Does Embracing Islam Remove Past Sins?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Regarding a person considering Islam and intends to embrace it but due to some remaining doubts they delay their conversion, if they eventually convert months later, are their sins in those months also forgiven?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Yes. Regardless of whether one takes time to research Islam before converting or converting swiftly all sins before the actual conversion are forgiven.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Indeed, Islam eliminates what occurred before it (i.e. sins).” [Tabarani]

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.