Is it considered an innovation (bid‘ah) for a person to intentionally commit a sin and then repent, with the aim that Allah may transform their evil deeds into good deeds, believing that this makes them better than someone who did not commit the sin in the first place?

This behavior stems from the whisperings of Satan. A Muslim cannot guarantee that they will not be overtaken by sin, or that they will be granted success in repenting from it. Therefore, one must be wary of sins, both minor and major, because they breed their likes and call for one another to be committed. He who belittles a sin, claiming that he will repent, is closer to falling into something far greater than it. This is why Allah Almighty likened the actions of Yusuf's brothers, when they intended to repent before committing the sin, to their statement: "Kill Yusuf or cast him to some [distant] land; the attention of your father will then be exclusively for you, and you will be, after that, a righteous people." Thus, repentance is not ready before committing the crime; rather, it is regret after heedlessness. This is a satanic trick and an diabolical scheme that one must not give in to.