The Man Who Killed a Hundred Souls — Repentance Without Limit
stories
Level: basic
wisdom
st-065
قُلۡ يَٰعِبَادِيَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسۡرَفُواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ لَا تَقۡنَطُواْ مِن رَّحۡمَةِ ٱللَّهِ
— الزمر 53
Source: Agreed Upon — Al-Bukhari (3470), Muslim (2766) — from Abu Said Al-Khudri
Story: A man from the Children of Israel had killed ninety-nine people. He asked who was the most devout man on earth and was directed to a monk. He asked: can I repent? The monk said: no. So he killed him, completing a hundred. Then he was directed to a scholar who said: who stands between you and repentance? Go to such-and-such a land where people worship Allah. He died on the way — angels of mercy and punishment disputed over him. Allah revealed: measure the distance between the two lands — he was found closer to the good land and was forgiven.
Quranic lesson (parallel): "Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves — do not despair of Allah's mercy." (39:53). Despair of Allah's mercy — not the sin itself — is the true danger.
Additional lesson: The true scholar saved him while the ignorant monk doomed him — ignorance about Allah can be more destructive than imperfect faith.
Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari (3470); Sahih Muslim (2766) — Narrated by Abu Said Al-Khudri — Agreed Upon
Question: What saved the man who killed a hundred people, and what harmed him first?
Answer: He was saved by the scholar who guided him to repentance and migration. He was harmed first by the ignorant monk who made him despair of Allah's mercy.