Is repentance really accepted right up until the moment of death — and what happens after that?

Yes — the door of repentance remains open for as long as a person is alive and death has not yet begun, no matter what they have believed or done before that moment, including shirk. But the Quran draws a firm line at the instant death actually arrives: 'Repentance is not accepted of those who commit evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now," nor of those who die while they are disbelievers' (4:18). The clearest illustration is Pharaoh, who, as he was drowning and death had become certain, cried out, 'I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the Muslims' (10:90) — a declaration that came too late to be accepted, because it was forced by the certainty of death rather than freely chosen while life and choice remained. The lesson is hopeful, not frightening: there is no sin, no history, and no number of years wasted that closes the door while you're still living. The only thing that closes it is waiting until choice is no longer possible — so the right response is to turn back today, not to fear some future deadline you can't predict.

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