‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin.” In Majah and Baihaqi, in <i>Shu'ab al-iman</i>, transmitted it, the latter saying its only transmitter was an-Nahrani who is unknown. In <i>Sharh as-sunna</i> a tradition traced no farther back than him is transmitted in which he said, “<i>Nadam</i> is repentance, and he who repents is like him who has committed no sin.”

وَعَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «التَّائِبَ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ كَمَنْ لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ» . رَوَاهُ ابْنُ مَاجَهْ وَالْبَيْهَقِيُّ فِي شُعَبِ الْإِيمَانِ وَقَالَ تَفَرَّدَ بِهِ النَّهْرَانَيُّ وَهُوَ مَجْهُولٌ. وَفِي (شَرْحِ السُّنَّةِ) رَوَى عَنْهُ مَوْقُوفًا قَالَ: النَّدَمُ تَوْبَةٌ والتَّائبُ كمن لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ