Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 18992 — I heard Sayyiduna Abu Zam'ah al-Balawi

Abu Qays, the freed slave of Banu Jumah (may Allah have mercy on him), said: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Zam'ah al-Balawi (may Allah be pleased with him) - he was one of the People of the Tree who pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) beneath it. One day he came to the mosque of Fustat and stood in its courtyard, and some severity on the part of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) had reached him. He said: Do not be harsh with people, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "A man of the Children of Israel killed ninety-seven people. Then he went to a monk and said: I have killed ninety-seven people; is there any chance of repentance for me? He said: No. So he killed the monk as well. Then he went to another monk and said: I have killed ninety-eight people; is there any chance of repentance for me? He too said: No. So he killed him as well. Then he went to a third and said: I have killed ninety-nine people, among them two monks; is there any chance of repentance for me? He said: You have done a very evil deed, but if I were to say that Allah is not Forgiving and Merciful, I would be lying. So repent to Allah. The man said: As for me, after hearing this I will never leave you. So he stayed with him constantly, on the condition that he would not disobey him, and he began to serve him. One day a man died of whom people spoke ill; when he was buried, he sat at his grave and wept bitterly. Then another man died of whom people spoke well; when he was buried, he sat at his grave and laughed heartily. His companions objected to this, so they gathered around their leader and said: How can you keep this killer of souls with you? And he has done what you have seen. This began to trouble him and his companions. Once he came to that monk together with a companion of his and spoke to him. The man said: What do you command me? He said: Go and light an oven. So he did so, then came and told him that he had done it. The monk said: Go and throw yourself into it - the monk became heedless of him - and that other one went and threw himself into the oven. Then the monk came to his senses and said: I think the man has thrown himself into the oven, acting on what I said to him. He went to him and found him alive in the oven, drenched in sweat. He took him by the hand, brought him out of the oven and said: It is not fitting that you should serve me; rather, I shall serve you. Now tell me the reason for your weeping over the first one who died and your laughing over the other. He said: As for the first, when he was buried I saw the evil he was facing, and I remembered my own sins and wept. As for the other, I saw the good with which he was being honoured, and I laughed. After that, he became one of the great men of the Children of Israel."