Prophet, , said:
"There was among the people who came before you a man who killed
ninety-nine persons. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person
on earth, and wasdirected to a monk, so hewent to him, told him that
he had killed ninety-nine people and asked if his repentance could be
accepted. The monk said, 'No.' So, he killed him and completed one
hundred. Then he asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth
and he was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one
hundred people and asked whether his repentance could be accepted. The
scholar said, 'Yes, what could possibly come between you and
repentance? Go to such-and-such land, for in it there are people who
worship Allaah. Go and worship Allaah with them, and do not go backto
your own land, for it isa bad place.'
So, the man set out, but when he was halfway there, the angel of death
came to him, and the angels of mercy and the angels of torment began
to argue over him. The angels of mercy said, 'He had repented and
headed wholeheartedly to Allaah.' The angels of torment said, 'He
never did any good thing.' An angel in human form came to them and
they asked him to decide the matter. He said, 'Measure the distance
between thetwo lands (his home town and the town he was heading for),
and to whichever of the two he is closer is the one to which he
belongs.' So they measured the distance and found that he was closer
to the townfor which he was heading, so the angels of mercy took him."
Qataadah said, "Al-Hasan mentioned that the man, while dying, turned
his chest towards that village(where he had hoped his repentance would
be accepted)." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Scholars mentioned many benefits in this noble Hadeeth . The following
points show these benefits:
1- He killed ninety-nine persons:
Do you think that such a person had a healthy or sick heart? He killed
the monk to whom he came to ask about repentance. He was
pathologically bent upon killing. After killing the monk, he did not
experience the least feeling of regret for his action. Strangely, he
killed the monk and then went out asking about the most knowledgeable
person on earth. He was still looking for repentance. He took a
decisive decision to revive his heart. His decision was subject to
neither delay nor changewhatever the reason maybe. He was determined
torevive his dead heart.
Do you not wonder how he did not even stop for a moment after killing
the monk to say to himself, "You have been disobedient (to Allaah)
again. You have done what you used to do. Youwill never repent and
Allaah will not accept you!" He did not utter these frustrated
remarks. Rather, he moved forward looking for his goal, which was
repentance.
2- Repentance wipes out even the gravest of majorsins:
This story stands as great evidence that Allaah The Almighty accepts
repentance from a wrongdoer, even if his sins are grave. Having a
sincere intention to repent is the crucial factor here.
This is also supported by evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah .
Allaah The Almighty says (what means): } Say, "O My servants who have
transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the
Mercy of Allaah. Indeed, Allaah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He
who is theForgiving, the Merciful." { [Quran 39: 53]
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allaah, , said: "By the
One in whose Hand my soul is, i fyou were not to commit sins Allaah
would remove you and replace you with people who would commit sins and
then ask for forgiveness, and He would grant them forgiveness."
[Muslim]
3- The vastness of the Mercy of Allaah and the danger of despairing of it:
The story with its several narrations indicates that the Mercy of
Allaah is vastand that it overcomes His wrath. It also indicates that
when the slave of Allaah sincerely repents to Him, not only does
Allaah The Almighty accept his repentance but He also grants him
success and guidance to the straight path. The other narrations of the
story indicate that Divine Care played a role which signifies the
vastness of the Mercy of Allaah and His Bounty on the repentant slave.
Another narration reads: "Allaah ordered the land (towards which he
was going) to come closer to him, and ordered the land (from whence he
had come), to go far away, and then He ordered the angels to measure
the distances between his body and the two towns. He was found to be
one span closer to the village (he was going to). So he was forgiven."
[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Ordering the town (towards which he was going) to come closer and
ordering the town (whence he had come) togo far away indicates that
Allaah The Almighty not only accepts repentance from His slaves, but
He also gives them of His bounty.
In a Hadeeth Qudsi (sacred narration), Abu Hurayrah narrated that the
Prophet, , quoted Allaah The Almighty as saying: "I am just as My
slave believes Me to be, and I am with him when He remembers Me. So if
he remembers Me within himself, I too remember him within Myself. If
he remembers Me in a group of people then I remember him in agroup
that is better than them. If he comes one span nearer to Me then I go
one cubit nearer to him; if he comes one cubit nearer to Me then I go
a distance of two outstretched arms nearerto him; and if he comes to
Me walking then I go to him running." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Commenting on the verse, Ibn 'Abbaas said,
Allaah invites all to His Forgiveness; those who claim that the Christ
is Allaah, those who claim that the Christ is the son of Allaah, those
who claim that 'Uzayr is the son of Allaah, those who claim that
Allaah is poor, those who claim that the Hand of Allaah is tied up,
and those who say that Allaah is the third of three (Trinity). Allaah
saysto all of these (what means): } So will they not repent to Allaah
and seekHis Forgiveness? And Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful. {
[Quran 5: 74] He calls to repentance theone who says something even
worse than that, theone who says (what means): } "I am your most
exalted lord." { [Quran 79:24] and (what means): } I have not known
you to have a god other than me. { [Quran 28: 38]
Ibn 'Abbaas added, "Anyone who makes the slaves of Allaah despair
ofHis Mercy after this has rejected the Book of Allaah." ] Tafseer Ibn
Katheer [
If you think that your heart is dead and that it will never revive,
then what about the hearts of the disbelievers and atheists which are
destroyed with denial of the existence of Allaah The Almighty?
Let us try to revive our dead hearts.
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