The man who is about to be hanged and repents at that moment: is his repentance accepted, or is he considered to be deluding himself?

The questioner : The second point is that it is known that repentance is not accepted at the moment of the death rattle.

The Shaykh : Ah

The questioner : So, a man who has been sentenced to death, when the execution is carried out, when he enters the room until they execute him, and he is certain of his death now, meaning...

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : So, before he climbs onto the gallows, he says, "There is no god but Allah," and seeks forgiveness and repents. Does this fall under the category of the death rattle?

The Shaykh : No, it does not fall under it, because he has not produced the death rattle; his soul has not begun to depart—in the name of Allah—but he is convinced in his mind that death is coming to him. So, his repentance is accepted as long as he has not produced the death rattle. This is an explicit text on the matter.