One who fears his sins

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "There was a man who had never done any good, except that he affirmed the oneness of Allah. When his final moment drew near, he said to his family: 'When I die, take my body and burn me and turn me into charcoal, then grind me, and then on a day when a strong wind is blowing, scatter me in the sea.' His family did exactly that. Then he was presented before Allah Almighty, and Allah Almighty asked him: 'Why did you do what you did?' He replied: 'Out of fear of You.' So Allah Almighty forgave him."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated something similar from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Ahmad recorded both these narrations; the narrators of the hadith reported by Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) are the narrators of the Sahih, and the chain of the narration of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: There was a man who had a great deal of wealth. When the time of his death drew near, he said to his family: "If you do as I command you, I will give you a great deal of wealth." His family said: "Very well." He said: "When I die, burn me, then grind me, then when the wind is blowing, climb to the top of a mountain and scatter me, for if Allah Almighty constrains me, He will not forgive me." That was done with his body. Then he was gathered together and presented before Allah Almighty, and Allah Almighty said: "Why did you do this?" The man said: "O my Lord, out of fear of You." The Lord said: "Go, I have forgiven you."

In one narration the words are: "The man was a grave robber, and he was forgiven because of his fear."
Abu Ya'la recorded it with two chains, and the narrators of both are the narrators of the Sahih.

Al-Tabarani recorded something similar, but at its end he reported these words: "Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Then that man was presented before Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty asked: Why did you do what you did? He replied: Out of fear of You. So Allah Almighty said: I have forgiven you.'" The chain of this narration is munqati' (broken). He also recorded part of this narration as marfu' (traced to the Prophet) with a muttasil (connected) chain, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except Abu al-Za'ra', and he is thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Ibn Sirin also reported it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In the times before you there was a man who had never done any good deed, except that he affirmed the oneness of Allah. When his final moment drew near, he said to his family: 'Make sure that when I die, you burn me until you turn me into charcoal, then grind me, and then scatter me on a windy day.' When the man died, his family did exactly that with him. Then he was presented before Allah Almighty, and Allah Almighty said: 'O son of Adam, why did you do what you did?' He said: 'O my Lord, out of fear of You.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: Then the Lord said: 'I have forgiven him.'" Even though that man had never done any good other than affirming the oneness of Allah. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The hadith reported by Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) is mentioned in the Sahih, but without the words: 'except affirming the oneness of Allah'. Ahmad recorded all of these narrations; the narrators of the chain of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) are the narrators of the Sahih, while the chain of Ibn Sirin contains a narrator who has not been named.

Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah bin Haydah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "There was a servant among the servants of Allah Almighty to whom Allah Almighty had given wealth and children, but he did not do any deed for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. He carried on like this until his life passed away. When his final moment drew near, it occurred to him that he had not sent forth any good at all to the court of Allah Almighty. He called his sons and said: 'O my sons, what kind of father do you know me to be?' They replied: 'You are our best father.' He said: 'By Allah, whatever wealth of mine any one of you has, I will take it back from you, or else you must do what I command you.' Then he took a firm pledge from his children and said: 'When I die, take my body and throw me into the fire, until when I become charcoal, scatter me.'" The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his blessed hand on his thigh and said: "'Grind me and scatter me, so that I may escape from Allah Almighty.' That was done with him, by the Lord of Muhammad! When he died, he was brought in a better form than before (perhaps a better bodily state is meant), and he was presented before his Lord. The Lord asked: 'Why did you go into the fire?' He replied: 'O my Lord, out of fear of You.' The Lord said: 'I heard that you disliked this.' (Here the narrator Yazid reported these words:) 'I heard you as one who wished to escape.' So his repentance was accepted."

In one narration the words are: "The Lord said: 'O son of Adam, why did you do what you did?' He replied: 'Out of fear of You.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: Then the Lord met him with it (that is, with forgiveness)."
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded something similar in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. The narrators of Ahmad are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a narration similar to the one that has passed before it, but the words of his text are these; he narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In the times before you there was a man to whom Allah Almighty had granted abundance in wealth and children. He said to his family: 'When I die, burn me, and when I become charcoal, grind me and scatter me, for if my Lord gains power over me, He will punish me with a punishment the like of which He will not inflict on anyone among all the worlds.' His family did exactly that. Allah Almighty gave a command concerning him, so his being was gathered together and he was made to stand before Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty said: 'Why did you do what you did?' The man replied: 'Out of fear of You, O my Lord.' So Allah Almighty forgave that man."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except Zakariyya bin Nafi' al-Arsufi and al-Sari bin Yahya, and both of them are thiqah (trustworthy).
Al-Bazzar recorded it and referred it to the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that is in the Sahih, saying: It is similar to it; he did not quote its text.