Can the repentant attain a special status with Allah after his repentance?

A penitent, through the sincerity of their repentance and their diligence in obedience, may reach a status with God that surpasses that of one who never sinned at all. Ibn Taymiyyah clarifies that the crucial factor lies in the completeness of repentance and the good state of the penitent thereafter. So, whoever is better after repentance than they were before the sin returns to a higher status than they had. And whoever was more complete before the sin and did not return to that state returns to a lesser status. And whoever returns to the same state they were in, returns to a similar status.