Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 36935 — Reports on the breadth of the mercy

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I will tell you only what I heard from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); my ears heard it and my heart retained it. He said: "A man killed ninety-nine people. Then the thought of repentance came to him. He asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was told of a scholar. He came to that scholar and said: 'I have killed ninety-nine people. Can I repent?' The scholar said: 'Repentance even after ninety-nine killings?' The man drew his sword and killed him as well, completing the number one hundred. Then the thought of repentance came to him. He asked about the most knowledgeable person on earth and was told of a scholar. He came to that scholar and said: 'I have killed one hundred people. Can I repent?' The scholar said to him: 'Who can stand between you and repentance? Leave this wicked town in which you live and go to a town of righteous people, such and such a town, and worship your Lord there.' The man set out to go to that town. On the way, the time of his death came. The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed about him. Iblis said: 'I have the greater right to him, for he never disobeyed me for even a moment.' The angels of mercy said: 'He set out with the intention of repentance.'"