The repentance that God accepts is only of those who do evil in igno- rance; then repent shortly thereafter; God will relent to those. And God is ever Knowing Wise. There is no asking for forgiveness while one persists [in doing evil] for surely repentance without desisting is the sign of a liar. Evil in ignorance means doing what the ignorant do. The sin of each person is in accordance with his state. The sins of the elite are their thoughts that they are entitled to a certain place maḥall or special gift karāma because of their acts of obedience. This is a feeble stance to take since there is no way to Him except through Him. Then repent shortly thereafter: According to what the scholars say this means before death. In terms of moral behavior lisān al-muʿāmala it means before your lower self becomes habituated to that [sin] so that it becomes a habit. Their speaker said: I said to the lower self “If you want to return return before the way is blocked.”
