If a person commits shirk (associating partners with Allah) of love, does he have a chance of repentance, or is his repentance not accepted and he becomes one of the disbelievers?

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Question:
The questioner says: Allah the Exalted said:

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ

[An-Nisa 4:48]

So, if a person commits shirk (associating partners with Allah) in the form of excessive love, and then later realizes that this excessive love, which caused him to forget Allah, is shirk against Allah, even though he was a religious person and not ignorant, does this mean that there is no repentance for him? Will Allah accept his repentance and forgive him? Or is it inevitable that he has no return and has become one of the disbelievers? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
The love of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is the greatest type of worship. Whoever loves anyone alongside Allah has committed shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Him. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:

And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah.

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ

[Al-Baqarah 2:165]

But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ

[Al-Baqarah 2:165]

. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) described the believers as those who love Allah with pure love and do not love anyone alongside Him. He described the polytheists as those who love Allah and love their equals. This is called shirk of love, and it is major shirk. However, whoever repents, Allah will accept his repentance.
Praise be to Allah. The door of repentance is open, and no sin is excluded from being erased by repentance; rather, repentance erases all sins. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:

Say, "O My servants who

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ

[Az-Zumar 39:53]

who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful." ⁽⁵⁴⁾ And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him

أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ

[Az-Zumar 39:53-54]

And He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:

Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them

قُل لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِن يَنتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُم مَّا قَدْ سَلَفَ

[Al-Anfal 8:38]

And He said regarding the Christians who say that Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary, and who say that Allah is the third of three: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:

So will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

أَفَلَا يَتُوبُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَهُ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

[Al-Ma'idah 5:74]

And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Repentance wipes out what came before it." So all actions, whether disbelief, shirk (associating partners with Allah), hypocrisy, major sins, or minor sins, if a person repents from them with sincere repentance, true repentance, then Allah will accept his repentance. Yes. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، إذا أشرك الإنسان شرك محبة فهل له توبة أم لا تقبل توبته ويصبح من الكافرين؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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