The story of the repentance of Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari.

The Shaykh : They mentioned regarding Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (may Allah have mercy on him) that he was upon the methodology of the Mu'tazilah for forty years of his life, affirming and emphasizing it and calling to it. Then its falsity became clear to him, so he turned away from it and announced on a Friday after the prayer that he had repented from it (may Allah have mercy on him) and denied it with the strongest denial. Then he had an intermediate state between the people of the Sunnah and the Mu'tazilah. In this intermediate state, many scholars received from him, spread it, and refined the statement and purified it, so it became the Ash'ari school. In the end, he turned away from this and explicitly stated that he was upon the methodology of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). Imam Ahmad is the Imam of the people of the Sunnah, so he returned to the statement of affirmation and settled upon it. Do we say that this man's repentance is not accepted? Answer, O people. No, by Allah, we do not say that this man's repentance is not accepted. The man announced that his previous innovation, which is the innovation of the Mu'tazilah, he repented from it, so we do not say that this man's repentance is not accepted. The correct view, without doubt, is that every person who repents to Allah from a sin, his repentance is accepted. But if his sin has spread among the people and misled the people, he must clarify and announce to the people that he has repented and that it was an error. .