Hadithcore
Riyad as-Salihin, 20

Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah (ﷺ) said: "There was a man from among a nation before you who killed ninety-nine people and then made an inquiry about the most learned person on the earth. He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the negative and the man killed him also completing one hundred. He then asked about the most learned man in the earth. He was directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He replied in the affirmative and asked, 'Who stands between you and repentance? Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.' So he went away and hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him; and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, 'This man has come with a repenting heart to Allah,' and the angels of punishment argued, 'He never did a virtuous deed in his life.' Then there appeared another angel in the form of a human being and the contending angels agreed to make him arbiter between them. He said, 'Measure the distance between the two lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.' They measured and found him closer to the land (land of piety) where he intended to go, and so the angels of mercy collected his soul". <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

وعن أبي سعيد سعد بن مالك بن سنان الخدري رضي الله عنه أن نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال‏:‏ ‏

‏ كان فيمن كان قبلكم رجل قتل تسعة وتسعين نفساً، فسأل عن أعلم أهل الأرض، فدل على راهب، فأتاه فقال‏:‏ إنه قتل تسعه وتسعين نفساً، فهل له من توبة‏؟‏ فقال‏:‏ لا، فقتله فكمل به مائةً، ثم سأل عن أعلم أهل الأرض، فدل على رجل عالم فقال‏:‏ إنه قتل مائة نفس فهل له من توبة‏؟‏ فقال‏:‏ نعم، ومن يحول بينه وبين التوبة‏؟‏ انطلق إلى أرض كذا وكذا، فإن بها أناساً يعبدون الله تعالى فاعبد الله معهم، ولا ترجع إلى أرضك فإنها أرض سوءٍ، فانطلق حتى إذا نصف الطريق أتاه الموت، فاختصمت فيه ملائكة الرحمة وملائكة العذاب‏.‏ فقالت ملائكة الرحمة‏:‏ جاء تائبا مقبلا بقلبه إلى الله تعالى، وقالت ملائكة العذاب‏:‏ إنه لم يعمل خيرا قط، فأتاهم ملك في صورة آدمي فجعلوه بينهم- أي حكماً- فقال‏:‏ قيسوا ما بين الأرضين فإلى أيتهما كان أدنى فهو له، فقاسوا فوجدوه أدنى إلى الأرض التي أراد، فقبضته ملائكة الرحمة‏

‏ ‏(‏‏(‏متفق عليه‏)‏‏)‏‏.‏

References1 variant
In-Book Reference
Introduction, Hadith 20
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
<b>Guidance from the Hadith:</b><br> 1) The excellence of knowledge and its holders. Unlike the devout worshiper who lacks knowledge, a scholar guides people and does not make them despair of Allah’s mercy.<br> 2) It shows how a person’s environment affects him in terms of being righteous or corrupt. An environment of righteousness encourages the believer to do good whereas an evil environment weakens the believer or discourages him from doing good altogether.<br> 3) A sincere intention complements the deed of the believer even if he had not done it.<br> 4) It shows the vastness of the mercy of Allah towards His servants as He opened the gate of repentance to excessive sinners and accepted their repentance.<br> 5) Whoever sins then feels remorseful for what he committed, his remorse is proof of the validity of his repentance, based on the saying of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): “Remorse is repentance.” [Narrated by Ahmad]<br> <br> <b>Benefit:</b><br> A killer is liable for three rights:<br> The first right pertains to Allah, the second to the killed, and the third to the relatives of the killed.<br> As for the right pertinent to Allah, He forgives it through repentance.<br> As for the right pertinent to the killed, the repentance of the killer does not waive this right because it is no longer possible for the killer to obtain pardon from him. He will answer for it when Allah judges between him and the killed on the Day of Judgment.<br> As for the right of the relatives of the killed, the repentance of the killer is not valid until he surrenders himself to them, after which they either pardon him or ask for retribution or for bloodmoney.
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