Surah al Nisa about people who believed, then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved again, shows that a person may return to faith after apostasy. He explained that if such a person repents and comes back to Islam, his disbelief is forgiven. But if he apostatises again and then dies upon disbelief, he is punished for both the earlier and later disbelief. So his point is that repeated apostasy does not itself shut the door of repentance. What shuts it is dying upon disbelief without returning.
Ibn Taymiyyah then made a distinction between the inward ruling and the outward legal ruling. He said that in terms of what is between the servant and Allah, if the repentance is sincere, then it is accepted and the person is not punished in the Hereafter. But in outward legal rulings, some fuqaha differed about the repeated apostate and the zindiq, because a judge may not trust the person’s claim of repentance. So that difference is not about whether Allah can accept his repentance, but about whether people can rely on his claim in this life.
Ḥāzim Khanfar says that the repentance of the apostate and every disbeliever is by entering Islam, meaning by saying the two testimonies. It also says that if the person became a disbeliever by denying an obligation or something similar, then his repentance must include affirming what he denied. So this passage is dealing with how repentance is established outwardly in fiqh.
There is a difference among the ulama over whether saying only “la ilaha illa Allah” is enough at the start, or whether the person must say both testimonies to enter Islam properly.
What appears strongest is that saying the first testimony brings him into Islam, but he must then also testify that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah.
If he refuses, he is then treated as an apostate. The same footnote also says that a vague statement like “I am free from every religion that opposes Islam” may not be enough if the person fell into disbelief through a specific belief or act. In that case, he must clearly leave that specific disbelief.
Full Quotes
If it is said, “But Allah said: ‘Indeed, those who disbelieve after their belief and then increase in disbelief, their repentance will never be accepted, and they are the ones who are astray’ (Aal Imran: 90),” and He also said: “Indeed, those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe, then disbelieve, and then increase in disbelief, Allah will not forgive them nor guide them to a path” (an-Nisa: 137), then the answer is: the Quran has clearly shown in more than one place that the repentance of the disbeliever is accepted, even if he had apostasised and then returned to Islam.
For example, in His words: “How can Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their belief, and had testified that the Messenger is true, and clear proofs had come to them? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. Those, their reward is that upon them is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people. They will remain in it, the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be given respite, except those who repent after that and make amends, for indeed Allah is Forgiving, Merciful” (Aal Imran: 86 to 89).
And His saying, “How can Allah guide…” means that He does not guide them while they are apostates and wrongdoers. That is why He said, “And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.” So whoever leaves the religion of Islam is nothing but astray, and he will not be guided to any other religion he apostatised to.
What is meant is that these people will not be guided or forgiven unless they repent.
Likewise, Allah said in the verse: “Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief, except the one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith” (an-Nahl: 106). Whoever disbelieves in Allah after belief without being forced is an apostate. Then He said: “Then indeed, your Lord, to those who migrated after being put to trial, then they strove and were patient, indeed your Lord after that is Forgiving, Merciful” (an-Nahl: 110).
And in Surah Aal Imran, He mentioned the apostates, then mentioned those who repented among them, then mentioned those whose repentance is not accepted and those who die as disbelievers. He said: “Indeed, those who disbelieve after their belief and then increase in disbelief, their repentance will never be accepted, and they are the ones who are astray. Indeed, those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers, none of them will be accepted the full earth of gold even if he offered it in ransom. For them is a painful punishment, and they will have no helpers” (Al Imran: 90 to 91).
About these whose repentance is not accepted, there have been several views. It was said: it is because of their hypocrisy. It was said: it is because they repented from sins other than shirk and did not repent from shirk itself. It was said: their repentance is not accepted after death. And most scholars like al Hasan, Qatadah, Ata al Khurasani, and al Suddi said: their repentance is not accepted when death comes to them. This is like the verse: “But repentance is not for those who keep doing evil deeds until when death comes to one of them, he says: I now repent, nor for those who die while they are disbelievers” (an-Nisa: 18).
Likewise, the verse: “Indeed, those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe, then disbelieve, and then increase in disbelief, Allah will not forgive them nor guide them to a path” (an-Nisa: 137). Mujahid and other commentators said: they increased in disbelief by remaining in it until they died.
I say: that is because the one who repents is someone who goes back from disbelief. But the one who does not repent is continuing in it, increasing in disbelief after disbelief. So His saying, “then increase in disbelief” is like saying: then they insisted on disbelief, remained on it, and continued in it. So they disbelieved after their Islam, and then their disbelief increased rather than decreased. These are the ones whose repentance is not accepted, meaning the repentance at the moment of death. Because the one who repents before death has repented while there is still time, and returned from disbelief, so his disbelief decreased, not increased. Unlike the one who insists on it until he sees death, for there is no time left for him to lessen his disbelief, let alone erase it.
And in the other verse, Allah said: “Allah would not forgive them” (an-Nisa: 137), and He mentioned that they believed, then disbelieved, then believed again, then disbelieved again, then increased in disbelief. It was said: the reason is that when the apostate repents, his disbelief is forgiven. But if he disbelieves again after that and dies in disbelief, his previous faith is wiped out, and he is punished for both his first and second acts of disbelief. As reported in the two authentic collections from Ibn Masʿud: it was said, “O Messenger of Allah, will we be held accountable for what we did in the time of ignorance?” He said: “Whoever does good in Islam will not be held accountable for what he did in the time of ignorance. But whoever does bad in Islam will be held accountable for both the first and the last.”
So if He had said, “Indeed, those who believed, then disbelieved, then increased in disbelief, Allah would not forgive them,” this would be like those mentioned in Aal ʿImran where He said: “Indeed, those who disbelieve after their belief and then increase in disbelief, their repentance will not be accepted.”
But Allah mentioned that they believed, then disbelieved, then believed again after that, which refers to the apostate who repents. Then if he disbelieves again and increases in disbelief, his past disbelief is not forgiven either. So, if they had believed, then disbelieved, then believed again, then disbelieved again, then believed again, they would not be among those who increased in disbelief, and so they would not fall under that verse.
As for the scholars of fiqh, when they differ over whether to accept the repentance of someone who repeatedly apostasised, or the repentance of a heretic (zindiq), this is only in terms of outward rulings, because his repentance is not trusted. But if it is assumed that he sincerely repented to Allah in his heart, then he falls under the verse: “Say: O My servants who have wronged themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful” (az-Zumar: 53).
And the real position we hold is that the one who repents is not punished—neither in this world nor in the next—not according to the Sharia nor in the decree of Allah. The punishments carried out, whether fixed legal punishments (hudud) or discretionary punishments (taʿzir), are only enforced when proven by clear evidence, like witnesses testifying that someone committed adultery, stole, or drank alcohol. In such a case, if the person shows repentance, it is not relied upon. If the punishment were cancelled just because someone said “I have repented,” then every guilty person against whom proof is established would claim repentance.
But if he is truly repentant inwardly, then the punishment becomes a means of wiping out his sin, and he is rewarded for bearing it with patience. And if he comes by himself, admitting his sin and repenting, then in the apparent view of Imam Ahmad—according to what he clearly stated in many places—it is not required to apply the punishment to him. These are known as the cases of suspension. The judge supported this with several hadiths, including the hadith of the one who said: “I have committed a sin deserving of punishment, so carry it out on me.” Then the prayer was established, and this enters under the same category, because he came repenting. Even if he testifies against himself as Māʿiz and the Ghamidiyyah woman did, and chooses to have the punishment applied, it may be carried out. Otherwise, it should not be. As in the hadith of Māʿiz, the Prophet said: “Why didn’t you leave him alone?” And he turned the Ghamidiyyah woman back multiple times.
Majmu Fatawa By Ibn Taymiyyah (16/27-31)
The Repentance of the Apostate and Every Disbeliever: His repentance is by entering Islam, which is done by bearing witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah.
Section: The Ruling on the Apostate: And whoever disbelieved by denying an obligation, or something similar, then his repentance, along with the two testimonies, must include affirming what he had denied. Or he must say: “I am free from every religion that opposes Islam.”
Footnote: The scholars have differed: is the repentance of the apostate and disbeliever valid by saying “la ilaha illa Allah” alone, after which he is asked to testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and if he refuses, he is executed? Or does he not truly enter Islam unless he testifies to both declarations?
Some scholars said: if this person already affirms that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah but is a polytheist, then it is enough for his repentance that he says “la ilaha illa Allah,” because he already believes that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah.
But in reality, these two opinions do not differ from what was stated earlier, because the conclusion of both views is that the one who enters Islam must ultimately bring both testimonies together.
What appears correct to me from the evidences is that when he says “la ilaha illa Allah,” he enters Islam, but then he must be commanded to testify that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. If he does testify, he remains a Muslim. But if he refuses, then he is judged an apostate and executed as such. So the first testimony is the foundation, and the second is a condition for the protection of his life and for the validity of the first.
(2) As for the statement: “I am free from every religion that opposes Islam,” this phrase, as written in some books, has some outward concerns. That is because a person might be judged as an apostate for an action which he believes is part of Islam but in reality has nothing to do with Islam. In such a case, we do not accept general statements like this from him unless he clearly says that he has returned from the specific belief or action for which we judged him to be a disbeliever.
Al-Hashiyah al-ʿUthayminiyyah ʿala Zād al-Mustaqniʿ Compiled By Ḥāzim Khanfar Pg 623
