Questioner:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “And whoever calls others to misguidance will have a burden of sin like that of those who follow it, without it detracting from their burden in the slightest.” So will Allah forgive the one who has repented from calling to falsehood – and this falsehood has spread – or does the threat in this ḥadīth apply to him?
Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān
Whoever repents, then Allah ﷻ will turn to him in repentance. If he used to call to falsehood and has repented, and now calls to the truth, then Allah ﷻ will forgive him. However, he must announce his repentance to the people, and if he has books or tapes which call to falsehood, he needs to denounce them. He must denounce these books and tapes. He should state his open repentance, so that nobody can dispute with him of what has come to pass from him. So, if he proclaims and clarifies [his repentance], then he may have absolved himself. However, if he were to be silent, then the people would dispute against him with what had come to pass, and they would not know or believe that he has repented.