The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that righteous deeds expiate the sins that correspond to them.
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The Shaykh : He says: The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that righteous deeds expiate the sins that correspond to them, so he said: "Thus, the erasure and expiation occur through the deeds that are accepted, and not every good deed erases every bad deed, but the erasure is sometimes for minor sins and sometimes for major sins, based on the balance".
The Shaykh : Yes, as for the first point, that it is for minor sins sometimes, this is correct. The five daily prayers, from Friday to Friday, and from Ramadan to Ramadan, are expiations for what is between them, provided that major sins are avoided.
As for the issue of balance, this is not erasure; this is not erasure. Balance does not require erasure, because erasure means that the good deed completely erases the bad deeds, not that it merely corresponds to them. And a person may perform the same type of deed.
The Shaykh : Did you understand, Mansur?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh :"And a person may perform the same type of deed in a way that his sincerity and servitude to Allah are perfected therein, so Allah forgives him the major sins through it", yes, this is also correct. Perhaps the complete sincerity to Allah, love, fear, and hope that a person possesses may expiate the bad deed, just as the Battle of Badr expiated for the participants everything they would do in the future.
Then he mentioned the hadith of the card, and that the owner of the card: "said it with sincerity and truth, otherwise all the people of major sins who entered the Fire say, 'There is no god but Allah'". Then he mentioned the hadith of the prostitute, and he said: "And this one watered the dog with pure faith that was in her heart, so it was forgiven for her, otherwise not every prostitute who waters a dog is forgiven" from *Minhaj al-Sunnah*. This is correct.
The Shaykh : Yes, as for the first point, that it is for minor sins sometimes, this is correct. The five daily prayers, from Friday to Friday, and from Ramadan to Ramadan, are expiations for what is between them, provided that major sins are avoided.
As for the issue of balance, this is not erasure; this is not erasure. Balance does not require erasure, because erasure means that the good deed completely erases the bad deeds, not that it merely corresponds to them. And a person may perform the same type of deed.
The Shaykh : Did you understand, Mansur?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh :"And a person may perform the same type of deed in a way that his sincerity and servitude to Allah are perfected therein, so Allah forgives him the major sins through it", yes, this is also correct. Perhaps the complete sincerity to Allah, love, fear, and hope that a person possesses may expiate the bad deed, just as the Battle of Badr expiated for the participants everything they would do in the future.
Then he mentioned the hadith of the card, and that the owner of the card: "said it with sincerity and truth, otherwise all the people of major sins who entered the Fire say, 'There is no god but Allah'". Then he mentioned the hadith of the prostitute, and he said: "And this one watered the dog with pure faith that was in her heart, so it was forgiven for her, otherwise not every prostitute who waters a dog is forgiven" from *Minhaj al-Sunnah*. This is correct.