Is the repentance of one who slanders the Prophet accepted, and does it cause the legal punishment to be dropped?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Penalties)
Primary text
The prescribed punishment for one who slanders the Prophet, whether he was a Muslim or an unbeliever, is death, and his repentance is not accepted. Ahmad declared this explicitly. The basis for this is that this punishment is a hadd related to slander and is not dropped by repentance, unlike the slander of someone other than the Prophet's mother. Furthermore, if his repentance were accepted and the hadd dropped, the ruling would be less severe than slandering ordinary people, as slander against others is not dropped by repentance without implementing the punishment.
Supporting text
A second narration from Ahmad suggests that if the slanderer was a non-believer and subsequently embraced Islam, the punishment is dropped. This is likened to one who insulted God while an unbeliever, where conversion nullifies the killing penalty; insulting the Prophet should follow suit. Also, Islam nullifies what preceded it. Regardless of the legal ruling, repentance between him and God is accepted, as God accepts repentance for all sins.