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Does a Muslim become a disbeliever or apostate if he commits a sin that God has forbidden, such as looking at what is unlawful, while knowing it is forbidden and his soul desires it, and does the deliberate commission of a sin prevent the acceptance of repentance?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The inclination of the soul towards what Allah has forbidden, or its dislike of what Allah has enjoined, as long as there is contentment with and submission to the Shari'ah ruling, is neither apostasy nor a departure from the religion. This is in accordance with the Almighty's saying: "Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not." (Al-Baqarah: 216). A Muslim must strive against his soul to comply with commands and abandon prohibitions. And repentance is accepted from one who intentionally commits a sin.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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