Fath al-Rabbani

Sayyiduna Abu Sa’id (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Shall I not narrate to you the hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), my ears heard that hadith and my heart remembered it? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A man killed ninety-nine people, then he thought of repenting. He asked people about the greatest scholar on the face of the earth. He was directed to a monk (priest). He went to him and asked that he had killed ninety-nine people, is there repentance for such a person? He replied: After killing ninety-nine people? (There is no repentance for such a person). He drew his sword and killed him, thus completing the number to one hundred. Then he thought of repenting again, and he asked people about the greatest scholar on earth. He was directed to a scholar, he went to him and said: I have killed one hundred people, is there any chance of repentance for me? He said: Who can come between you and your repentance? But do this: leave this wicked town and go to such-and-such a good town. For there the people worship Allah Almighty, so you too worship Allah Almighty with them, and do not return to your own area, for it is an evil land. He set out towards the good town, but on the way, death overtook him. He dragged himself on his chest, moving away from the first land and (a little) towards the other side. (To take his soul) the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment both came, and a dispute arose between them. Iblis said: I have more right to him, he never disobeyed me. But the angels of mercy said: He came repenting and with full attention of his heart towards Allah Almighty, and the angels of punishment said: He never did any good deed. Allah Almighty sent an angel in the form of a man. They presented their dispute before him. He said: See which town he is closer to, and count him among the people of that town. Meanwhile, Allah Almighty commanded the land (from which he was coming) to move away, and commanded the land of the righteous (to which he was going) to come closer. When they measured, they found him to be a handspan closer to the land he was heading towards. Thus, the angels of mercy took him and he was forgiven. Hasan, the narrator, says: When he realized death was near, he shrank himself (towards the good town), and in another narration, he dragged himself on his chest (towards the good town). In any case, Allah Almighty brought him closer to the righteous town and farther from the wicked town, so the angels included him among the people of the good town.