Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
Courting or undergoing hadd punishment for sins such as adultery or fornication is not an essential condition for redeeming oneself or gaining forgiveness.
Rather, turning to Allah in sincere repentance and persistence in doing so is alone sufficient. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “One who has repented of a sin is like one who never sinned.” In other words, if someone has repented of sins of adultery or fornication it is not necessary for him to confess his or her sins and court the punishment. Allah says:
“And who never invoke any [imaginary] deity side by side with God, and do not take any human beings life – [the life] which God has willed to be sacred – otherwise than in [the pursuit of] justice, and do not commit adultery. And [know that] he who commits aught thereof shall [not only] meet with a full requital – [but] shall have his suffering doubled on Resurrection Day: for on that [Day] he shall abide in ignominy. Excepted, however, shall be they who repent and attain to faith and do righteous deeds: for it is they whose [erstwhile] bad deeds God will transform into good ones – seeing that God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace, and seeing that he who repents and [thenceforth] does what is right has truly turned unto God by [this very act of] repentance.” (Qur’an 25: 68-71)
Al-Bukhari and Muslim report on the authority of `Ubadah ibn al-Samit that the Messenger of Allah said, “Give me your oath of allegiance that you shall associate no partner with Allah, and do not commit theft or adultery and do not slay your children or make false allegations or disobey in any act of virtue. If anyone is faithful to the terms he has pledged to me, Allah will reward them for it. If, however, anyone has breached any of these terms and was punished for the same in this world, it would serve as a means of expiation or redemption for him or her.
If, on the other hand, Allah has covered their sins (and thus never incurred the punishment for it in this world), we refer his case to Allah: It is up to Him to forgive or punish him (in the hereafter).”
Imam Muslim also reports: “When Ma’iz approached the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying, “Purify me (by executing had)”, the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him: “Go away and seek forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance.”
Commenting on this, Imam An-Nawawi states: “The above report proves that sincere repentance erases or lifts sins: This is the consensus of Muslims.” Imam Ibn Hajar states: “We can readily infer from the story of Maiz that anyone guilty of sins is recommended to repent to Allah and cover himself and he must never divulge his sin to anyone else. This is the firm opinion of Shafi (Allah be pleased with him) who said, “I love for someone who has committed one of such grave sins and has been covered by Allah to cover it and not divulge it to anyone.”
`Abdullah b. `Umar reports that the Messenger of Allah said, “Keep away from committing the filthy acts that Allah has forbidden. If anyone has been guilty of committing any of them, let him seek the cover of Allah and seek repentance…If, on the other hand, he were to divulge the same to us, we are bound to execute the required punishment.” (Al-Hakim, Al-Bayhaqi, and others)
Almighty Allah knows best.
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